Sandy J. Ratliff
Business Services Manager, Southwest Office
Virginia Department of Business Assistance
Sandy Ratliff is a seasoned economic developer with over 20 years of experience serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. An accomplished industry recruiter and marketer, her vision and expertise in job creation and business retention have driven notable enterprise growth in the customer services industry in far southwest Virginia. Her achievements have been featured in Virginia Business, Telemarketing Magazine, Bristol Herald Courier, Roanoke Times, Southern Business Development, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and National Business Incubation Association.
As the Business Services Manager for the Virginia Department of Business Assistance (VDBA) in the agency’s Abingdon office which serves 23 localities in Southwest Virginia, Ratliff works with new and expanding businesses to offer startup consulting, community support services, sales growth mentoring, finance counseling and business information assistance. Ratliff’s primary focus is entrepreneurship development. She has lead the creation of several programs including the Enterprise Fair, Small Business Fundamentals Workshop Series, Social Media for Small Business and Virginia’s signature business outreach program, the Entrepreneur Express Workshop, that has expanded to every part of the state linking start-ups and existing businesses with resources needed for growth. Prior to joining VDBA, she served as Director of Marketing for the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and was responsible for the marketing and recruitment of new industry to a seven-county, one-city region.
Ratliff is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute through the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma and Virginia Intermont College, Bristol, VA. She is a member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association, Mountain Empire American Red Cross Board of Directors, Birthplace of Country Music Marketing Committee, Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission Marketing Committee, Bristol TN/VA Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and Virginia Business Incubation Association Board of Directors and resides in Abingdon, VA.