Jamie Gillespie

Jamie Gillespie joined the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in 2023 and currently serves as the Business Investment Manager for the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance. Gillespie is responsible for marketing IALR and Southern Virginia for business recruitment and existing business expansion. Working with local partners to coordinate projects, she performs a variety of economic development duties related to industrial business attraction and retention. Gillespie has nine years of experience in economic development. Before joining IALR, she worked as Director of Economic Development for the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance and also helped launch the Spark Innovation Center, a business start-up and makerspace in the Town of Altavista. Gillespie attended Central Virginia Community College and is currently pursuing her economic development certification from the International Economic Development Council. She currently serves as a member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association’s Board of Directors.