Partnering with Chambers of Commerce and Nonprofits

Anissa Starnes, IOM has enjoyed a successful career in helping Chambers of Commerce and Nonprofit organizations succeed. She has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit and chamber of commerce management and is embarking on this new adventure as a consultant to organizations across the globe. She has had an extensive career as an advocate for business interests, including CEO positions with several chambers of commerce. Anissa also had the privilege of serving as President & CEO of a very successful and popular nonprofit, Girls on the Run International. 

Anissa is passionate about helping businesses and organizations grow customer, member, and donor relationships.  In recent years, she has presented training and workshops to more than 30,000 business owners and nonprofit executives  to help them build capacity within their own organizations. 

Anissa’s strength lies in being a connector of people and she enjoys building bridges and partnerships between people and causes.

Summary of Experience

• CEO of the Gaston Regional Chamber (NC) with 700+ members and 28 member Board
• Director of National Organizations for leading cloud-based SaaS company, Constant Contact, managing a portfolio of more than 7K nonprofit partners, including 4K chambers of commerce
• CEO of Girls on the Run International, an after-school empowerment program in 150+ cities. serving over 100K girls per year with an operating budget of $1M
• Over an eight year period, held multiple positions with the Charlotte Chamber (NC) including Vice President of Local Government Affairs, Vice President of Membership and Vice President of Special Projects which included working to bring the NFL Franchise, the Carolina Panthers to Charlotte
• Broke national sales record in a membership campaign while managing the membership division of the Charlotte Chamber (NC) 
• Earned certificate of completion for the South Carolina Economic Development school at the College of Charleston, receiving the Governor’s Scholarship of Excellence.
• Graduated from the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management program at the University of Georgia.
• Served as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Regents, the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and served as faculty for the U.S. Chamber Institute program at the University of Georgia, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Loyola-Marymount University and University of Arizona-Tucson
• Has raised tens of thousands of dollars on her own time for causes that she personally supports such as Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Girls on the Run, Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and others.
• Founder of 9-Days of Kindness, a random act of kindness movement with 6,000 followers that was created after the tragic attack on a Charleston Church in 2015.