In Montgomery County, strong communities are rarely built by accident. More often, they are built through years of encouragement, service, and steady follow-through. Few people embody that better than Carol A. Gooch, Founder and Executive Director of the Montgomery County Association of Business Women.
For 20 years, Gooch has helped create a place where women in business can do more than exchange cards and handshakes. Through the Montgomery County Association of Business Women, known as MCABW, women have found education, mentorship, friendship, and a practical way to grow both personally and professionally. In a region that continues to expand, that kind of support system matters.
Gooch founded MCABW in 2005 after hearing the same message from friends and colleagues following her graduation from Leadership Montgomery County in 2003. They told her Montgomery County needed a professional networking group specifically for women. She spent the next year completing the paperwork and laying the groundwork, then launched the nonprofit association with 52 women. Two decades later, the mission remains clear: create a place where like-minded business women can learn, connect, and succeed.
That work reflects the larger pattern of Gooch’s life in Montgomery County. Her career has centered on education, counseling, and empowerment. She has served as a teacher, school counselor, psychotherapist, consultant, trainer, and relationship coach. Since 1988, she has worked professionally in mental health in the Montgomery County area, holding licenses as a professional counselor, chemical dependency counselor, and marriage and family therapist, along with additional certifications in grief, loss, and compulsive gambling counseling.
Her commitment to the community extends well beyond her own organization. Gooch has served with local chambers, civic groups, boards, and nonprofit organizations including Leadership Montgomery County, Interfaith of The Woodlands, United Way, and Montgomery County Women’s Council of Organizations. She currently serves on the boards of Montgomery County Women’s Council of Organizations, Inspiring Wise Texas Women, and Innerfaith Disciple House.
Along the way, Gooch’s leadership has earned broad recognition. She has been named Woman of Distinction by MCABW, Inspiring Wise Texas Women, Alliance for Mental Health, and, in 2025, Innerfaith Disciple House. She was also voted one of Montgomery County’s top 10 most influential women in business and received the 2021 ATHENA Leadership Award through the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce.
Still, the real story is not the awards. It is the impact.
MCABW offers monthly morning, lunch, and evening meetings that give members repeated opportunities to connect in meaningful ways. Educational speakers and member presentations bring practical insight, while a unique member-to-member mentoring approach supports women through both personal and professional challenges. The MCABW Foundation extends that mission even further by awarding college scholarships to deserving female high school seniors in Montgomery County.
For local readers, Gooch’s story offers a clear reminder that community grows stronger when women invest in one another. Mentorship matters. Connection matters. And leadership rooted in service can create a ripple effect that reaches businesses, families, schools, and nonprofits across the county.
Gooch remains grateful for the people who have helped sustain the mission. “I want to thank the community, members and past members for all their support for 20 years,” she says. “It has been a wonderful experience for me to have founded and directed an organization where all business women can meet together and form personal and professional relationships with each other. Having a business sorority in Montgomery County is a blessing for so many.”
That may be the best way to describe what she has built: not just a network, but a business sisterhood.