HIGH POINT, N.C. (May. 7, 2021) – High Point Interim City Manager Randy McCaslin announced today that Sandra Vernon Dunbeck has been named Economic Development Director. She has been acting interim director since January and will assume her new title on May 9, 2021.
“I am honored by this selection and look forward to continuing to serve the people of the City of High Point, Guilford County, the Carolina Core and State of North Carolina by helping new and existing companies create jobs and investment,” said Dunbeck. “High Point continues to reach new heights, and I am thrilled to do my part to help people and companies ‘make it here.”
Dunbeck has been a leader in High Point Economic Development for 15 years and was North Carolina’s “Economic Developer of the Year.” She works closely with High Point office, industrial and retail clients. Her leading office and industrial projects include DC BLOX, Amada, Amazon, HAECO, Ralph Lauren Corporation, Thomas Built Buses and Honda Jet. Recent High Point wins include Hot Shots Distributing Inc and Puroast Coffee. Her retail recruitment work includes Publix, Brown Truck Brewery, Pandora’s Manor and more.
Most recently, Dunbeck has led the High Point Opportunity Zone work and is a team member of the Small Scale Manufacturing Initiative. In addition, she serves as the 2021 Director of the Guilford County Economic Development Alliance, a partnership for Economic Development between Guilford County, the City of High Point, City of Greensboro, High Point Economic Development and the Greensboro Chamber.
Prior to joining High Point Economic Development, Dunbeck worked in economic development for Greensboro and Rockingham County, N.C. Before her economic development career, she worked for the State of North Carolina Employment Security Commission.
Dunbeck has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Virginia Tech and is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. She received scholarships from the North Carolina Economic Developers Association to attend Basic Economic Development and the Economic Development Institute.