EngenuitySC

Contact: George Fletcher, 803-760-1400 or gfletcher@newcarolina.org

 

 

Columbia, SC, July 24, 2012— New Carolina - South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness welcomes the addition of Laura Leventis McKinney as Deputy Director. A Columbia native, McKinney returns to South Carolina after 15 years in service to the U.S. government and U.S. business interests overseas. She brings her communication skills, economic development experience and consensus building to New Carolina as the organization moves forward to foster and grow new industry cluster initiatives across the State. 

 

“New Carolina has led some incredibly impressive developments both in business growth and education initiatives which I am excited to carry forward. This is a great time to be in South Carolina, and I am very proud to contribute to the betterment of my home state.” – Laura McKinney

McKinney began her professional career abroad as the founding Executive Director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Tallinn, Estonia. Building upon that experience, McKinney joined the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State in 1999. She served as a Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia and as the Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

 

In addition to her professional work, McKinney relocated a number of times in support of her husband Jim’s military career to Leavenworth, Kansas; Tirana, Albania; Honolulu, Hawaii; and most recently to Ljubljana, Slovenia where she again supported U.S. national interests working at the U.S. Embassy. McKinney is a graduate of AC Flora High School in Columbia and the University of Virginia in Slavic Languages and Literature. Laura and Jim reside in Columbia with their 5 wonderful children.

 

About New Carolina

New Carolina is a 501(c)3 public/private partnership working to enhance South Carolina’s

economic competitiveness through industry cluster development. For more information, visit

www.newcarolina.org.