Managing Director of Business Services, Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity
Ryan Starks is the managing director of business services at the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah). He oversees the office’s small-business and rural development initiatives. The business services team includes the following initiatives: Center for Rural Development, International Trade and Diplomacy, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Utah Broadband Center, Utah Immigration Assistance Center, Utah Innovation Center, and the state's federal Opportunity Zones program.
Before joining Go Utah, Starks was the economic development director in Wasatch County and the Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Office executive director. He previously worked in the UGovernor’s Office of Management and Budget and the Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C. Starks also works as an adjunct professor of management in the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University.
His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University and a master’s degree in public administration from the Romney Institute of Public Management at Brigham Young University.
Starks and his wife have four children and live in South Jordan, Utah. He enjoys hiking, mountain biking, paddleboarding, and spending time with his family and friends.
