Meet our RARE AmeriCorps Participant: Liz Esposito

Liz Esposito RARE Resource Assistance for Rural Environments

About Liz Esposito

Liz received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science and Policy from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.  As a student, Liz was a Summer Research Fellow for the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design  and Sustainability, and Landscape Studies Program, where she designed a chestnut orchard for the MacLeish Field Station.  Upon graduation, Liz spent four months as Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency’s Planning Aide before getting promoted to Assistant Planner.  Liz plans to use her year with RARE-Resource Assistance for Rural Environment to gain experience that would be benefit her in graduate school, as well as determine where her academic concentration will be. 

Liz is placed with the City of St. Helens, where she will coordinate and manage various components of the St. Helens Main Street Program.  Liz will be involved in all aspects including daily administration, long-range planning, stakeholder engagement, and various special main street projects.

About the City of St. Helens

The City of St. Helens is located in southeastern Columbia County on the Columbia River, approximately 30 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon.  Near the riverfront, the Old Town portion of St. Helens features a Nationally Registered Historic District encompassing 10 blocks, which includes residences and civic buildings dating back nearly a century.  Currently, the community is in transition shifting from a historic “mill town” to now determining its future.  With a population of 12,895, one defining characteristic is that 70 percent of the workforce commutes outside the county.

Traveling south along the rockies; Mountain bike in tow

Nick Meltzer P.E. University of Oregon Alumni Masters Community and Regional Planning CRP

What do University of Oregon’s Community and Regional Planning (PPPM) Alumni do after they graduate? Or life after CPW – Community Planning Workshop? For Nicholas Meltzer, it’s a peaceful trip on his mountain bike across the Rockies. According to Nick’s blog, Chasing Fall, the inspiration for this trip came from two places:

#1. The grandfather of a friend to Nick  allotted each of his grandchildren some money to go on a trip. It had to be intentional, and each grandchild had to prove how they were going to become a better person because of it.

#2.  An excellent blog post, Everybody needs a Grand Tour, which is about spending time adjusting to a different schedule.

Interested in learning more about the trip, route and Nick’s thoughts on his journey to become a better person? Check out this very awesome blog at chasingfallonabike.wordpress.com