A private business group inside the Salt Lake Chamber recruits companies to Utah and certifies large sites for development. Cities, counties, a state authority and the state itself are among its investors. Several of the sites it markets sit where data centers, tax increment zones and state tax credits are already in the record.
The Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) was founded in 1987. It describes itself as "a private, non-profit organization" and a "catalyst for quality job growth and increased capital investment in the state." It is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(6) business league (EIN 74-2502619) and reported about $1.5 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2024. It merged into the Salt Lake Chamber in July 2024; the Chamber's president, Derek Miller, is listed as its principal officer.
In its own words, EDCUtah is "Utah's only statewide economic development organization supported by both public and private sector organizations," specializing in "corporate recruitment, economic research, community strategy, and site selector marketing." Its 2024-2025 annual report calls it "Utah's premier nonprofit public-private partnership."
Its president and executive director since May 2025 is Ryan Starks, the former executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity (GO Utah). A separate entity, the EDCUtah Foundation, lists Starks as a director since Feb. 24, 2021.
Its ties to the state, on paper:
A tax-exempt business league or chamber of commerce. Unlike a 501(c)(3) charity, gifts to it are generally not tax-deductible as donations, and it may lobby. It files a public Form 990, but its donor names are not public.
EDCUtah's own investor page lists its supporters by tier. Public bodies, paid with tax money, appear in every top tier.
Each block is one named investor. Blue = a government or public authority. Gold = a company or private group.
Source: EDCUtah, "Our Investors" page, read Oct. 7, 2026. GOED appears in two tiers and is counted in each.
| Tier | Public bodies | Companies and groups |
|---|---|---|
| State of Utah Partner | State of Utah (GOED) | — |
| Visionary | GOED; Salt Lake City | America First; Enbridge Gas |
| Catalyst | Davis County; Utah Inland Port Authority; West Jordan | Nucor; Quanta Services; Rio Tinto; SelectHealth; Zions Bank |
| Champion | Ogden City; Salt Lake County | Comcast; Delta Air Lines; Goldman Sachs; Horrocks Engineers; Larry H. Miller Company; Rocky Mountain Power; Sunbelt Rentals; Your Employment Solutions |
| Builder (40+) | includes Weber County, Utah County, Sandy, Utah City | includes ARCO, Bank of America, Big D, Boyer Company |
| Public Connector | 30+ Utah cities and counties | — |
EDCUtah's board page (read Oct. 7, 2026) lists 3 officers, 21 board members and 6 ex officio members. Public officials are shown in blue.
Officers and voting board members (24 seats). Blue = elected official or public agency head. Gold = company.
Source: EDCUtah, Board page, edcutah.org/about/board, read Oct. 7, 2026.
| Seat | Name | Organization | Also in the Hive record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | Jason Hill | Rio Tinto | Rio Tinto: Catalyst investor |
| Private-sector vice chair | Matt Hirst | Horrocks Engineers | Horrocks: Champion investor |
| Public-sector vice chair | Mayor Ben Nadolski | Ogden City | Ogden: Champion investor; Ogden-Hinckley Airport is a Site Ready site |
| Board | Commissioner Gage Froerer | Weber County | Weber County is a Builder investor; EDCUtah markets the West Weber Mega Site in Weber County; Froerer co-chairs NUEA's advisory board and championed the West Weber inland port |
| Board | Commissioner Bob Stevenson | Davis County | Catalyst investor; EDCUtah's 2025-26 Public Sector Leadership award; HD-16 candidate |
| Board | Jefferson Moss | Governor's Office of Economic Development | Case file; signed the 2026 partnership agreement |
| Board | Ben Hart | Utah Inland Port Authority | UIPA: Catalyst investor; West Weber and Tooele project areas |
| Board | Mayor Erin Mendenhall | Salt Lake City | Visionary investor |
| Board | Mayor Jenny Wilson | Salt Lake County | Champion investor |
| Board | Mayor Monica Zoltanski | Sandy City | Builder investor |
| Board | Mayor Dirk Burton | West Jordan | Catalyst investor |
| Board | Brett Christensen · Kyle Biederwolf · Brie Davis · Heidi Bredenholler-Prasad · Christy Alter · Brad Holmes · Cory Montgomery · Matthew Winklestine · Richard Garlish · Dan Richards · Rod Nease · Reed Laws · Tom Morgan | America First · Comcast · Delta · Enbridge · Goldman Sachs · Larry H. Miller · Nucor · Quanta · Rocky Mountain Power · SelectHealth · Sunbelt Rentals · Your Employment Solutions · Zions Bank | Each company is an EDCUtah investor |
| Ex officio | Gov. Spencer Cox | State of Utah | — |
| Ex officio | Sen. Chris Wilson | Utah State Senate | — |
| Ex officio | Rep. Ariel DeFay | Utah House | — |
| Ex officio | Jenney Rees | State Director, Office of Sen. John Curtis | — |
| Ex officio | Geoffrey Thomas Landward | Utah System of Higher Education | — |
| Ex officio | Stephanie Frohman | Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air | — |
Utah's Division of Corporations record for the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (entity #975308-0140, domestic nonprofit, formed Aug. 17, 1987, active, last renewed July 14, 2026) lists: Thomas Morgan, Chairman of the Board; Judd Cook, Matt Hirst and Ryan Starks, Directors; Derek Miller, President; Heidi Walker, Secretary (updated April 21, 2025); registered agent Jill Kirsling. The state record still names Morgan as chairman (updated Oct. 1, 2025), while EDCUtah's own board page now lists Jason Hill.
