Stuart Clason

Stuart Clason is the Regional Growth Director for the Utah Regional Growth Association (UTRGA), a newly formed 501(c)(4) that focuses on driving private capital into underserved regions in the state. Clason works with public and private partners to advance regional policy initiatives focused on improving the economic conditions in targeted regions. The UTRGA was formed from a program that was launched at the Utah Association of Counties in 2019.

Previously, Clason worked as the Associate Department Director for Salt Lake County’s Department of Regional Transportation, Housing, and Economic Development. During his time at Salt Lake County, Clason focused on the international connectivity of the regional metro by modernizing the existing economic development policy tools and establishing innovative initiatives that improved regional economic development efforts. Prior to his time at the County, Clason worked at the Governor’s Office of Energy Development, where he was the statewide expert on conventional energy development. Clason holds a Master’s Degree in Economic Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Clason and the Utah Regional Growth Association are currently collaborating with the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments to identify strategic growth opportunities for Carbon and Emery Counties. Through this role, Clason is a member of NACo’s Building Resilient Economies on Coal Communities (BRECC) Coalition, a peer learning network for leaders serving coal-impacted regions.