MEET CAROLYN
Carolyn Rice was elected Montgomery County Commissioner in November 2018 and took office on January 1, 2019, helping establish the first all-female Commission in county history and only the second in Ohio. She previously served as Montgomery County Treasurer from 2007 to 2018.
As Commissioner, Carolyn has focused on early childhood development, homelessness solutions, youth internships and work-based learning, addiction prevention, criminal justice, international economic development, environmental sustainability, and community resiliency—including leading responses to crises from tornadoes to the coronavirus pandemic. She is a strong advocate for Montgomery County’s partnership with the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library, which has provided free books to more than 36,000 children from birth to age five.
Carolyn has chaired the Montgomery County Land Bank since its creation in 2011 and was honored with the Ohio Land Bank Association’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award for her statewide leadership. She also serves on the boards of the Community Improvement Corporation, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Dayton Partnership, Greater Dayton Conservation Fund, and local and regional emergency management boards. Additionally, she serves on the County’s Investment Advisory Committee and Planning Commission, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Board of Directors, its Investment and Justice & Public Safety committees, and as Vice Chair of its Human Services Committee. Carolyn is a Leadership Ohio alum, recipient of its 2023 Professional Excellence Award, and a 2025 graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy.
Before entering public office, Carolyn spent 17 years in the private sector with organizations including Reynolds and Reynolds, LexisNexis, Dames & Moore, and Wright State University. She has been active in the community, serving on the boards of the Rotary Club of Dayton, Dayton Council on World Affairs, Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services, and the Dayton Sister City Committee.
Her work has earned numerous recognitions, including being named to the Dayton Business Journal’s Power 50 three times, the Dayton YWCA’s 2023 Women of Influence, the Better Business Bureau’s 2025 Women to Watch, and a 2016 Peace Hero by the Dayton International Peace Museum. Deeply committed to youth, she has twice served as a College Promise mentor and, with her husband, has hosted many international exchange visitors.
A Dayton native, Carolyn holds a BS in Education from Miami University and an MBA from Wright State University. She began her career as an elementary special-education teacher and completed Harvard Kennedy School’s Community Land Reform Initiatives program in 2009. She and her husband, Mike, have two grown children, four grandchildren, and a rescue dog.