Carolyn Chrisman has more than a decade of experience in economic development in a rural area focusing on workforce development, business development strategies, innovation, emerging areas, and more to grow the local economy.

As an economic development practitioner, Carolyn has worked projects of numerous sizes and industries. The largest was a $250M business retention and expansion project of a food processor that expanded a facility by 260,000 square feet, retained 500 jobs and added 500 new jobs. Other BRE projects included small $1M-$2M investments in machinery and equipment. New investment projects have entailed commercial/retail, call centers, and renewables. A renewable investment attraction project consisted of a 175 turbine, 400 MW wind farm. Efforts included workforce training and support, community education and communication, and state law policy changes. New and emerging issues include renewable energy, broadband, workforce issues such as affordable housing and childcare, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Carolyn believes the future of rural America is bright as long as community stakeholders work together, embrace change and innovation, and provide the leadership necessary to progress.

Jason Chrisman has multiple years of experience in healthcare management in a rural setting focusing on hospital operations, service line growth, workforce development, business development strategies, employee engagement, and community involvement.

As a healthcare administrator and now CEO, Jason has had multiple experiences developing strategy to engage the healthcare community. He has worked to recruit physicians, grow surgery volume, capture market share, and been involved in tele-health expansion into rural Missouri. Jason also has been leading during COVID-19 and refocusing his team’s efforts during the global pandemic. His efforts also have included workforce training and support, community education and communication, and state law policy changes. New and emerging issues include attracting physicians to rural Missouri, Medicaid expansion, workforce issues such as nursing shortages and other support staff, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.