Mid-Columbia Economic Development District is hosting an AmeriCorps volunteer through the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program run out of the University of Oregon’s Community Service Center. Carrie Pipinich will be with the district working as the Columbia Gorge Sustainability Consortium Coordinator for an 11-month placement that started in September.
Last spring Pipinich graduated from the Portland State University with a master’degree in urban and regional planning. She has worked with regional, coalition based non-profits on transportation policy as well as managing the creation of a downtown redevelopment plan for a small town in Eastern Oregon. She said she is happy to be in the gorge learning about a new part of Oregon and enjoying the many opportunities to get out and explore.
Her work wi th the Gorge Sustainability Consortium will support regional agencies, their constituents, non-profits and service providers in their efforts to create places that balance economic vitality, the needs of the physical environment and strong, healthy communities in the Columbia Gorge.
These efforts will be furthered through collaborative, regional efforts to address some of the challenges and opportunities the gorge communities face.
Pipinich will support the group’s strategic planning effort to outline their upcoming work and direction.
She will also reach out to communities around the region to discuss the consortium’s work in order to ensure that the strategic plan reflects the needs and issues of the gorge communities. The Mid-Columbia Economic Development District serves Klickitat, Skamania, Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties by promoting the creation of family-wage jobs, the diversification of the economic base, and the growth, development and retention of business and industry.
Visit us at www.mcedd.org.
Originally Published in The Dalles Chronicle P.O. Box 1910The Dalles, Oregon 97058
Phone: 541-296-2141 Fax: 541-298-1365