Sam Powers, Cecd, Hlm Email & Phone Number

Sam Powers has an extensive background of public service, assisting organizations in realizing community and economic development opportunities for over 40 years. He is a consultant and advisor to Econ Dev organizations. Powers served as the City of Asheville’s Director of Community and Economic Development for 16 years prior to retiring in April 2021. After retirement, he served as Interim Executive Director of the Transylvania Economic Alliance in Brevard, NC during a transition between Directors of the Alliance. Prior to joining the City of Asheville, Powers served as Vice President of Industrial Marketing for AdvantageWest NC, a regional partnership serving 23 counties in western North Carolina, and as Economic Developer for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. He also held economic development and city/county management positions in Southwestern Virginia. His work as a Circuit-Riding Town Manager was featured on the CBS Morning News with Charles Kuralt.Powers is a graduate of Appalachian State University and studied on the graduate level at Appalachian and Virginia Tech. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council, and is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. Powers was selected as North Carolina's Economic Developer of the Year in 2012 for his work in the profession. Powers is active in numerous professional, civic, and community organizations in Asheville and western North Carolina. He is a Past President of the Appalachian State University Alumni Association, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Appalachian State University Foundation where he serves on and as a past Chair of the Foundation Property Management Committee. Powers is a Past Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Honorary Life Member (HLM) of the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), the largest regional economic development association representing 1000 economic development professionals from Texas to Maryland.

Listed skills include Economic Development, Community Development, Sustainability, Public Administration, and 14 others.