Felicia Ainsa has been selected as REC's Director of Economic Development. Ainsa will focus on external and internal coalition building for the purpose of business retention and expansion; development and implementation of strategic business attraction efforts; and communication and outreach to, and participation with, local, regional and state economic development partners to achieve the goal of sustaining a healthy economy in the Cooperative's service area.
"This new, dedicated economic development position reflects REC's enhanced commitment to community and economic development," said David Koogler, REC's vice-president of member services and external affairs. "The Cooperative looks forward to proactively working with our local, regional, and state partners to grow local economies."
Ainsa is a business and economic development professional with over 15 years of experience serving in and around the metro-Richmond area. Since 2016, Ainsa served as the Business Development Manager for the Henrico Economic Development Authority.
In this role, she developed and sustained important relationships with Henrico business owners and the community. In addition, she helped to identify potential business retention and expansion projects and managed the strategic and operational plans, budget and staff for these efforts.
Just a few of Ainsa's career accomplishments include:
- Winning projects totaling $424M in capital investment, 1.8M SF of real estate, 4,295 new and retained jobs, and $269M in annual wages.
- Serving as project manager for 3 of the Top 15 Economic Development projects in Virginia in 2019.
- Receiving the 2018 Virginia Economic Development Authority Community Economic Development Award.
Ainsa earned a Bachelor's degree in International Law and Diplomacy from Brigham Young University. Felicia’s degree included minors in Business Management, Spanish Language and Latin American Area Studies. Felicia is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration with an expected graduation May 2021 from Old Dominion University.
