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The NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub and the ReGen Valley Tech Hub located in the Manchester-Nashua region of New Hampshire were recently chosen by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) as two of the 12 designated tech hubs around the country. 

Both regions also fall within the footprint of Buffalo Niagara Partnership member M&T Bank, which played a vital role in helping to bring together technology, political, academic and community leaders. 

Together, these regions will receive a combined total of approximately $84 million in grants ($40 in Western New York and $44 in New Hampshire) that will be used to: 

• Scale up the production and delivery of critical technologies 

• Create high-paying jobs and develop training programs 

• Accelerate the growth of future industries across the U.S. 

• Strengthen the country’s economic competitiveness and national security 

Buffalo Niagara Partnership President & CEO Dottie Gallagher recently represented the tech hubs at CommunityLIVE, an M&T Bank forum where it shares the work it’s doing and the impact it’s making in the community. 

Buffalo Niagara Partnership President & CEO Dottie Gallagher, second from the left, was a guest on M&T Bank's CommunityLive forum on July 23 at SenecaOne.

Hosted on July 23 at SenecaOne by M&T Bank Chief Information Officer Mike Wisler, their discussion about the tech hub and what it means for each region moving forward was broadcast live to more than 22,000 of the bank’s employees. 

Gallagher was joined as a guest panelist by M&T Bank’s Lisa Ceglia (Government Relations Manager), Dan Burns (Regional President, Rochester & Syracuse Area Executive) and Tim Wade (Regional President, New England). 

Gallagher spoke about how the BNP, OneRoc President & CEO Joe Stefko and CenterState CEO President Rob Simpson were valuable partners throughout the collaborative process. 

Wisler and M&T Bank CEO Rene Jones were also instrumental in accomplishing the mission of uniting the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse communities to work together instead of competing against each other for the federal funds.

"M&T's leadership in the Tech Hub collaboration has been pivotal,” Gallagher says. “Their efforts significantly supported and encouraged regional collaboration. We firmly believe that if Buffalo, Rochester or Syracuse had applied individually, we would not have secured the designation or the funding. We are deeply grateful for M&T's financial support, which propelled our application forward, and are even more appreciative of their executive leadership in uniting regional leaders."