Capacity Building in Rural Alaska Communities
Dr. Don Albrecht, Speaker
Saturday, February 11
Saturday, February 11
Join us!
Targeted, sustainable economic development initiatives have been an area of Dr. Don Albrecht's work during the past few years, collaborating with the small rural communities of Nenana, Minto and McGrath. This process identifies community goals and priorities for development; community assets that can be deployed to meet those goals; industry factors important for locating operations in a community; and businesses consistent with the community’s priorities. Don, an eClub member, will be describing the work with these communities during the presentation.
Don is director of the Western Rural Development Center. He perviously served as a faculty member in the Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University. He has conducted extensive research on the issues confronting the communities and residents of rural America, including agricultural resource management, community development, rural poverty and family structure, demographic trends, education, and economic restructuring. Although most of Don's work focuses on the United States, his research also extends to Eastern Europe and South America.
Books published include Our Energy Future: Socioeconomic Implications and Policy Options for Rural America, Rethinking Rural: Global Community and Economic Development in the Small Town West, Rural Housing and Economic Development; Addressing Climate Change at the Community Level in the United States (2019) and Building a Resilient Twenty-First Century Economy for Rural America. Don served as president of the Southern Rural Sociological Society and as vice-president of the Rural Sociological Society, and as the associate editor of the society's journal, Rural Sociology, and as its book review editor. Dr. Albrecht is the recipient of the Southern Rural Sociological Society's Excellence in Research Award. He received a B.S in Forestry, an M.S. in Sociology from Utah State University and a PhD in Rural Sociology from Iowa State University.