Leslie R. Hamrick, A.C.E.; IOM
Project Director
Project Director Leslie Hamrick brings NCDS clients 18 years of executive leadership and fundraising experience in chambers of commerce in California, Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia. She is a 2001 graduate of the US Chamber Institute for Organizational Management- San Diego, and an Accredited Chamber Executive (ACE) through the Western Association of Chamber Executives, which also honored her with the 2000 William E. Hammond Scholarship Award. Her local chamber experience encompassed all aspects of community development, fundraising, organizational strategy, board and leadership development, as well as administrative and financial management.
Leslie’s latest NCDS project was for the North Myrtle Beach Chamber, a $2.5 million project for which she provided guidance in program development and implementing a feasibility Analysis.
She started her chamber career in a small Michigan community, then moved on to California where she served as CEO of the Tracy Chamber of Commerce. Here, she worked with community leaders to defeat a slow growth initiative and sharpened her skills in fundraising and financial management. Leslie was also a key player in the creation and fundraising for Tracy’s Grand Theatre for the Arts, raising $9 million for the project.
In 2002, Leslie moved to Greensboro, NC to become Vice President of Leadership Development for the Greensboro Chamber. Subsequent moves took her back to California where she served as CEO of the Santa Fe Springs Chamber, and then on to Atlanta where she was President of the South Fulton Chamber, which includes southwest Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
After 30+ years of marriage, a distinguished run in the chamber profession, and raising two sons, she and her husband began to pursue their shared love of sailing. Their saltwater adventures have taken them to the coastal waters of the Pacific, the Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic coastline, Florida Keys, Bahamas, and the US and British Virgin Islands.
Ms. Hamrick was born and raised in Toledo, OH, and attended the University of Toledo, majoring in business administration. Leslie and her husband live in Brunswick, GA where they enjoy coastal living and pursuing their passion for sailing.