Sept. 21, 2023: chair Judd Cook (Dominion Energy); vice chairs Tom Morgan (Zions) and Utah County Commissioner Brandon Gordon; secretary Gary Hoogeveen (Rocky Mountain Power). Oct. 30, 2024: chair Tom Morgan; vice chairs Jason Hill (Rio Tinto) and Mayor Dirk Burton (West Jordan); treasurer Dan Richards (SelectHealth); secretary Judd Cook (Enbridge Gas).
| Name | Role at EDCUtah | Day job | Also in the Hive record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judd Cook | Board chair (2023) | Dominion Energy, VP and general manager, western gas distribution | Dominion/Enbridge: EDCUtah investor; gas to UIPA West Weber |
| Tom Morgan | Private-sector vice chair (2023); listed as chairman in state business records | Zions Bank | Zions: EDCUtah investor; seven roles in PID deals |
| Brandon Gordon | Public-sector vice chair (2023) | Utah County Commissioner | — |
| Gary Hoogeveen | Board secretary (2023) | Rocky Mountain Power | Rocky Mountain Power: EDCUtah investor; Utah Taxpayers Association PAC donor |
| Bob Stevenson | Board of Trustees current board page | Davis County Commissioner; 2026 HD-16 candidate | Davis County: EDCUtah Catalyst investor; candidates2026 |
| Ryan Starks | President & Executive Director; director in state business records | — | Case file |
| Derek Miller | Principal officer (IRS); president in state business records | Salt Lake Chamber President & CEO | Utah Rising |
Bob Stevenson's seat is confirmed on the current board page and in Davis County's 2024 Commission Assignments (dated Jan. 3, 2024).
EDCUtah's "Our Team" page (read Oct. 7, 2026) lists 17 staff. Two of them held state roles that connect to EDCUtah's work:
Also on staff: Ryan Starks (listed as Executive Director), CFO Jill Kirsling, Deputy Director Erin Farr, Director of Research Michael Stachitus, and Greg Bisping, Vice President of Partner Relations, who is the contact for Site Ready Utah.
For balance: Utah's legislators are part-time and most hold outside jobs. Holding one is allowed; state law requires legislators to disclose outside employment on their conflict-of-interest forms.
EDCUtah's annual reports list the companies it counts as "project wins." The figures are the companies' own multiyear commitments.
| Fiscal year | New projects | Wins | Jobs (new + retained) | Capital investment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 86 | 20 | 3,213 (headline) | $1.3 billion |
| 2025-2026 | 79 | 12 | 8,519 (6,909 new, 1,610 retained) | $20.2 billion |
The 2024-2025 report's own numbers don't match: the headline says 3,213 jobs, while its text says the 20 companies "committed to create 3,360 new jobs and retain 120 existing jobs" (3,480).
Capital investment of EDCUtah's 12 project wins, as listed in its annual report.
Source: EDCUtah, FY 2025-2026 Annual Report. Not every win lists a capital figure, so the "other 10" bar is the remainder of the $20.2 billion total.
Other wins tied to the Hive record: Nucor ($200 million, 200 jobs, Brigham City) in 2024-2025 (Nucor is a Catalyst investor and a Utah Taxpayers Association PAC donor); Karman Space & Defense (500 jobs, West Valley City) in 2025-2026; Auria (17 jobs, Weber County).
| Year | Award | Recipient | Also |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-2026 | Public Sector Leadership | Commissioner Bob Stevenson, Davis County | EDCUtah trustee (2024 county record); Davis County is a Catalyst investor |
| 2025-2026 | Private Sector Leadership | Christina Alter, Goldman Sachs | Goldman Sachs is a Champion investor |
| 2025-2026 | Institutional Cornerstone | Rocky Mountain Power | Champion investor; holds the board secretary seat |
| 2024-2025 | Public Sector Leadership | Paul Larsen (Brigham City) | Credited with landing Nucor |
| 2024-2025 | Private Sector Leadership | Brad Simons, Questar / Dominion / Enbridge | Enbridge is a Visionary investor |
| 2024-2025 | Institutional Cornerstone | Delta Air Lines | Champion investor |
For balance: the reports say the awards come from nominations by "members, stakeholders, and the public." The reports do not give EDCUtah's own budget or how much of it is public money.
