Tag: Andrew Barbier

Meet Our RARE AmeriCorps Participant: Andrew Barbier

Posted on by Julia Havens

Andrew Barbier RARE Resource Assistance for Rural Environments

Andrew Barbier received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science with an emphasis in History from McKendree University. As a student, Andrew was a member of many selective honor societies such as Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Alpha Theta. After attaining his Bachelor’s degree, Andrew went on to work with Quiktrack Inspections and Audit as a Quality Analyst where he inspected reports for banks, credit unions, and loan agencies. Andrew applied to RARE AmeriCorps – Resource Assistance for Rural Environments in hopes of further developing a skill set that will allow him to find work in his most desired career field – planning and community development. Following his year with the RARE Program, Andrew plans to apply to Portland State University’s Urban and Regional Planning Graduate Program.

Andrew is placed with the Columbia County Economic Team (CCET), which is Columbia County’s one-stop shop for business services. CCET acts as a trusted local partner for businesses looking to relocate or expand within Columbia County. CCET specializes in site location and acquisition, business and economic data, public incentives and financing, and process facilitation.

With CCET, Andrew will work with an array of organizations and businesses to restore Columbia County’s economy. Specifically, Andrew will create a working database of zoning information for businesses to utilize when carrying out preliminary sighting activities. Andrew will also work with an array of community partners to create a YouTube channel devoted to the publicity and marketing of the St. Helens community.

 

Organization: Columbia County Economic Team

Community: St. Helens, Oregon

Population: 12,900

County: Columbia

ready. . . set. . . SNOW!

Posted on by Julia Havens

Top Story on the News Tonight: Snow

Just about every community in the state of Oregon is hunkering down for snow, snow and even more snow. Levels range from 1 to 3 inches along the south coast to 7 to 10 inches in areas east of the Cascade Range. The National Weather Service says the cold weather will last through the weekend and transition to milder and wetter conditions (a.k.a. rain) by the middle of next week.  With that in mind, the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments-RARE AmeriCorps participants took a moment to share photos of their community’s first winter wonderland conditions before the rain washes it all away.

Resource Assistance for Rural Environments - University of OregonThe mission of the RARE Program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level participants, from across the US.  These RARE AmeriCorps participants live in and serve 25 rural Oregon communities assisting in the development and implementation of projects for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions. The markers on the map represents the 25 RARE placements throughout Oregon for 2013-14.



Special thank you to Andrew Barbier, Aubrey Erwin, Jeremy Goldsmith, Laura Goodrich, Maggie Hanna, Julie Havens, Katherine Hayes, Blake Helm, Gabby Pauling, Maddie Phillips, Rebecca and Jason Sergeant, Saira Siddiqui, and Titus Tomlinson for sharing their photos with us.