Merike Treier serves as Executive Director for the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc, leading her team to support a dynamic, vibrant downtown, and to promote future growth, through economic development and revitalization initiatives, marketing and events, security, and environmental maintenance. She started at the Downtown Committee in 2004 and was promoted to executive director in 2011.
Merike also serves as the president of the Downtown Syracuse Foundation, Inc., and as a passionate advocate for our community, she currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Gifford Foundation. She has previously served on the Boards of Housing Visions Unlimited, New York State Urban Council, Onondaga Citizens League, the Onondaga County Public Library, CNY Arts, and was a founding member of Adapt CNY, Inc.
Merike has held appointed positions on the City of Syracuse Women’s Commission and Governor’s Young Leaders Congress. She is a Leadership Greater Syracuse Graduate (2007), a recipient of the CNYBiz Events 40 Under 40 Award (2008), and has been honored by Catholic Charities of Onondaga County with its Mover & Shaker Award (2017). A native of Rochester, Merike received a B.A. in Geography, with minors in Geology and Environmental Studies from the State University of New York at Geneseo and received an M.A. in Geography with a concentration in Urban Planning from Binghamton University. She and her husband, Adam, are the proud parents of two boys, Henri and Lukas.