Lackawanna County commissioners recently tapped Thomas Carlucci of Moosic to serve as the county’s next economic development director, filling a vacancy former Director Kristen Magnotta created when she left in January for a job outside county government.
Carlucci, who hopes to support and bolster the local business community and attract new investments in the county, will earn an annual salary of $75,000 in the economic development post. The new director is “honored to step into the role” he assumed March 2, he said in a county press release announcing the hiring.
“This is home for me, and I care deeply about seeing our communities grow and succeed,” Carlucci said. “Throughout my career, I’ve worked in public policy, education reform, and nonprofit leadership building partnerships, launching initiatives like Coffee Inclusive, and mobilizing stakeholders at the state level with American Petroleum Institute (API) to support complex policy and economic issues. I look forward to working with local leaders, business owners, and regional partners to strengthen our downtowns, support existing businesses, and attract new investment. My goal is simple: create opportunity, keep communication clear, and help move Lackawanna County forward.”
A Penn State graduate with a degree in education and public policy, Carlucci began his career in 2012 as an education-reform advocate, working in a community organizing capacity for the organizations Education Reform Now and Families for Excellent Schools. He’s also the founder and former CEO of the local nonprofit Education Enlightenment in Lackawanna County, which was active from about 2016 to 2019, and a former member of the Fell Charter School board of trustees.
From 2018 to 2020 and from 2023 to earlier this year, Carlucci worked for the nonprofit PA Inclusive, an organization supporting individuals with intellectual and other disabilities, according to the county. In that capacity he was involved in launching Coffee Inclusive, a Pittston coffee shop and subsidiary of PA Inclusive that trains and employs “individuals with diverse abilities and autism,” per its website.
Carlucci also worked as state mobilization manager for the American Petroleum Institute, a national oil and natural gas trade association, from 2021 to 2023, the county press release notes.
Commissioners Thom Welby, Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak all signed off on his hiring and touted the new director in the release, with the latter calling him a “great fit with his diverse background, education, and community involvement.”
“His contacts will be invaluable in opening-up our programs to business owners and our local elected officials and stakeholders,” Chermak said. “He will be a great asset for us and the county at large.”
Gaughan said he thinks Carlucci will “make a good fit and provide a fresh perspective on economic development,” while Welby called him a “bright individual” who brings a wide variety of experience that “will improve an already strong economic development office.”
Magnotta, whom Carlucci replaces, had run that office for almost two years when she departed in January for a job with Comcast.
“I’m excited to be a part of a department that seems to have the foresight and the ability to keep Lackawanna County moving forward,” Carlucci said Monday in a phone interview. “I’m always looking at … what is this county going to look like in 10 or 15 or even 20 years from now? And how do we make sure that we connect those relationships to ensure that the development is here for that time?”