Denisse Carter takes on new role in economic development

Being honest and taking responsibility for the things you do has been part of Denisse Carter since her childhood. It’s those traits that are high on the list as to why she has been chosen as the first Economic Development Director for Doña Ana County.

“I think it has a lot to do with my upbringing. and the way my mom raised me,” Carter said. “My mom was extremely strict. She would always tell me, ‘Don't lie to me because if you lie to me, I will find out. There is no going around that.’ She taught me about being an honest person, even when admitting you did something wrong, something that would probably get you in trouble.”
In her new role, Carter will lead economic development efforts by driving the county’s economic growth, continuing with business development, foreign trade zone oversight, and strategic planning efforts.

She will also identify key roles needed and build the department’s skillset, aligned with the county’s strategic needs for economic development. In doing that, the lessons her mother taught her are top of mind.

“If I'm going to make a recommendation wholeheartedly and tell our commission this is going to be good for your constituents, I'm coming from an area where I'm doing it with all the honesty in the world,” Carter said. “I'm never going to recommend something that is going to harm our county. That goes back to my upbringing.”
The economic development part of her career came about as she worked through different public section positions. The first thing that drew her in was the idea of public service.

Carter was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. Actually, she lived in El Paso all of of her life, though for a time in her childhood the family lived in Juarez, Mexico, where she attended kindergarten and much of elementary school.

It was while she was working on a master’s degree at the University of Texas at El Paso that she worked on case studies and white papers in the public administration program that always seemed tied in with the city of El Paso.

“That's when I learned about the public service component that goes with being a public administrator,” she said. “And I just grew very interested in the public service.”

After working in administrative positions in El Paso, Carter took a job with the county where she quickly proved herself to be adept at researching and understanding complex economic issues.

“Denisse quickly established herself as a strategic leader in economic development when she joined the County,” county manager Scott Andrews said in a news release announcing her promotion. “Throughout her career, she thoughtfully built the blocks that made her the best candidate for this role.  We are proud and excited to have her on our team as we implement our strategic plan, enhancing economic opportunities for all residents.”

Carter earned the designation as a certified Economic Developer in March of 2024, becoming one of only 1,200 professionals in the nation who hold the prestigious designation. This is a group that makes up less than 1% of an estimated 168,000 economic developers in the U.S.

It establishes an industry benchmark of excellence and sets the gold standard for knowledgeable professionals who are steadfastly committed to fostering innovation, attracting investment and driving economic growth and prosperity in their community and around the world.

Most recently, Carter served as the economic development administrator at Doña Ana County.  She provided professional assistance to the Community Development Department in implementing, administering and creating economic development initiatives and maintaining incentive program activities. 

In this role, she led several inaugural initiatives such as convening a quarterly Economic Development Roundtable for the County, its municipalities and its closest partners. She planned the first Binational Roundtable including the states of New Mexico and Chihuahua, along with Ciudad Juarez. Finally, she implemented the first Creative Industries initiative. The latter inspired the county’s investment, following state funds and the engagement of 57 creatives, 20 staff and eight organizational participants in its first year.

Her career spans more than 17 years in economic development, beginning at the Institute for Policy and Economic Development at UTEP as a research assistant working in conjunction with the Housing Authority of El Paso to implement the Hope VI grant.

As director of research and knowledge at the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corporation, which later became the Borderplex Alliance, an award-winning economic development and policy advocacy organization, she conducted economic research and contributed to industry attraction efforts.

“Whenever I talk about it, I was the dork, the director of research and knowledge,” Carter said. “I was tasked with providing all of the research that was needed for the proposals that companies would send when they were looking at the region to relocate - demographics, wages, weather, anything and everything that a company would want to know before deciding to locate to the region.”
Carter spent 11 years in leadership roles with the City of El Paso’s Economic and International Development Department.  She negotiated and drafted a variety of incentive agreements, created, instituted and managed the Contract Compliance Division.

She helped implement the Small Business Assistance Division, providing bilingual (English/Spanish) technical assistance, hosting informational roundtables in Spanish, and serving as the primary point of contact for American Rescue Plan Act funding assistance related to small businesses.  

Carter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice with a minor in Spanish, and a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Intelligence and National Security Studies, both from UTEP.

“Denisse has deep roots in our area and has served in both the El Paso and greater Las Cruces areas. One of Denisse’s strengths is that she sees the big picture, while not losing touch with all of the parties and people that help bring that vision to life,” Andrews said.  “It has been a true joy watching her grow and I look forward to serving with her for many years to come.”

So, other than those big deals like Borderplex projects, what does an economic development director do for regular people?

“I would just say that if you're someone out there who has a small business or someone who's thinking about starting a business or you don't know how to manage your budget, you don't know where to get permits, you don't know where to register your business, call the county and just ask to be transferred to economic development,” Carter said. “That's what we're here for. From the mom-and-pop shop to the solopreneur, the entrepreneur group, to the big companies, to the little companies that are looking to relocate into the region.
That's what economic development is here for.”
Carter feels it is her job to be constantly educating herself so she can be the best resource to the community, and to the county government she serves.

“I feel personally that I need to be at 150 percent level of understanding and being able to explain the benefits because I am the one representing the county as far as economic development goes,” she said. “Now, of course, there's areas where I'm still learning or I'm trying to figure out if that's something that the county should implement but I just feel very fortunate that we have the resources, such as our wonderful bond council or advisors that I can go to and just make sure that my thought process and my recommendations are good.”