Staff Report
Published July 31, 2012

New Carolina: South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness has appointed Laura Leventis McKinney as deputy director.

Laura Leventis McKinney

The Columbia native has worked for 15 years in U.S. government and business overseas.

McKinney began her work abroad as the founding executive director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Tallinn, Estonia. She joined the foreign service of the U.S. Department of State in 1999. She has served as a public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, and as the vice consul at the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver, British Columbia.

McKinney also relocated a number of times in support of her husband’s military career. Most recently, McKinney lived in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where she supported U.S. national interests working at the U.S. Embassy.

McKinney is a graduate of the University of Virginia in Slavic languages and literature.

New Carolina is a 501(c)3 public-private partnership working to improve South Carolina’s economic competitiveness through industry cluster development.