Willard promoted to lead Loveland’s economic development 

LOVELAND — Although the City of Loveland conducted a national search to find a new director of economic development after Kelly Jones-Sage resigned in February, it concluded that the right person for the job was in house all the time.

Marcie Willard, who has served as acting director ever since Jones-Sage left the position after seven years, citing the shifting political winds in the city, will drop the “acting” from her title and fill the director’s role for real as of Nov. 4.

“Economic vitality is essential to any thriving community, and Marcie was the clear choice to lead Loveland’s work in this area,” said Rod Wensing, who has been Loveland’s acting city manager since the forced resignation of City Manager Steve Adams as part of the same changes that followed last November’s municipal election.

Willard brings more than 20 years of experience across public, private and nonprofit sectors, including five years in creative-sector economic development at the City of Loveland including work as business relations manager before assuming the acting economic-development director role.

“Her knowledge and passion for Loveland, along with her collaborative, community-centric vision and vast depth of experience will add tremendous value to our organization and our community,” Wensing said in a prepared statement.

Willard previously served as a strategic planning consultant for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and serves on the NoCo Manufacturing Sector Partnership board and the Affordable Housing Task Force.

She also worked in marketing positions for Loveland-based Lightning eMotors, had been a business development specialist for Columbus, Ohio-based EWI Corp., had owned and directed the Loveland Academy of Fine Arts throughout the 1990s, and had served as a teacher and translator in France.

She earned a Certified Economic Developer certification in 2015.

Willard will oversee strategic planning and operations for the department, including the city’s tourism arm, Visit Loveland, and will lead a team of 14 people focused on economic vitality through local business retention and expansion, business attraction, job creation, entrepreneurship and tourism.

“I am honored to have been hired for this position and to be able to serve on behalf of the City of Loveland organization and my community,” Willard said in a prepared statement. “Our department will continue to focus on supporting tourism and businesses working collaboratively across all departments as well as with our public and private stakeholders to strengthen economic vitality for the City of Loveland.”

After leaving her Loveland post, Jones-Sage took on a marketing role at PCL Construction Inc., a multi-state construction firm with a state headquarters in Denver and an office in Windsor.

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