PITTSBORO — Alyssa Byrd has been named president of the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation.
EDC Board Chairman Doug Emmons announced the board’s selection at the organization’s Opportunity Chatham breakfast Friday at the Chatham County Ag Center in Pittsboro.
“This is the best job in the state,” Byrd said. “I get to help a community grow. I get to help people achieve their goal.”
Byrd has been in Chatham County for eight years. She joined the EDC as its communications specialist in 2011. After a brief time away, she was asked to return as director of communications and special projects.
When Kyle Touchstone, the former EDC president, announced his resignation last July for an opportunity in Texas, the EDC board named Byrd interim president.
Since that time, she has staffed the EDC as it concluded an arduous process to finalize new bylaws, the governing documents of the non-profit organization. The process had been a focus of the EDC for more than three years.
“Thank you for this opportunity to continue serving Chatham County,” Byrd told the Opportunity Chatham audience. “I look forward to being your partner in economic development.”
Byrd is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a double bachelors degree in journalism and political science. For the past eight years, Byrd’s life has been rooted in Chatham.
She met her husband, Justin, soon after she was hired at the EDC. He was the IT professional who came to set up her computer there when she was hired. Now the couple has two children, ages 3 and 4, and live in Pittsboro. Byrd voiced gratitude for the opportunity to build her life, family and a career based on successful partnerships.
“It is amazing,” Byrd said of living in Chatham County. “It’s such an incredible opportunity in one of the fastest growing areas. We are uniquely positioned to leverage that growth to our own benefit. I love the Chamber and the county and the town. I’ve been working with them for years,” Byrd said. “We have great working relationships. I’m excited to continue to grow and strengthen those relationships.”