Gem City Style: February 2026
An interview with Corey Cook, chief operating officer of the Erie Downtown Development Corporation
Corey Cook is a man in constant motion. He finds himself advising the Shapiro–Davis administration through his appointment to the Pennsylvania Council on Inclusive Procurement, revitalizing Downtown Erie, and authoring a roadmap for the next generation. If you ask him what powers this relentless drive – what keeps him moving between family life, the Erie Downtown Development Corporation (EDDC), and the state capitol - the answer is grounding.
"It starts at home," Cook says. "Everything else comes secondary."
You'll find him playing Nintendo Switch with his kids, always ensuring family time is protected – Cook's public life is anchored deeply in his private one. That devotion is the engine behind his latest venture, his book A Father and Mentor's Guide to Life After High School. The project was born not from a desire for commercial success, but from a father's protective instinct. Watching his children approach adulthood, Cook remembered his own entry into the "real world."
"I never wanted my kids to have a story where nobody told them how life works," Cook explains. He drew on a lesson learned during his 16-year career at UPS: "In the corporate world, if it's not written, it's not real."
So, he wrote it down. He created a "DREAM BIG" framework to serve as their guide, covering essential pillars like the importance of relationships, monetary success, building a career, and giving back. It is the manual he never had, written to ensure the youth of Erie don't have to guess their way to success.
His passion for lifting others up is evident in every role he takes on. To go from a young man in Erie (bringing hope and purpose to inner-city youth via his music mentoring program, Lifethrumusic, at the Downtown Y) to a leader advising the Shapiro-Davis administration is a testament to the resilience he preaches.
"You never know who you can be," Cook says. "I never dreamed that I would be doing some of the work that I'm doing now. It's a testament to belief in myself, support, and relationships."
Today, he applies that same fatherly care to the city. As a leader within the EDDC, seeing the completion of the Flagship City Commons isn't just about construction; it's about community identity. He is well aware of the noise – the social media comments and the narrative that opportunity doesn't exist here, often voiced by those who left long ago. For Cook, staying in Erie was a choice – a challenge accepted.
"Part of the reason why I chose to stay is to show that you can make it from Erie," he emphasizes. He points to the transformation of downtown – the 104 new apartments, the dozens of new businesses, and the millions in investment – as proof that the naysayers are looking at the past, not the future. "The idea of the food hall has always been that it's the community's dining room. It ties everything together."
His influence now extends beyond the city limits to Harrisburg, where he serves on a commission for inclusive procurement (i.e., a government purchasing approach that embraces equitability in the communities and the social and natural environments surrounding them), ensuring that Northwestern Pennsylvania isn't forgotten. But despite the high-level appointments and the transformation of city blocks, Cook's definition of success remains refreshingly personal.
"I've always been in the business of trying to impact lives in a positive way," he says. "If I can do that at scale, that's success."
For Corey Cook, the goal isn't just to build a better city, but to ensure that the people living in it – especially the young people wondering what is possible for them – know that their zip code doesn't define their ceiling.
"The sky is the limit," Cook says. It is a message he has written for his children, but one he is proving true for our entire city.
Gem City Style is a monthly column featuring an intimate Q&A with someone making a creative impact in Erie. If you or someone you know would make a good fit for a future Gem City Style, email jessica@eriereader.com
