Outreach and International Affairs
sharing the best of Virginia Tech by working side by side with communities throughout the world

Whitney Bonham came to the Office of Economic Development (OED) in the spring of 2009 following a year as a management fellow with the City of Savannah, Georgia.  She worked for the Assistant City Manager for Public Development on a variety of issues including entrepreneurship, industrial analysis, and labor market analysis. Whitney graduated from Virginia Tech in 2008 with a master’s degree in public administration and a graduate certificate in economic development.

As an Economic Development Specialist, Whitney’s work includes design, development, and implementation of applied research and technical assistance projects to service the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Whitney’s areas of interest include industry and occupational analysis, regional development, fiscal and operational analysis of public infrastructure service systems, and policy analysis.

OED Interim Director John Provo describes Whitney as a constant and determined contributor to OED, willing to boldly juggle large challenges.  Her dogged persona was on display when she led our writing efforts on the recent successful $4.7 million US Department of Labor grant focused on health IT and the $1.5 million US Economic Development Administration grant assisting transportation manufacturing firms. Not only did she have to articulate the role of our office and other Virginia Tech partners, but she had to incorporate and manage input from more than a dozen external partners.

Whitney is an important part of the success of Outreach and International Affairs. Delivering results for Virginia Tech partners, and the companies, communities and agencies OED works with across the state, she’s building relationships and trust in the value of what Outreach has to offer.