EDCUtah publishes about 14 industry profiles. One is "Data Centers in Utah: EDCUtah Industry Profile 23-24." It is a sales brochure, not a government plan. In its own words:
Yearly pay, Utah vs. the national figure, as printed. Source line: "Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2019."
Source: EDCUtah Data Centers profile, FY 23-24. Read through a text pull of the PDF; quotes and figures should be matched to the rendered page before reuse. The 2023-24 brochure uses 2019 wage data.
For balance: the same brochure points to Utah's tech job growth ("19% job growth over the last five years, nearly double the national rate") and its post-performance incentives, which pay out only after a company performs.
Site Ready Utah is EDCUtah's program. It certifies sites of 100 to 400 acres ("Certified") and markets sites over 400 acres ("Mega," Stage 1 or Stage 2, with outside engineering review). The site pages reviewed do not use the words "data center." The right-hand column shows what the Hive record already has nearby; "same area" means the land has not been matched parcel by parcel.
| Site | Type | Acres | Already in the Hive record nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Weber County Mega Site "7 miles west of the I-15 Ogden 12th Street interchange"; rail "requires investment for track and spur" | Mega, Stage 2 | 891 | Same corridor as UIPA's West Weber project area (PCC Land, PCC PID, up to 40 years of tax differential); UIPA's 2024 report lists data centers among its prospects. same area |
| Millard County Mega Site | Mega, Stage 1 | 22,000 | Same county as Creekstone's Delta Gigasite (listed at more than 10 GW), the only data center with a state REDTIF credit: up to $172.19 million over 20 years. EDCUtah lists Creekstone as its own FY 2025-26 win. same county |
| Pole Canyon Mega Site | Mega, Stage 1 | 467 | Same name as Eagle Mountain's Pole Canyon CRA (the Tyson case) and Tract's proposed 1.7 GW Pole Canyon Technology Tract. same area |
| Eagle Mountain Mega Site | Mega, Stage 2 | 290 left | Same city as the Sweetwater CRAs for Meta and QTS (Sweetwater #4: $778.5 million in increment). same city |
| Carbon Highway 10 Mega Site | Mega, Stage 1 | 691.64 | Same county as the Valar Atomics lease near Wellington and the Altigen gas pipeline item. Highway 10 runs south of Price; no record ties these sites together. same county |
| Tooele Business Park | Certified | 304.74 | Same county as UIPA's Tooele Valley project area (500 MW data center plan; 75% of new property tax). same county |
| Ogden-Hinckley Airport Certified Site | Certified | ~100 | Ogden City is an EDCUtah Champion investor. |
| Salt Lake City Global Logistics Center | Mega, Stage 2 | 610 | — |
| Lakeview Business Park Mega Site | Mega, Stage 1 | 900 | — |
| Washington City Mega Site | Mega, Stage 1 | 568.59 | — |
| Commerce Crossroads Logistics Park (Iron Springs) | Mega, Stage 1 | 419 | — |
| Fillmore Certified Site | Certified | 174 | — |
| Brigham City Industrial Park | Certified | 320 | — |
| Salina Industrial Park | Certified | 375 | — |
Source: sitereadyutah.org, "What's Available" and the West Weber County site page, read Oct. 7, 2026.
Pins are approximate, placed at the city or described location, not the parcel. Gold pins: sites near a project already in the Hive record. Lakeview Business Park is not pinned because its location was not given.
Site Ready Utah's two labels. Certified sites are 100 to 400 acres, inspected by EDCUtah and outside engineers. Mega sites are over 400 acres; Stage 2 adds more engineering review and extra marketing.
State tax credits paid after a company meets its jobs and investment targets: up to 30% of new state tax revenue (EDTIF), or up to 50% in rural areas (REDTIF).
A city or county freezes an area's tax value and sends the new property tax from growth to the project for a set number of years instead of to schools, the county and other taxing entities.
A consultant hired by a company to choose where to build. EDCUtah markets Utah sites to them.
The investor page shows tiers, not dollar amounts.
The request is on file (Jan. 30, 2026). Whether it was in the final budget is not yet confirmed.
Confirmed: listed on EDCUtah's current board page and in Davis County's 2024 assignments.
Matched by location only. Parcel numbers for each site would settle it.
EDCUtah's site does not say. Legislators list outside employment on their conflict-of-interest forms, which are posted publicly.
The site page does not name an owner.