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.