Tom Knipe

About Tom

Tom serves as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Ithaca and previously was Director of the Tompkins County Tourism Program. He came to Ithaca in 2009 for a Master’s degree in planning and, like so many others, fell in love with the Finger Lakes region. Tom also serves on the boards of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, Ithaca Area Economic Development, State Theater of Ithaca, and the New York Bicycling Coalition. He is a regular Visiting Lecturer in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell. He lives in the “flats” of Ithaca with his family and bikes to work year-round.

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At the Christopherson Center

Tom studied economic development with Susan Christopherson from 2009 to 2011 and credits Susan for his inspiration to pursue a career in the field and for his vision for an economic development practice that focuses on enhancing quality of life and promoting fairness and equity.