Victoria Valencia joined the City of Gilroy team as the Economic Development Manager in November 2023 after 5 years with the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce. While with the chamber, Victoria and her team focused on workforce development and local economic development initiatives. Victoria worked with community partners to host a Community Service Orientation Day, which connected 20 nonprofits with 200 incoming freshmen looking for places to volunteer. At the onset of the pandemic, Victoria created a Facebook group where businesses and community members could support each other, which grew to 7000 members in a matter of weeks and is still active today.
Victoria graduated from San Jose State University in 2016 with her degree in Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management. She was an active member of the Western Association of Chamber Executive Emerging Leaders Council while with the chamber and had the privilege of serving on various community boards, including Leadership Gilroy, One Giving Tree, and Gilroy After Hours Rotary.
In her current role, Victoria oversees special events and city property leases, and works on special projects related to council’s goal of moving Gilroy in the direction of becoming a regional tourism and recreation destination.More...