Chamber announces new staff members
Three new staff members have joined the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce over the past several weeks. Sandra Boswell, executive assistant, was hired following the retirement of long-time Chamber employee Patricia Newman. Katie Collins assumes a newly created role as the vice president of strategy and engagement, forming a Membership, Marketing, and Events division for the Chamber. And veteran public policy expert Calvin McRae has filled the Chamber’s director of government affairs position.
“Welcoming Sandra, Katie, and Calvin to our team not only brings us back to full capacity as a staff, but also further aligns our team with our strategic plan and our mission,” says Mark Owens, president and CEO. “They are each very talented in their fields and bring a lot of experience that will help the Chamber to grow and provide value to our members. I am extremely pleased to welcome each of them to the Chamber team, and to welcome Katie and Calvin to Winston-Salem.”
The new staff members will be on hand at a variety of upcoming events, notably the Candidate Forum and the Chamber’s 133rd annual meeting. Calvin is organizing an upcoming non-partisan Candidate Forum presented by the Chamber on Oct. 17. Katie is working with her division to facilitate the annual meeting on Oct. 24.
Below are snapshots of the new staff members.
Calvin McRae, director of government affairs
Calvin McRae has over 10 years of experience in policy and government, starting out on federal and state electoral races, and later as a project manager for nationwide policy initiatives at Washington, D.C. consulting firms. McRae has worked on diverse projects such as the fiduciary rule, healthcare, green energy, economic development, technology, and faith-based initiatives. McRae studied at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy and King University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a native of Charlotte, where he attended Charlotte Christian School.
Sandra Boswell, executive assistant
Sandra Boswell lives in Advance and is a native of the area. She has spent the last eight years at Wake Forest Baptist Health working in alumni development and supporting the CEO, CFO and director of nursing for the Health Network. Sandra also spent five years at Wake Forest University in athletics supporting the executive director of the Deacon Club. Prior to that, she worked for the Davie County Schools.
Katie Collins, vice president of strategy and engagement
Katie Collins has almost a decade of experience in Chamber work, starting out as an intern in Columbia, S.C. before joining the Greater Greer Chamber as director of marketing and events. There she helped develop the nationally award-wining workforce development program GreerMade, before being promoted to vice president of operations. Katie is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Organizational Management.
