I oversee the day-to-day operations of the Business Recruitment team at the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. I work closely with the VP of Business Recruitment and Development and collaborate with our team on items related to project activity and management, unit administration, and strategic planning.

Serve as a leader in attracting businesses to North Carolina through identifying, cultivating, and managing corporate recruitment prospects/projects involving U.S. and foreign automotive-related manufacturing companies considering new operations in the U.S./NC market. Serve as NC’s Subject Matter Expert on trends within the automotive industry and understand NC’s supply chain. Collaborate with colleagues to meet organizational priorities and collaborate with internal/external economic development allies to develop comprehensive responses to RFP’s, site visit agendas, and other various client requests/project requirements.

Serve as a leader in attracting businesses to North Carolina. Manage statewide business recruitment projects. Collaborate with internal/external economic development allies to develop comprehensive and meaningful agendas for client visitsProject Management• Work directly with client’s internal representatives or a professional site selection consultant to manage all stages of a business recruitment project, from initial interest in NC to final location decision;• Design comprehensive responses to requests for information and address all aspects of a potential project;• Develop comprehensive state and local proposal outlining potential incentives, tax benefits, etc. in partnership with the NC Department of Commerce and local economic developers;• Identify real estate options• Evaluate labor and supplier availability• Serve as the point of contact for the state of North Carolina, making introductions to state and community officials as needed to meet prospect needs;• Facilitate and host client visits to the state to evaluate project location opportunities. Visits may include interaction among C-level company executives and senior state officialsRelationship Management• Encourage development of strong networks with partners and site location consultants;• Promote the state’s business opportunities to site location consultants and corporate decision makers through marketing events, conferences/forums and one-on-one meetings;• Participate in cooperative marketing trips with local economic developers in order to promote NC’s regions to site location consultants.Regional Community Partner Liaison• Serve as a state-level point of contact for local economic developers in their pursuit of new business opportunities;• Participate in locally hosted meetings with prospects;• Serve as education resource regarding state incentives and other state support for projects generated at the local level.

Researcher that provided timely, accurate and actionable data for use in business recruitment and expansion projects and proactive business development efforts.• Lead researcher for providing economic information on trends and data requests for the Business Recruitment team and assisting local partners respond to research requests• Conducted competitive analysis for North Carolina versus competing locations as it relates to workforce, taxes, incentives, markets, infrastructure, and other economic development benchmarks• Certified Sites Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Certified Sites Program, the #6 ranked Certified Sites Program by Area Development Magazine: Worked with communities considering certification and provide recommendations to the 6- member steering committee about certifying sites. Presented at NCEDA networking luncheon in Spring 2016 on certified sites.• Worked with VP of Business Recruitment to write incentives brochure• Maintained Community Investment Report (CIR) database and have entered more than 300 announcements, which is 32% of all CIR announcements• Led the recruitment, interviewing and onboarding of three interns since Spring 2017• Monitored the General Assembly for new laws that impact economic development efforts

Researcher that responded to requests for information from economic development prospects by working with the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Research, the Business Development staff members, and 15-member counties for business development efforts. • Provided research and marketing materials for international mission trips to Austria, Italy, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland, and trade shows, including: National Business Aviation Convention, PowerGen International, Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference, Craft Brewers Conference• Conducted proactive research for presentations with site selection consultants in Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, Greenville, and Atlanta. Provided comparisons of the Charlotte USA area versus other competitor markets.• Developed and edited marketing collateral with Adobe InDesign and Illustrator, including the Business Location Profile, and 2-page cluster sheets for targeted sectors, including Aerospace, Biomedical, Automotive, Energy, Financial, Logistics, Headquarters, Back office/Shared Services, and International Companies• Maintained subscriptions and contracts for research databases by working with Senior VP of Marketing & Research• Hosted quarterly Regional Research Roundtable and scheduled guest speakers for 15-20 attendees • Developed, compiled, and evaluated economic and demographic information from appropriate sources to respond to research requests• Managed and recruited 3 research and marketing interns for spring and summer

Provided research, building and sites assistance, and the development of reports, presentations, and proposals to WCED staff, municipalities, prospects, private investors, and Chamber staff.• Collaborated with the Director of Business Recruitment and Expansion and Research Manager to provide research for more than 200 RFIs and research requests. Focused research on targeted industry sectors, including: Biotechnology, Clean Energy and Smart Grid, Defense Tech., Software/IT, Talent Attraction, and Manufacturing. • Lead staff for Executive Pulse, the CRM system WCED used to capture new and expanding announcements, track project activity, site visits, existing industry visits, and developed a form to report private investor engagement and track research requests. Provided analysis and trend information to WCED Executive Director for pertinent financial and investor relations. • Started an economic development municipality highlight of all 12 Wake County municipalities focusing on their unique economic development assets, including key companies and competitive advantages• Lead @RaleighWake twitter account to become the fifth most followed economic development organization in the U.S. and increased followers by more than 129% to 8,244.

Worked on strategic communication in the Chancellor’s Office, advocating at the General Assembly and Congress, and developing a strategy for achieving the University’s priorities• Oversaw the interim legislative strategy for securing $2 million in recurring funding in 2012-13 for the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN). • Developed messages, presentations, and speeches for the Chancellor and Director of Strategic Initiatives to the General Assembly, Congressional staff, UNC Board of Governors, and UNCG Board of Trustees.• Created and managed a monthly iContact newsletter sent to over 100 legislators, their staff, Board of Trustees, and Executive Staff of UNCG that included important articles of university success.

Researched and wrote memos on Education/Higher Education and Economic Development for the General Counsel and Senate Majority Leader Martin Nesbitt

Handled research requests, managed marketing projects, and delivered building and site assistance with strict deadlines for the 13 county economic development agency, counties, and other municipalities • Lead marketing research for business recruitment trips to more than 50 companies, including to California, New Jersey, and New York. Edited, researched, and created marketing materials for county economic developers to introduce business executives to North Carolina’s Business Climate. • Lead the transition and overhaul of NCER’s website by updating and producing content, including data, news, and resources about its 13 counties and critical industry clusters.