Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council names new executive director

Erin Burcham, the Roanoke Regional Partnership’s director of talent solutions, is leaving the economic development group to become executive director of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council.

The tech council noted Burcham’s experience in talent and workforce development.

About a year ago, the tech council started working with the Valleys Innovation Council and the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program to form an Alliance called Verge. Collectively, the groups focus on growing the region’s innovation economy.

Burcham has been with the Roanoke Regional Partnership since November 2017, serving as director of talent solutions. She previously worked as marketing and program coordinator at Virginia Tech Roanoke Center and as event planner for Roanoke’s EventZone.

A University of South Carolina graduate, Burcham earned her master’s degree in leadership studies with a focus on economic development from Virginia Tech.

“[Burcham] is a respected leader and a natural collaborator with deep connections across the region within the technology business sector, higher education and local governments,” Verge Executive Director and CEO Greg Feldmann said in a statement.

Burcham also serves on the Radford University Presidential Task Force for Experiential Learning and is an adviser for the Virginia Tech Foundation GO Virginia Biotech Innovation Infrastructure project.