About
Leah Goold-Haws is currently the President/CEO of the Long Beach Economic Partnership (aka LBEP) an economic development cooperation operating on behalf of business attraction, retention, economic growth and workforce readiness in the City of Long Beach. Previously, Leah served on the City of Long Beach Economic Commission as the Commissioner for International Trade and has collaborated with the Port of Long Beach to relaunch the World Trade Center Long Beach under LBEP. Leah’s career in international business spans over fifteen years, and her work in economic development encompasses two decades of experience working with both the Small Business Development Centers, Centers for International Trade and Development and on behalf of the California Community Colleges Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Having most recently served as the Statewide Director for the California International Trade Center (CITC aka CITD) funded under the State of California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Leah led a statewide team in assisting companies across California in preparing for export readiness. Simultaneously, Leah served as the Sector Navigator for Global Trade, providing guidance and support on international trade programming to the 114 colleges in the California Community College system. Prior to that, Leah was a Regional Deputy Sector Navigator of Global Trade, serving rural and urban communities in Northern and Southern California.
Under her direction, the CITC transformed from traditional business counseling and training to online services and virtual trade mission readiness while supporting broader business entry to trade through cross-border ecommerce. Her innovative programming included new ways to access trade services and employment through programs such as the Global VIP (virtual internship) with training focused on digital marketing across global consumer social media platforms and digital badge deployment to recognize key skills acquisition.
Prior to her work in the public sector, Leah is also the creator of Know Opportunity, a board game that teaches global commerce and entrepreneurship, as featured in both Forbes and Inc online magazines and selling to customers around the world. Leah founded a boutique marketing firm, LGH Marketing/Strategy, focused on client needs both domestically and globally. Her company, Mindevices, developed and sold educational content on global entrepreneurship, integrating the board game with kinetic learning models for high school and college students. Leah also launched and served as the executive director for Working Strategies for Women, an initiative built on her curriculum, teaching women business owners global entrepreneurship through a partnership with the United Way Northern California. As she indicates in her TEDx talk “You Are Here”, Leah is a passionate entrepreneur and global business advocate.
Community
Leah has served as the President of the Long Beach International Business Association, was a board member of the Los Angeles World Trade Center, has served as an appointee to the Leadership Task Force of the District Export Council of Southern California and is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy. Previously, Ms. Goold-Haws sat on the board of NASBITE, the North American Small Business International Educators organization, which serves educators and other organizations in advancing international trade knowledge through content and services. She is currently on the board of Next Generation Investment (NGI) which provides educator training and services to teachers and training programs across Africa.
