Liz Isley
About
Liz Isley leads business operations and strategic initiatives for the Economic Development Division at the North Carolina Community College System, helping advance statewide strategies that strengthen North Carolina's workforce and entrepreneurial ecosystem. She works across the division's programs—including the Small Business Center Network, ApprenticeshipNC, BioNetwork, and NCEdge Customized Training—to advance business growth, workforce development, and economic opportunity throughout the state.
With nearly two decades of experience spanning economic development, international trade, entrepreneurship, and workforce initiatives, Liz has built a career around developing programs, building strategic partnerships, and creating opportunities that help businesses grow. While with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, she played a key role in establishing North Carolina's State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), led the North Carolina Furniture Export Office, and worked alongside companies across the state to expand into international markets. She later joined Mesur.io (now TradeVerified), where she led international trade and strategic partnership initiatives that helped the company secure a National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator award and gain recognition as a World Economic Forum UpLink Top Innovator for its work advancing global supply chain transparency and traceability.
Liz earned a Master of Public Administration from East Carolina University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Business from Radford University. She has served on the Appalachian Regional Commission's Export Trade Advisory Council and the Board of Directors of the High Point Market Authority, contributing her expertise to initiatives that strengthen North Carolina's economic competitiveness and expand opportunities for businesses across the state.
Liz brings expertise in strategic planning, program development, global business, and cross-sector partnerships to the SBCN Startup Showdown leadership team.