ELLSWORTH – The Pierce County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) welcomes Lauren Highfill as its new Executive Director.

Highfill comes to the EDC from the city of West Concord, Minn. where she served as the City Clerk and Treasurer. During that time, she closely worked with community members, businesses, and city leaders to help maximize strategies and eliminate barriers to economic growth. Highfill previously spent time in New Orleans, La. working with the Red Cross, supporting disaster recovery efforts, and working for a private company doing project management work and legal research.

“Lauren’s broad experience in supporting and developing strong relationships is a vital part of the EDC activities,” stated Nate Boettcher, EDC board chair.

Highfill comes to the EDC at a transition point with the retirement announcement of current EDC Executive Director Joe Folsom, who has been instrumental in leading the EDC over the past seven years. During his time, Folsom helped support many countywide initiatives including broadband coverage and the expansion of tourism. He worked with several area businesses on succession plans and most recently led the formation of a housing cooperative chartered with developing more workforce housing. Folsom will begin his transition over the next couple of months into full retirement but will continue to be an advocate for rural development programs. Highfill will join the EDC on Sept. 3.

“Being a part of the community, supporting our existing businesses, and looking for new opportunities to grow our county is an exciting challenge for me personally and professionally,” Highfill said.

Pierce County is one of the fastest growing counties in Wisconsin.

Boettcher added, “With Lauren joining the EDC, we have a great opportunity to not only make Pierce County a great place to live and visit, but we will be getting the right tools and processes in place to encourage more business growth in our region which will provide more services to our residents and add high quality paying jobs.”

Businesses and individuals wanting to learn more about the EDC can visit the EDC’s website at http://www.pcedc.com.

Submitted by Pierce County EDC