Carrie Athay lays out vision as new Greater Idaho Falls Chamber CEO
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- Incoming CEO Carrie Athay outlined her strategic vision for the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, emphasizing business advocacy, economic growth and restoring public trust while the organization undergoes a full forensic audit.
Athay, who brings a background in arts and nonprofit management to the post, plans to focus on connecting major regional industries with local business owners. Her plan includes expanding workforce education, strengthening chamber membership services and fostering collaboration among municipal leaders across eastern Idaho.
Incoming Athay highlighted key regional economic drivers that she plans to focus on in her new role, including agriculture, health care, small businesses, nuclear energy and technology. Athay stressed that agriculture remains the region's primary economic driver alongside health care's large contribution to local gross domestic product.
“We need to be thinking about Ag, which is our, you know, number one economic driver here. We need to be thinking about health care, which is also a huge part of our GDP,” Athay said. “I really see the chamber as an opportunity to bring businesses big and small together. Mentorship, advocacy, education these are all really strong and important components of a chamber.”
Athay spent years in arts and nonprofit administration, serving as executive director of the Idaho Falls Symphony. She noted that her past work with volunteer boards and community donors prepared her for managing chamber governance and advocacy. “I have spent the last several of years. Well, all the time that we've lived in Idaho, really involved with advocating for the arts,” Athay said.
“The Chamber of Commerce is this really wonderful, unique place where we come together. We advocate for business, we build our economy, we educate so that we can strengthen our workforce and keep people here and continue to grow in a really focused and dynamic way.”
Beyond economic expansion, Athay noted that restoring community trust is a central challenge for the organization. The chamber is currently undergoing a full forensic audit to review its financial standing and establish fiscal transparency.
The chamber began the search for a new CEO following the resignation of Paul Baker in July. He stepped down following mounting public and online speculation regarding Baker's ties to the Portneuf Valley Soccer Club. The soccer organization recently announced that the Bannock County Prosecutor's Office is investigating potential financial irregularities discovered during an internal forensic audit.
“I do think that there is some lost trust in the chamber, which is unfortunate because the chamber has such a historic and impactful position in our community,” Athay said. “I'll be very anxious for the outcome of the forensic audit, but it also will give us some really great markers of where we stand and where we need to move forward so that the chamber is on a very transparent and fiscally stable, that we're in a very fiscally stable position.”
Athay expressed confidence that open dialogue and clear procedures can help repair relations across the region. “There are challenges, I think, that we can restore trust through a lot of transparency. And I think that there's goodwill out there. People want our community to succeed,” Athay said.
To support regional collaboration, the chamber board includes ex-officio non-voting leadership positions for the mayor of Idaho Falls, the mayor of Ammon and the county administrator. Athay indicated she intends to expand communication with surrounding municipalities as economic growth extends beyond city lines.
The chamber also plans to maintain member services such as traditional ribbon-cutting events, networking lunches, leadership development and strategic partner initiatives to enhance local membership value.
Athay plans to launch a listening tour during her first month to gather information and meet with community stakeholders and chamber members. “My first 30 days, I plan on a listening tour. So I plan to sit down with, you know, with all the stakeholders that are involved in the community as well as the, you know, the chamber and anyone who wants to talk about it and a listen so that we can hear, I have a lot of information gathering that needs to be done,” Athay said.
Athay officially takes office as chief executive officer on Oct. 1, 2026.
