Economic development leader and former congressional senior advisor will help advance the Chamber’s advocacy for southwest Alabama businesses

MOBILE, Ala. – The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce has named Ellis G. Foster, Jr. its new director of government affairs. Foster, who began Oct. 19, will help advance the Chamber’s advocacy agenda on behalf of its nearly 1,600 member businesses, coordinate the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee and represent the Mobile business community in Montgomery during the legislative session.

Foster joins the Chamber from the Mobile Downtown Alliance, where he has served as director of economic development since January 2026, leading developer recruitment, stakeholder engagement and grant management for downtown Mobile. He previously served as a senior advisor to U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (AL-02), working with mayors, legislative bodies and community stakeholders on policy issues across Alabama’s Second Congressional District.

“Ellis already knows the people, the process and the priorities that matter to our members,” said Nancy Hewston, vice president of communications and advocacy at the Mobile Chamber. “He has spent years building relationships across Mobile to Montgomery and Washington, and he understands how policy decisions shape real projects on the ground. Our members will have a strong, credible voice working on their behalf, and I’m excited to welcome him to our team.”

Foster is well-known to the Chamber. With his new role, he is stepping down from the Chamber’s Board of Directors, where he has served since 2024, and from the Industrial Development Board, where since 2021 he has supported major expansions including Austal USA, Airbus, Brookley by the Bay and the Gulf Distributing headquarters project.

“I’ve worked alongside the Chamber as a volunteer for years, and I’m honored to now serve our members full time,” said Foster. “Mobile’s business community has real momentum, and the decisions made in Montgomery, in Washington and here at home will shape how far that momentum carries us. I look forward to building on the strong foundation of the Chamber and making sure our members’ priorities are heard at every level of government.”

He is a governor-appointed commissioner on the Southern Rail Commission and served as the 2024 governmental affairs chair for the Mobile Association of Realtors. A licensed real estate broker since 2019, Foster also served eight years in the Army National Guard as an ammunition specialist.

Foster holds a bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning, with a focus in construction management, from Alabama A&M University. He is a 2022 graduate of Leadership Alabama’s Alabama Leadership Initiative.