Leah Goold-Haws is an innovator and pioneer in eCommerce and global entrepreneurship. She brings decades of experience from the business world to her role as the Statewide Director for the California International Trade Center (CITC) where she manages the development of trade service programs, including global eCommerce training, to assist small to midsize companies in growing their export sales. In addition, she is the Statewide Director of Global Trade for the California Community Colleges Workforce and Economic Development Division. In that role, she oversees a team that works with California’s 115 community colleges to build a globally-competent workforce.

 

Past Experience

Prior to becoming Statewide Director, Leah served as Deputy Sector Navigator of Global Trade and Logistics in both Northern California and the Los Angeles County region. She’s been a consultant for the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and as a trade consultant for the Centers for International Trade Development. As Los Angeles Regional Director, she managed and operated a federal Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) under the International Trade Administration, which provided training in eCommerce for cross-border trade to companies throughout Southern California.

Over the course of her career, Leah has launched three successful businesses and is a tireless advocate for women in business. She was the executive director of Working Strategies for Women, an initiative built on the Know Opportunity curriculum she designed to teach global entrepreneurship. She created a board game based on the Know Opportunity framework that was featured in Forbes and Inc. magazines. She is a published contributing author and active public speaker, including a TEDx talk titled “You Are Here.”

Leah is also active in several civic and community organizations. She is the economic commissioner for international trade on behalf of the City of Long Beach, the chamber president for the International Business Association in Long Beach, board member for the Los Angeles World Trade Center, and an advisory board member for the Get Global International Conference.