A former foster care kid from the Southwest, Waldie joined Myrtle Beach in 2022 as the City's first Chief Innovation Officer. Less than a year later, Waldie and the “First in Service” Team in Myrtle Beach launched their Living Lab program – a public-private partnership that is attracting a diversity of start-ups, industries, and talent pipelines locally and internationally. To date, over 24 companies have submitted interest in using South Carolina’s premier testbed for research and development, product prototyping, and business expansion, all in collaboration with the City and regional stakeholders.
Serving in the public sector since 2011, Waldie has been in multiple roles for various municipalities and public institutions across the United States, namely in Arizona and Virginia. Immediately prior to joining Myrtle Beach, Waldie worked for the City of Virginia Beach, spearheading special projects for the City Manager's Office and the Innovation Team. His background in local government covers economic and community development, human services and public safety, technology and innovation, general administration, and more.
Waldie earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, an Honors Degree, and a Minor of Ethics & Philosophy from Arizona State University, and a Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University. During his time at Arizona State University, he served two terms as Student Body President and was a member of the University's Board of Trustees and their Entrepreneurship & Corporate Partnerships Committee. He earned a Master Certificate in High Performance Leadership from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), is certified in Government Innovation from the founder of the City & County of Denver's PEAK Academy Program, and trained under one of the previous Directors of former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's Baltimore CitiStat Program.
A former foster care kid from the Southwest, Waldie joined Myrtle Beach in 2022 as the City's first Chief Innovation Officer. Less than a year later, Waldie and the “First in Service” Team in Myrtle Beach launched their Living Lab program – a public-private partnership that is attracting a diversity of start-ups, industries, and talent pipelines locally and internationally. To date, over 24 companies have submitted interest in using South Carolina’s premier testbed for research and development, product prototyping, and business expansion, all in collaboration with the City and regional stakeholders.
Serving in the public sector since 2011, Waldie has been in multiple roles for various municipalities and public institutions across the United States, namely in Arizona and Virginia. Immediately prior to joining Myrtle Beach, Waldie worked for the City of Virginia Beach, spearheading special projects for the City Manager's Office and the Innovation Team. His background in local government covers economic and community development, human services and public safety, technology and innovation, general administration, and more.
Waldie earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, an Honors Degree, and a Minor of Ethics & Philosophy from Arizona State University, and a Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University. During his time at Arizona State University, he served two terms as Student Body President and was a member of the University's Board of Trustees and their Entrepreneurship & Corporate Partnerships Committee. He earned a Master Certificate in High Performance Leadership from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), is certified in Government Innovation from the founder of the City & County of Denver's PEAK Academy Program, and trained under one of the previous Directors of former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's Baltimore CitiStat Program.
