Marjette Upshur is a seasoned public servant with decades of experience in insurance, trust banking and telecommunications. Her high energy style and passion for people underpins her commitment to serving the City of Lynchburg. Marjette currently serves as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Lynchburg where she works alongside new and existing businesses to provide a bridge between the private sector and local government.
Marjette leads a team of nine economic development and tourism professionals to promote the City of Lynchburg as the best small city in America. She works closely with the City’s nearly 3,000 businesses and anchor institutions, including five colleges and universities and a major regional healthcare center, to retain and attract talent and investment. During her tenure, Marjette has secured major company expansions, new business locations and millions of dollars of new investment and job creation in the City.
During her tenure at the City of Lynchburg, Marjette has championed a number of public/private partnerships initiatives aimed at transforming traditional economic development into citizen focused economic empowerment. She has worked alongside state elected officials to create an arts and culture district in downtown Lynchburg, partnered with the White House National Economic Council to pave the way for Lynchburg’s designation as a nationally recognized TechHire Community.
Marjette is an alumna of Mary Baldwin College and a graduate of the NYU Creative Cities certification program. Marjette currently serves on the regional Workforce Investment Board, the board for the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and on the Virginia Community Capital Advocacy Council. She has also chaired the boards of CASA of Central Virginia, Rotary Club of Lynchburg and the United Way of Central Virginia. When Marjette is not on the clock, she can be found running the streets of Lynchburg in brightly colored tennis shoes.