Samantha Cole is the Child Care Business Liaison for the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Prior to joining N.C. Commerce, Samantha served as Director of Workforce Partnerships with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, where she led the organization’s initiatives to connect people experiencing significant barriers to employment with rewarding opportunities and helped area employers engage with innovative workforce development solutions.

Previously, Samantha served as Deputy Press Secretary in the Office of Governor Roy Cooper and at the North Carolina Department of Justice.

Samantha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hollins University and a Master of Arts degree from University of Georgia. In 2023, she joined workforce development, economic development, and post-secondary education colleagues from across the state in becoming part of the nation’s first cohort of Certified Workforce Leaders through N.C. State University’s Workforce Development Leadership Initiative.

Samantha is passionate about supporting children and families and volunteers as a Guardian ad Litem in the North Carolina court system, as well as on the board of her son’s child care center.