The City of Cornelia’s Community Development Director Jessie Ownesby was named in Georgia Trend’s list of Georgia’s most influential leaders.
The magazine issues a list of individuals throughout the state who are influential in their field each year. Owensby is one of seven leaders who were selected in the government category of the list.
“It was very surprising to get a letter that I was being included with all of these great people because I don’t feel like I’m on that level, so I feel quite humbled and honored to be part of it,” Owensby said in a release.
Through her role as Community Development Director, Owensby works in zoning administration, planning, branding, and marketing efforts,grant writing, housing, economic development and the Main Street program.
Owensby was previously on the board of directors for the Georgia Downtown Association and as a member of the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Tourism Product Development team. She was also selected as a member of the class of 2021 Appalachian Leadership Institute where she worked with all 13 states in Appalachia on collaborative economic development initiatives. She also was named as one of Georgia Trends’ 40 Under 40 in 2019.
“This is what I feel I’ve been called to do,” she said in a release. “It’s not about government. It’s about public service, doing the most and best we can for the majority of our community, and being a good steward of taxpayer money. I’m so grateful to Georgia Trend for acknowledging our efforts to achieve that.”
