About the Economic Development Team

Economic Development Staff

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• Janet M. Miller, CEcD, FM

  Chief Economic Development and Marketing Officer
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  Janet M. Miller is chief economic development and marketing officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. The economic development department, through its Partnership 2010 initiative, serves as the Nashville region’s lead marketing and business recruitment agency. On a day-to-day basis, Miller works with corporate executives of relocating companies and professional site consultants, typically hired by Fortune 500-level clients to conduct relocation studies. She specializes in corporate headquarters relocations and has extensive experience working with companies whose core business is health care services, telecommunications, technology, manufacturing, data center operations and customer care.

  Successful relocation projects in which Miller has been involved include CLARCOR, Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Asurion, Caremark Rx, Quanta Computer, VoiceStream, ClientLogic, HCA and Ford Motor Credit.

  Miller is a Nashville native and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma, earning her “Certified Economic Developer” designation in 2000. Prior to her tenure at the Nashville Chamber, Miller served as director of research and marketing for Grubb & Ellis/Centennial, Inc., one of Nashville’s largest commercial real estate firms.

  An active member and leader in numerous professional economic development groups, Miller is a past president of the 400-member Tennessee Industrial Development Council and a state board director for the Southern Economic Development Council. She serves on the Tennessee board of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks, is a member of the American Economic Development Council and is an associate member of the International Development Research Council.

  Outside the office, Miller enjoys hiking, collecting wine and traveling, including annual trips to the Arizona desert and California’s wine country.

• Honey Hopkins

  Executive Assistant, Economic Development
  615-743-3024
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• Carlyle W. Carroll

  Vice President of Economic Development
  615-743-3032
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  Carlyle W. Carroll serves as vice president of economic development for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Though Carroll works primarily with the industrial manufacturing and warehouse/distribution sectors, in recent years he has become more involved in the corporate headquarters market.

  Successful Nashville-area headquarters and other major facility relocations in which Carroll participated include Louisiana-Pacific Corp., CLARCOR, Quanta Computer, The Bank of New York Worldwide Data Transaction Center, Bridgestone Distribution Center, Cinram Distribution Center, Dell Computer, Shiloh Industries and Johnson Controls.

  Carroll graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Prior to joining the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, he held similar roles in economic development with the State of Tennessee and the Middle Tennessee Industrial Development Association. Carroll also worked in urban planning for two years.

  Active in several professional economic development groups, Carroll has served as president of the Tennessee Industrial Development Association and as the Tennessee representative for the Southern Economic Development Council.

  Outside the office, Carroll enjoys coaching youth sports and competing in athletic events, including the annual Country Music Marathon.

• Courtney Ross

  Vice President of Existing Business, Economic Development
  615-743-3022
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  Courtney Ross is vice president of existing business for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. As a part of the economic development team through the Chamber’s Partnership 2010 initiative, Ross oversees all economic development activities involving existing business retention and expansion in the 10-county Nashville region. These responsibilities include support for CEO-level leadership of existing businesses and assistance for companies interested in expanding in the Nashville area.

  Prior to joining the Chamber, Ross served as an associate for Applied Marketing Sciences, an economic development marketing firm, and previously held a position with the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce as director of corporate recruitment. In this role, Ross was responsible for company recruitment to the five-county Greater Austin region. Prior to living in Austin, Ross served as the assistant director at the Memphis Bioworks Foundation. Her responsibilities included recruiting biotech companies to the city’s first biotech research park. Ross began her economic development career with the State of Tennessee as deputy director for the Film and Music Commission, recruiting in the film and music industry to the state.

  Ross is a native of Memphis, Tenn., and received her B.A. from the University of Arkansas. She lives in Nashville with her husband Jason and their son Jake.

• Jeff Hite

  Director of Business Recruitment, Economic Development
  615-743-3034
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  Jeff Hite serves as director of business recruitment for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. In this role, he is responsible for promoting Nashville and the 10-county Nashville Economic Market as a prime location for business investment and expansion. He has more than 19 years of sales and marketing experience, primarily in the travel industry.

  Prior to joining the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Hite was senior convention sales manager at the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, working primarily with the religious and sports markets.

  Hite lives in Hendersonville, Tenn., with his wife, son and daughter.

• Judith Hill

  Existing Business Director, Economic Development
  615-743-3054
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  Judith Hill serves as director of existing business for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, where she is responsible for promoting Nashville and the 10-county Nashville Economic Market as a prime location for business investment. Hill works with CEOs and other corporate, government and community leaders to provide oversight of hands-on project management assistance for companies interested in expanding or interested in retaining employees and business activity in the Nashville region.

  Prior to joining the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Hill was a jobs development specialist for the State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, recruiting new businesses to the Nashville region and helping existing businesses expand and retain operations.

  Hill is active in community service, including as a Big Sister (mentor) in Big Brothers Big Sisters and a buddy in the Preston Taylor Ministries Lunch Buddy Program.

• Blewett Melton

  International Business Manager, Economic Development
  615-743-3052
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  Blewett Melton is the manager of existing and international business with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. In this capacity, she is responsible for International Business Council programs, as well as existing business and entrepreneurship initiatives under the Chamber's Partnership 2010 economic development program.

  Melton joined the Nashville Area Chamber staff in 2002 as program coordinator for workforce development and existing business. In 2005, she began working with the international program as existing business events manager, handling logistics for international and workforce development events. Melton also played an active role in starting the Chamber's young professional initiative.

  Melton holds a B.B.A. from the University of Mississippi. She currently sits on the Middle Tennessee Ole Miss Alumni board and is co-chairman of the Middle Tennessee Ole Miss Young Alumni. She also sits on the Middle Tennessee Chi Omega Alumnae Board, and serves as social chairman for the group. She is a founding board member of the Southeastern Young Alumni organization, and she volunteers for the American Cancer Society.

• Melia Hix

  Business Recruitment Coordinator, Economic Development
  615-743-3029
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  Melia Hix joined the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce in January 2009 as the business recruitment coordinator for the Economic Development Department. Her responsibilities include programming and logistics for all P2010 committees, maintenance of the NashvilleAreaInfo.com website, as well as the dissemination of recruitment marketing and research. She supports the business recruitment team in database management, inbound and outbound marketing trips, and prospect requests for information or proposals.

  Hix graduated summa cum laude from Lipscomb University. She received her B.A. in both marketing and German, and is a member of several honor societies, including Delta Mu Delta and Alpha Chi. Previous experience includes an internship with the Chamber's existing business department and working abroad in Switzerland with Clariant International Ltd. as a marketing intern in their functional chemical division.