Meet Carlie Carpenter

I am overjoyed to be the newest member of the Defiance County Economic Development team! You may remember me as Carlie Phillips from the Defiance Area Chamber of Commerce. I recently got married on June 8th and decided to take a leap of faith and change jobs amidst all the chaos leading up to the wedding.

I am a 2018 Fairview High School graduate. I then continued my education at the University of Toledo. I received my bachelor’s degree in marketing in May of 2022. I learned so much in my time at Toledo and met so many amazing people. Thinking back, those years in college are really what shaped me into the person I am today.

My first marketing job was at a cute little senior center in Auburn, IN. I had a wonderful time there and had the pleasure of meeting many people. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wanted to make those same connections in my home area, where I planned to live.

During my job hunt for positions in Defiance, I found that the Chamber was hiring. I did not really know what a Chamber did at the time but decided to take a shot at it. I appreciated my time there and all the people I was able to meet.

When I heard that Defiance County Economic Development was hiring, I knew I could not pass up this opportunity. Erika and Paige have been amazing in this transition for me. I am looking forward to working on projects with them. I am so excited to get more involved in the community and to know that my work is helping to make Defiance a great place to live!