Carol De Fries | Role
Carol J. de Fries has over 20 years of experience in business development, marketing and client relations, government and public affairs, and economic development. She is currently the Vice President for Market Development for the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, a private, not-for-profit Pennsylvania Corporation, founded in 1958 by the City of Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce to promote economic development throughout the city. She manages PIDC’s higher education, healthcare, cultural, civic, and non-profit portfolio assisting them with their growth and expansion plans. Her clients include the Barnes Foundation, the Wistar Institute, the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, and projects along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Avenue of the Arts.
Most recently Ms. de Fries served for more than 7 years as the Executive Director of the Office of Government and Community Affairs for the University of Pennsylvania where she was responsible for advancing the University’s interests with federal, state, and City governments, as well as community and civic organizations. Before Penn, she worked for Mayor Edward G. Rendell’s administration for four years as the Special Assistant to the Director of Commerce for the City of Philadelphia. She helped create and manage the Philadelphia College Student Retention Committee, handled the department’s public relations and marketing efforts, and worked on a variety of economic development projects. Prior to moving to Philadelphia, Ms. de Fries served as a federal Procurement Administrator for a DC-based international consulting firm.
Ms. de Fries holds a masters degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University where she majored in American Government. She helped found Campus Philly, a 501c3 organization aimed at retaining the region’s college population, served as its board chair for 10 years, and is a current board member. In addition to serving as the Vice President of the Newbold Community Development Corporation board, she has served on the boards of: Girls Incorporated of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey; Young America PAC Alumni Board, a bi-partisan organization aimed at increasing the political activity of young professionals in Philadelphia; and the Fund for Philadelphia. In 2001, she was selected by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of Philadelphia’s “Forty under Forty” to watch. She is a member of the 2012 Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange Toronto class. Carol was born in Maryland and grew up on an historic farm in rural Howard County.