Research and Strategic Projects Chief
caroline.mccarthy@montgomeryplanning.org
Caroline “Carrie” McCarthy is the Division Chief for Research and Strategic Projects at Montgomery Planning. She oversees the team responsible for providing demographic, economic, housing real estate, and forecasting analysis to support master plans, development review, and other land use policy decisions. In addition to serving as a member of the core team directing Thrive Montgomery 2050, she has overseen research on master plan implementation, demographic trends, neighborhood change, and economic development. Prior to joining the department in April 2016, Carrie was a principal at HR&A Advisors, a national real estate, economic development, and public policy consulting firm. She has extensive experience developing market analyses and implementation strategies for master plans of complex sites, including brownfields, former military bases, downtowns, and transit-oriented development. She has also provided economic and real estate market advisory services to private sector clients looking to advance real estate development and public policy initiatives. Carrie holds a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Rutgers and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Wesleyan University. She is a full-member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and served as a co-chair of ULI NEXT Washington from 2021-2024. She is also a board member for Montgomery Women, a local women’s leadership development non-profit, and a member of the American Planning Association.