Laura McGinnis
Meet Laura McGinnis:
Laura is originally from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, but has lived in Oregon since 2014. She holds a Master’s of Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Delaware. For much of her career, Laura has worked for causes and movements to benefit underserved populations. She is excited to focus her talents on serving rural entrepreneurs in the Veneta – Fern Ridge area.
Community and Organization:
Located 12 miles west of Eugene next to the Fern Ridge Reservoir and Wildlife Area, the city of Veneta is a small but vibrant population of approximately five thousand residents. As the only incorporated city between Eugene and the coastal city of Florence, Veneta serves as a rural hub for the unincorporated communities throughout the Fern Ridge area. Veneta strives to be an entrepreneur-first community and pursues strategies based on economic ecosystem building, destination and downtown development and placemaking to make this happen. Businesses thrive in environments where people want to live, work and play, and Veneta seeks to give individuals the skills, knowledge and assets to create successful businesses, adequate housing for people to live, and a downtown that is full of places for people to play.
Project:
Laura will be focused primarily on community and economic development in Veneta. Through her service, she is responsible for maintaining and growing the burgeoning “culture of entrepreneurship” in Veneta by providing training, networking, mentoring and business development support to local entrepreneurs through VenetaWorks. This includes hosting a “Spring Entrepreneur Marketplace” and “Veneta’s Downtown Popup Retail District.” Her RARE service also includes creating placemaking opportunities, working on destination development and transportation initiatives, and developing Veneta’s 5-year economic development strategic plan.