Staff Directory

Ronnie Bryant, CEcD, FM, HLM
President & CEO

Ronnie Bryant leads the team that promotes the 16-county Charlotte USA region throughout the world as a premier location for businesses considering expansion or relocation. Additionally, he works closely with Partnership investors who provide the funding necessary to bring jobs and capital to the region. As a member of the North Carolina Economic Development Board and other professional and civic organizations, Bryant ensures that the region plays a prominent role regionally and nationally.

Bryant has more than 20 years of technical, managerial and economic development expertise, and a proven track record of establishing and implementing successful economic development programs. He specializes in existing industry expansion and retention, with a strong emphasis on regionalism and marketing.

 A certified economic developer (CEcD) since 1991, Bryant is a graduate of Louisiana State University in Shreveport and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma in Norman where he currently serves as dean.

David Swenson, CEcD
Senior Vice President, Economic Development Services

David Swenson serves as senior vice president of economic development services for the Charlotte Regional Partnership for which he executes business development initiatives.  Swenson joined the Partnership team in 2006 after working for 11 years in local and regional economic development and in site location consulting at Fluor Daniel Corporation.

Swenson works with both state and local economic development officials within the 16-county region.  He is engaged in international and domestic marketing and business development efforts with a strategic focus on the energy, defense, health & life sciences, and motorsports sectors.

Swenson holds an M.S. degree in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi and a B.S. degree in economic geography from the University of North Dakota. He is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and earned his CEcD in 2006.

Russell Rogerson
Senior Vice President, Economic Development Services

As senior vice president of economic development services, Russell Rogerson executes business development initiatives for the Charlotte Regional Partnership. He joined the Partnership in 2011 after 10 years of leading local economic development programs in Ohio and North Carolina that Site Selection magazine recognized as among the Top 10 micropolitan communities in the country. At the Partnership, Rogerson has a strategic emphasis on the energy, defense, finance, health & life sciences, and motorsports sectors, working closely with both state and local economic developers within the 16-county region.

Rogerson has more than 25 years of management, marketing, communications, operations and economic development experience. He is a former Foreign Trade Zone grantee and has implemented programs in project financing and technology commercialization.

Rogerson has served on boards and committees at the local, regional, state and national levels both in economic development and other sectors. He holds a B.A. degree in communications from Bethany College.

Vanessa Goeschl, CEcD
Vice President, Research

Vanessa Goeschl is responsible for managing economic and demographic data for the 16 counties within the Charlotte region, conducting custom research upon request and assisting with related economic development projects. She has previous experience as an economic development specialist with the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission in Waveland, Miss., and has worked for the USDA Rural Development State Office in Jackson, Miss., as a community development specialist. Goeschl joined the Partnership in 2003.

Goeschl holds a B.A. in international relations from Boston University and an M.S. in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned her CEcD in 2009.

Laura Foor
Project Manager and Foreign Trade Zone Administrator

Laura Foor holds a dual role at the Charlotte Regional Partnership. As project manager, she handles specialized economic development projects that enhance Charlotte USA’s competitiveness and promote the region domestically and internationally. As administrator of FTZ #57, Foor maintains required federal documentation, monitors the status and activities of companies approved for zone activity, markets the trade zone and coordinates educational outreach.

Prior to joining the Charlotte Regional Partnership in 2007 as marketing coordinator, Foor served for five years as existing business manager with Lincoln Economic Development Association, where she was responsible for Lincoln County’s business retention and expansion program.

Foor earned both M.P.A. and bachelor’s degrees from Western Carolina University and completed the Basic Economic Development Course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dianna Whisnant
Research Manager

Dianna Whisnant is responsible for conducting custom research upon request for internal and external stakeholders. She was previously a project manager with a commissioning firm in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Whisnant joined the Partnership in 2008. She holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia and an M.P.A. in economic development and comparative international affairs from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Melissa Hendrick
Chief Financial Officer

Melissa Hendrick is responsible for managing all of the accounting, budgeting, financial and operational aspects of the Charlotte Regional Partnership. She was the associate director of financial services in the Structured Settlements business unit at MassMutual Financial Group before joining the Partnership in 2007 as the director of finance and operations. With more than 20 years of experience in her field, she also previously served as fiscal officer for Mercer County Economic Development Corporation.

