Alison Smith

Population: 76,107

Meet Alison Smith (she/her/hers):

Alison hails from the Washington, DC metropolitan area where she spent five years in the business consulting industry. She completed her undergraduate studies at Penn State University, majoring in Business Management and minoring in both International Studies and Psychology. Alison was excited to take her business experience and couple that with more community and grassroots level planning with the RARE AmeriCorps Program. She is passionate about the triple bottom line – social, economic, and environmental success – and helping others prepare for and overcome change. In her free time, she can be found hiking, soaking up the sunshine and outdoors, trying new food, and catching up on her favorite TV shows and books.

Community and Organization:

Located in the south central region of Oregon and bordering northern California, Klamath Falls sits on the southern shore of the Upper Klamath Lake, nestled in the Klamath Basin on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains. Klamath Falls enjoys nearly 300 days of sunshine each year. The City of Klamath Falls has an urban population of approximately 42,000.

Steeped in history, the area offers an outstanding array of natural and cultural wonders. Just sixty miles south of Crater Lake, and seventy miles north of Mt. Shasta, south central Oregon is unsurpassed for beauty and diversity of activities. Klamath Falls offers a variety of outdoor recreation such as cross country skiing, golfing, fishing, hunting and canoeing. lt is known for its splendid bird watching and is the home of the highest concentrations of bald eagles in the Pacific Northwest.

The South Central Oregon Economic Development District formed in 1999, serves as the primary conduit for regional economic development resources for Klamath and Lake Counties Oregon. lt provides the professional staff to support to economic development planning on a regional basis, and to the individual economic development efforts of Lake County and Klamath County. SCOEDD also manages and administer regional grant and loan programs.

SCOEDD is part of a nationwide network of 382 multi-county Economic Development Districts (EDDs) designated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). EDDs are focused on strengthening local governments, communities and economies through regional collaboration, comprehensive development strategies and program implementation. A policy board of local elected officials, along with business, education and citizen representatives governs and sets the priorities for the region.

Project:

As the Rural Economic Recovery Coordinator with SCOEDD, Alison aimed to identify and organize economic recovery, mitigation, and resiliency initiatives by engaging and collaborating with SCOEDD’s staff and board, community leaders, regional businesses, partners, youth, and underrepresented communities in Klamath and Lake Counties. Alison worked with fellow RARE AmeriCorps Members placed in other Oregon Economic Development Districts to help communities and businesses prepare for and become more resilient to natural disasters and economic downturns.