Sara Lawrence
Ecosystem Development. Strategist. Implementer. Team Builder. Economic Development. Building Better Regions Community of Practice Lead.
- Role
- Senior Director, Solutions Optimization at RTI International
- Location
- Durham, NC, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Sara Lawrence
After nearly 25 years my passion for what I do grows. The field of economic development is ever changing and it requires a high-level of curiosity, commitment, and determination to problem solve. With a heightened sense of urgency for economic resilience and good jobs across cities and towns, paired with a renewed focus for national security and economic competitiveness in our country, I am enthusiastic about ways the economic development field can foster more broad based growth and opportunity.My experience across the U.S. and in 14 countries spanning 4 continents has provided me with one-of-a kind opportunities to partner with people in government, business, nonprofit, and education sectors to create and energize programs for job creation, entrepreneurship, industry diversification, and workforce development. I enjoy learning about the uniqueness of each community or country in which I work to understand the local priorities for change, culture in which development happens, and getting to know the incredible individuals committed to fostering thriving places for the people who live and work there. From a management perspective I love building and managing cross-disciplinary teams to problem solve in action oriented ways that deliver quality and timely solutions. The ingenuity that can result from great team work is almost as much fun as seeing great ideas turned into positive impacts for society. Areas of expertise include:Domestic & International Economic Growth | Policy Analysis & Development | Economic Development | Program Management | Clean Energy and Economic Development | Economic Development Evaluation & Strategy | Innovation Ecosystems | Entrepreneurship | Local, State & National Legislative Policy
Experience
Senior Director, Solutions Optimization
Sep 2025 — Present
Leading teams at the enterprise level to more intentionally connect staff with each other and to new opportunities through communities of practice; business development; and and digital and innovative solutions in our work-all in service to constantly enhance how we work and supercharge RTI\'s impact.
Education
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
MRP City and Regional Planning, Economic Development
1999 — 2001
The University of Georgia
BA, Political Science, French Minor, African American Studies
1992 — 1997
Skills
- Program Evaluation
- Low Carbon Development
- Proposal Writing
- Policy Analysis
- Management
- International Development
- Project Management
- Strategic Planning
- Analysis
- Program Management
- Entrepreneurship
- Grants
- Government
- Nonprofits
- Capacity Building
- Economic Development
- Policy
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