Tag: Maggie Hanna

Meet RARE AmeriCorps Participant: Margaret Hanna

Posted on by Julia Havens

Margaret Hanna Maggie Resource Assistance for Rural Environments RARE University of Oregon a.k.a. Maggie Hanna

Maggie received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Urban Studies from Trinity University. As a student, she strived to comprehend the world of transportation, water use, mapping, health and education, and real estate in order to better understand how the ranch she grew up on might continue to exist in the ever-developing Front Range of Colorado. After graduating from Trinity University, Maggie served as an El Pomar Foundation Fellow where she worked in northeastern Colorado as well as in the Pikes Peak region on regional councils, helping distribute $400,000 in grants to rural nonprofits and government entities. Following her year with the  RARE AmeriCorps  Program – Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, Margaret plans on attaining a graduate degree in the planning and community development field and ultimately returning to the family ranch.

Maggie is placed with the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District and will act as the District’s representative and point-person helping to roll-out the Agora Investment Platform. The Agora Investment Platform enables community leaders to navigate the funding system much more efficiently. Maggie’s primary function will be to enhance community capacity for project development and funding with use of the newly developed Agora Investment Platform. Specifically, she will support community leaders in their identification of projects and articulation of projects in a way that multiple funders can quickly grasp.

The Mid-Columbia Economic Development District was established in 1969 by its five member counties who realized that by sharing a common workforce, a common geography and a number of other important factors, their economic fates were tied together. They realized that by joining together they would benefit from better access to economic development loans and grants, pooled technical assistance, marketing, and administrative resources, and most importantly, they would be able to bring a regional approach to their economic development efforts. Over the years Mid-Columbia Economic Development District’s membership has grown to include cities, ports and chambers of commerce within the five county region.

Organization: Mid-Columbia Economic Development District
Community: The Dalles
Population: 80,708
Counties: Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Klickitat and Skamania

 

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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.