Economic Development Council names Perlis Communications Manager
The Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County announced that Maureen Saltzer will retire July 3 after nearly 20 years of service to the organization, and Wicker Perlis joined the EDC June 22 as marketing and communications manager.
Saltzer moved to St. Lucie County in 1996 to become publisher of The Tribune for Freedom Communications. In 1999, as incoming volunteer chair of the St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce, she joined other community leaders in efforts to separate the county’s economic development function from the chamber, leading to the creation of the EDC.
In early 2000, after Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers purchased The Tribune, Saltzer left to run Freedom’s Eastern North Carolina publications. She later served as vice president of Freedom’s Pacific Division Community Newspapers.
Saltzer returned to the Treasure Coast in 2005 and held advocacy and communications roles with several organizations. During the next 15 years, she served the EDC in volunteer and paid consulting roles before joining the organization as communications and outreach director in June 2021.
“With the post-COVID economic growth and the extraordinary success the EDC was experiencing in new business attraction, 2021 was exactly the right time to add a communications position to the team, and I was thrilled to accept the position,” Saltzer said. “It’s always been important to me that the work I do have meaning beyond a paycheck. The years I’ve spent assisting the EDC and our governmental and community partners in bringing good-paying jobs to St. Lucie County certainly qualifies.”
During the past five years, Saltzer expanded the EDC’s communications portfolio and reach. Her work has been recognized with statewide and international awards for website and marketing innovation.
Perlis served as the St. Lucie County watchdog reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers from September 2023 through June 2026, covering growth, development and government in St. Lucie County. He previously covered state government for The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, and for the Columbia Missourian.
Perlis graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and an emphasis on print and digital news. He received a White House Correspondents’ Association scholarship and is a James Beard Media Awards finalist.
“We’ve been very impressed with Wicker’s reporting since he began work for Treasure Coast Newspapers,” Saltzer said. “Not only is his writing clear, concise and accurate, he has demonstrated significant insight into aspects of highly complex issues that many others miss or misconstrue. Wicker’s ability to quickly identify, break down and communicate relevant information about complicated issues will be of great value to the EDC and to the St. Lucie County community that the EDC serves.”
“I am thrilled to be joining the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County,” Perlis said. “Since moving to the Treasure Coast with my wife three years ago, I have grown familiar with the work of the EDC from afar, and I could not be more excited to join the team and advance the mission of attracting good, high-paying jobs for the people of St. Lucie County. I am grateful to Wes McCurry, Maureen Saltzer and everyone at the EDC for giving me this opportunity to continue doing what I love most: helping serve my community. Maureen’s knowledge and advocacy will be missed at the EDC and across St. Lucie County, and I am honored to succeed her in this position.”
About the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County
The Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting economic vitality in St. Lucie County through the attraction, retention and expansion of businesses in the community. The EDC works in partnership with local governments and the private sector to advance its goals of creating more and better-paying jobs for residents, broadening the tax base and improving St. Lucie County’s economic quality of life. Contact the EDC at 772-324-2014, contact@youredc.com or www.youredc.com.
Treasure Coast Business is a news service and magazine published in print, via e-newsletter and online at tcbusiness.com by Indian River Media Group. For more information or to report news email news@indianrivermedia.com.