Published December 18 2014
James Henderson has been hired as the city's economic development director. He starts today (Thursday, December 18).
Henderson had been serving as assistant director of the Economic Development Department in San Antonio, where he worked in a variety of capacities since 2005. Prior to that, he held positions related to overseas development in Brussels and in Washington D.C.
Henderson was born and raised in Bellevue; he graduated from Bellevue High School and the University of Washington.
"We are very pleased to welcome James back to Bellevue and look forward to working with him," said Chris Salomone, director of the Planning and Community Development Department. "He has a great mix of experience in areas such as business attraction and retention, export strategies and new program implementation."
Salomone said Henderson's broad experience will be valuable as city staff work to implement Bellevue's new Economic Development Plan, which the City Council adopted in July.
In addition to a bachelor's degree in history from the UW, Henderson earned a master's degree in European history from George Washington University, and a master's degree in international studies from the University of Denver.