Hendrick is an honor graduate from Concord University in Athens, W.Va., from which she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with majors in both accounting and management.

Marianne Blankenship
Finance Assistant

Marianne Blankenship is responsible for accounts payable/accounts receivable, and investor relations tracking and support.

Blankenship joined the Charlotte Regional Partnership in 2010 after retiring from Kent State University, where she held the positions of coordinator of administration/business manager, divisional budget officer, and executive assistant within the division of University Relations and Marketing.

Gina Howard
Director of Communications and Public Relations

As director of communications and public relations, Gina Howard develops and implements communications strategies to increase awareness of the Charlotte Regional Partnership and of the Charlotte region as an ideal location to live and do business. In addition to responding to daily media inquiries, she maximizes opportunities for editorial exposure in all news outlets, including Web-based and print publications and an annual economic development guide. She has more than 20 years experience promoting international corporations and universities in both Carolinas, as well as extensive writing and editing credits.

Howard earned her B.A. from Duke University and a post-baccalaureate certificate in global studies and M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  A Leadership Charlotte graduate, Howard is actively involved in the community. She joined the Partnership in 2007.

Philip Ciccarello
Director of Information Technology

Philip Ciccarello is responsible for developing and managing information technology, including online marketing and social media strategy, to enhance the Charlotte Regional Partnership’s Web presence. Ciccarello also provides technical guidance to the economic developers in the 16-county Charlotte region.

Before joining the Partnership in 2007, Ciccarello was an independent information technology consultant. He gained industry expertise, with particular focus on government contracts, mid-small business technology solutions and independent projects. Ciccarello attended Lynchburg College and Central Virginia Community College, where he studied computer science and business administration.

Beth Petty
Director, Charlotte Regional Film Commission

Charlotte Regional Film Commissioner Beth Petty recruits feature and independent films, TV shows, commercials and still photography to the 16-county Charlotte region. She promotes Charlotte USA’s many regional assets, serves as a liaison between film production companies and the community, handles a myriad of production-related requests and catalogues regional locations. Among the projects Petty has recruited to the Charlotte region, where film and video production and distribution is a nearly half billion dollar industry, are “The Patriot,” “Shallow Hal,” “Talladega Nights” and “Leatherheads.”  
 
Prior to joining the Charlotte Regional Partnership in 1998, Petty taught dance and worked as a choreographer. She earned dance and film degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and currently serves as a member of the advisory boards of Central Piedmont Community College film program, the Art Institute of Charlotte and the Modern Film Fest.

Kathleen Byrne
Assistant, Charlotte Regional Film Commission

Film clients look to Kathleen Byrne to create custom digital location packages. Additionally, she is responsible for researching and photographing new locations for the Charlotte Regional Film Commission’s extensive digital location library. She also provides administrative support to the film commission’s director.

Byrne holds a B.F.A in filmmaking from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She produced four short films and a music video while at UNCSA and worked as an assistant production coordinator before joining the Charlotte Regional Film Commission in August 2006.

LaShonda Hart
Executive Assistant

As executive assistant to Charlotte Regional Partnership President & CEO Ronnie Bryant, LaShonda Hart is responsible for the daily operations of the President’s office. She also coordinates events and board activities.

Hart joined the Partnership in 2006 and has worked in business administration for more than a decade. She earned her B.A. in psychology from Belmont Abbey College in 2012.

Kathy S. Lazarides
Administrative Assistant
704-347-8029

As administrative assistant, Kathy Lazarides is responsible for coordinating and providing support for the Charlotte Regional Partnership community and investor relations activities, and assists in the daily operations of the office.

Lazarides, who attended UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College, has worked in the administrative and development field for the past 25 years. Before joining the Partnership in 2007, Lazarides worked at The Charlotte Museum of History, Sharon Towers and The Presbyterian Home at Charlotte.