RALEIGH - Samantha Cole has been named the first Child Care Business Liaison at the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders announced. Cole brings nearly a decade of experience in economic development and government to the newly created position.

Announced in December of 2023 as a grant-funded position at Commerce with support from NC Department of Health and Human Services and Invest Early NC, the Child Care Business Liaison role was created under the state’s economic development plan as a means of addressing the insufficient supply of high quality and affordable childcare in North Carolina. In this capacity, Cole will work with businesses, local communities, and philanthropic organizations to develop strategies and resources to help employers provide childcare support to their employees.

Prior to joining Commerce, Cole served as the Director of Workforce Partnerships at the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, where she spearheaded workforce development initiatives to strengthen the region’s talent pipeline, and built strategic partnerships among local stakeholders to expand access to economic opportunity. She also brings experience working in state government, having served as Deputy Press Secretary in the Office of Governor Roy Cooper and at the North Carolina Department of Justice.

Cole holds a bachelor’s degree from Hollins University, and a master’s from the University of Georgia. She volunteers as a Guardian ad Litem in the North Carolina court system and is an active board member of the Child Care Center at First Presbyterian Church.

Cole assumed her new position as Child Care Business Liaison on April 2. 

Source: NC Department of Commerce