GUILDERLAND — The chamber of commerce here is looking for a new leader. Erika Gauthier, who has been its president for two years and worked with membership for four years before that, has accepted a job with Progressive Insurance.
“I got my MBA last year and want to get out of my comfort zone,” said Gautheir. Working for a big company, she said, will allow her to work her way up. Her new job is in the medical department, investigating claims.

Her last day at the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce will be Friday, Feb. 19.

The office will be managed by Briana Lampman, membership associate, who began work at the chamber six weeks ago. “She’ll answer the phone,” said Steven Wacksman, the chairman of the chamber’s board of directors. “The chamber is going to remain open; all events will go on.”

Board members will assume various duties over the next several months, Wacksman said, until a new president is hired. The salary will be in the “mid-forties,” said Wacksman, whose wife, Katherine Burbank, was the chamber president before Gauthier.

“We’re looking for someone to work strongly with local businesses and build a partnership with the town,” said Wacksman. “We’re looking for the face of the chamber.”

“We appreciate Erica’s tenure at the chamber. We’ll continue getting stronger,” said Wacksman.

Gauthier said one of the challenges the new president will face is time management. “You’re constantly planning events,” she said. “I had a five-month-old and was in grad school,” she said, when she became president. She earned her master’s degree in business administration from Excelsior College.

The biggest struggle, she said, has been “growing membership.” Three or four years ago, she said, the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce had 500 members; many joined in order to get affordable health care.

Once the Affordable Care Act took effect, chamber membership plummeted, she said. Membership is stable now at about 350, she said. “We had a grant to help individuals and families with the Affordable Care Act. Businesses were really blindsided.”

One of the things Gauthier is proudest of during her presidency is surveying members — “we did market research, starting in November 2014,” she said — to develop a strategic plan. “We talked to members about concerns and worries,” she said. “They wanted us to focus on local business.”

This led to the development of the “Guilderlocal” campaign and on “cash mobs,” similar to flash mobs, where a local business is targeted for a rush of customers.

Gauthier is also pleased with the chamber’s current finances. “Even though the membership has dropped, we’ve managed to build a fund balance for the first time in years,” she said.

The chamber is financed by its fundraising events and by member dues. A business with one to 10 employees pays $250 annually; dues increase incrementally with the number of workers.