GEORGETOWN COUNTY – Tiffany Harrison, a Columbia native with more than 20 years of diverse economic development experience, has been selected as the new director of Georgetown County’s Economic Development Department. Her first day on the job will be Jan. 3.
Harrison served as deputy director of Richland County Economic Development for the last five years and also has experience working in economic development at the state level.
She used to work for the Department of Commerce, which is a strong partner of economic development across the state,” said Angela Christian, Georgetown County Administrator. “She has been an Alliance director, she has been in economic development in a smaller county, but probably most importantly, she has a passion for economic development and has very clear goals and objectives that she wants to capture. She has been actively involved in some Public-Private Partnerships, which we have not done here as extensively, but are very interested in doing more of.”
Harrison also has a personal interest in Georgetown County. She said she fell in love with the area years ago and purchased a home here in 2017.
“I always planned to move here and make this my permanent home. It’s just happening a little earlier than I expected,” Harrison said. “Georgetown is a county with enormous potential, and one that I believe has all the ingredients to succeed. I’m looking forward to building on the strong foundation that has already been created over the past few years. I’m looking forward to working with the community to really understand what’s important to Georgetown County and all the assets that we have here that make it special; to build on the strengths and really move this county forward.”
In her first 30 days on the job, Harrision said she plans to meet with community leaders and stakeholders to begin that process and determine the next steps forward. She describes herself as “collaborative” and “results-driven.”
In Richland County, Harrison was directly responsible for receiving $2.85 million in competitive grant funds for product development activities. She managed and allocated the department’s $1.8 million budget and led the department’s effort to create meaningful incentives for high-tech, high growth companies. She collaborated with stakeholders to create an incentive program to encourage commercial development and was lead project manager for two of the most impactful projects announced by Richland County in the last five years.
Prior to joining Richland County, Harrison was executive director for Midlands Education and Business Alliance for one year. She was Director of Economic Development in Fairfield County (which has a population of about 22,000) for nine years. She started her career with the S.C. Department of Commerce, where she advanced from an entry-level position to a program director position in under three years. She is a graduate of Columbia College and has completed multiple courses offered through the International Economic Development Council. She is also a certified S.C. Economic Developer.
Harrison replaces Brian Tucker, who led Georgetown County Economic Development for seven years before resigning in August to become Assistant City Manager for the City of Myrtle Beach.
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