Joseph Stefko, PhD

Joseph Stefko, PhD, is president and CEO of OneROC, Greater Rochester’s economic alliance established to accelerate regional development through coordinated growth, talent strategy, downtown revitalization and regional marketing. Through his leadership, OneROC’s more-than $30 million capacity-building plan has contributed to improvements in the region’s peer rank on a host of key metrics, including job growth and regional GDP expansion. Stefko played an instrumental role in helping the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region secure a federal Tech Hub designation and a first-in-the-nation implementation award for the NY SMART I-Corridor—of which UB is a major partner, and for which Stefko serves as regional innovation officer.

Previously, Stefko served as president and CEO of CGR, one of the nation’s longest operating nonprofit management consultancies that seeks to transform communities through strategic analysis, research, collaboration and data management. Prior to being named CEO, he was vice president and director of public finance.

From 2003-2008, Stefko was principal analyst, deputy director and acting executive director for the emergency fiscal control board appointed by New York State to monitor the finances of the City of Buffalo and Buffalo Public Schools. In this capacity, he provided budgetary oversight and strategic management assistance for an annual portfolio of more than $1 billion. During his tenure, the board’s guidance contributed to more than $230 million in savings, a quadrupling of reserves and five credit rating upgrades.

Stefko has served as president of the UB Alumni Association Board of Directors, representing 300,000 alumni in more than 150 countries. He has also served as chair of the Partnership for Downtown Rochester and has been a member of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Genesee Valley Club’s Board of Governors and the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s ACT Rochester Advisory Committee.

Stefko is a “Forty Under 40” award winner from both Buffalo Business First (2005) and Rochester Business Journal (2014). He was named to the Rochester Business Journal’s Power 100 list (2023-2025) as well as City and State NY’s Upstate Power 100 list (2024). In 2016, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UB Alumni Association.

Stefko holds BA, MA and PhD degrees in political science from UB.