ECD

Meet Brad Clinehens, Lake County

Brad Clinehens is an Extension Educator in the area of Economic and Community Development at the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service in Lake County. Prior to joining Extension in 2005, Brad held a similar position with the University of California Cooperative Extension Service in Bishop, California.  He worked in the area of Community & Rural Development in the beautiful Eastern Sierras. His job involved developing small business and workforce development programs and providing educational programs to the regional Chambers of Commerce. 

Also, Brad served in the Peace Corps from 1999-2001 in Mauritania, West Africa as a Community Agro-forestry Volunteer. He worked on village-based agriculture and environmental projects along the Senegal River bordering the neighboring country of Senegal. Mauritania is one of the poorest countries in Africa, with extreme heat (120 plus) and the occasional sandstorm or seasonal flooding. The country is 100% Muslim and he spoke an Arabic-Berber dialect during his service.

Brad has a M.S. in Community Development from Penn State and a B.A.in Sociology/Anthropology from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.

Through his work with Extension, Brad provides training on various topics of leadership and civic engagement, diversity, entrepreneurship education, and community food systems. He actively partners with organizations in Lake County and Northwest Indiana to advance economic and community development.

Brad assisted with starting a local foods network for Northwest Indiana beginning with a Local Foods Forum in 2006. He was an active part of a team that planned the Local Foods Expos in Northwest Indiana and Elkhart County in 2007. He has also been working recently with several Extension Educators in the state on promoting community foods systems as a viable program area that includes food entrepreneurship, community kitchen incubators, local foods networks, and community gardens.

Brad serves on the board of the Northwest Indiana World Trade Council. He is a member of the Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council and is an alumnus of the Leadership Northwest Indiana program. Brad is certified as a NxLevel Entrepreneurship Instructor and completed the Ball State, “Economic Development Course” for Indiana professionals working in economic development.

As an Extension Educator, Brad enjoys meeting and working with a diverse citizenry on important issues of local concern. Also he likes doing a wide variety of educational programs and knowing that participants are learning and see value in Extension programs. Brad can be contacted by phone at 219-755-3240 or by [email protected].

Critical Thinking for Sustainable Community Decision-Making

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is a wonderful source for economic and community development tools that take into account issues of sustainability. In the past, the term "sustainability" in a community development context, meant the sustainability of a program - where can we find new grants. Sustainability, as RMI and an increasing number of communities define it, is environmental sustainability - Being sure today's decisions will have a positive, or at least neutral, effect on our environment.

Purdue Extension is uniquely positioned to help Indiana communities think about this new meaning of sustainability and RMI has some tools to help. For instance, they have something called, A Community Leadership Toolkit that helps decision makers evaluate projects and programs from a sustainability point of view. It asks questions like the following:

1. Long-Term Effects: Is this proposed action compatible with the community’s stated
   goals—its vision or preferred future? What effects might the action have in ten years? How will it affect future generations? Can future problems be minimized or avoided ?
2. Off-Site Effects: Will the action cause effects somewhere other than the place where the action will take place? These kind of effects might be, for instance: next door, blocks away, in the next community, downstream or downwind. If there are negative off-site effects, can these be reduced or turned to the community's advantage?
3. Cumulative Effects: An action may seem benign when considered alone, but it may have important negative effects when considered in light of other decisions and actions. Consider these kinds of effects by thinking about previous or likely future actions regarding similar issues. Is the problem we are attempting to solve caused by some earlier action? If so, might today’s proposed action create problems? Where would this action lead us; what problems might it create for future leaders? What will be the cumulative effect of this and other related actions? (i.e. Approving a subdivision
   may contribute to a gradual loss of farmland).
4. Self-Reliance: Will this action affect the community’s self-reliance? Will it make the community less or more vulnerable to outside influences (e.g. global trade, severe weather, economic downturns, corporate or governmental decisions)?
5. Economic Diversity: Will it affect the community's economic diversity? Will the community become more or less dependent on a single large employer or one type of business activity? Will it enable local businesses or residents to produce or buy things locally, instead of outside the community? Does this action put all the community’s eggs in one basket? Is it an all-or-nothing prospect? Or can the strategy withstand partial failure while achieving overall success?
6. Environmental Diversity: Will this action affect environmental diversity? Will it decrease habitat size or type, or number of species?
7. Growth: Will this action make the community better or just bigger? If the action would make the community bigger, who will pay the costs of the expansion? Might this action lead to, or be part of, a boom and bust cycle?
8. Throughput (the quantity and flow of resources that are processed, used, and turned into waste, e.g. the number of harvested bushels, cut trees, or tourist days.):Will this action increase "throughput,” in certain areas without creating the means to pay for associated costs? Has the community reached the point where increasing throughput in certain areas increases costs more than benefits?
9. Fairness: Will this action create inequitable costs and benefits? Will one group receive the benefits of this action while another pays disproportionate costs? Consider age, gender, race, income, and disability. What kind of environmental, social, or economic effect will this action have on less fortunate members of the community? Can the action be changed to distribute benefits and costs more fairly? Will the costs of this action be imposed on future generations who receive less or none of its benefits?
10. Public Services: Will the action affect existing public services (schools, police, roads, water, sewer, etc.)? If the effect is negative, who is being affected by reduced quality of service? Or, who is paying the additional costs to expand services? Is it possible to avoid expansion by using existing resources more efficiently?
11. Finances: What is the net effect on community finances (revenues vs. long-term costs)?
12. Natural Resources: Will this action positively or negatively affect natural resources (water, energy, land, soil nutrients, minerals)? Will the action use resources renewably? If the action will significantly reduce or exhaust a resource, what will the community do? Will the action foster efficient use of resources? Are there opportunities to get the same or more benefit by using fewer resources?
13. Waste: Will this action create significant amounts of waste or pollution ? Is there a way to reduce, reuse, or recycle the wastes? What are the economic, community and environmental costs of disposing of the waste? Are there ways to put the waste to work in the community creating more jobs or income?

The decision-making tool is available here. As community's consider how to both grow and stay "green" what will be Purdue Extension's role in helping them find their way? Resources like this might help.

Impact: Helping Communities Identify Issues and Plan for Action

There are many issues facing Indiana communities - land use, changing demographics, quality of life. There are especially significant issues resulting from the growing number of Hispanic and Latino residents calling Indiana home. Hispanic/Latinos comprised the largest group of immigrants coming to the State of Indiana.  The latest census data demonstrates that the Hispanic/Latino community has grown 117% in the last decade and midterm demographic projections show this trend to continue. The three counties with the largest Latino populations are: Lake, Marion and Allen. Many smaller rural counties are also experiencing an influx of Latino residents. These communities face significant challenges related to the changes that can result from this phenomenon.

In 2007, Extension staff, both specialists and Educators, worked with 274 communities to help them identify community and economic development issues and to develop action plans to address those issues. A wide range of programming has been offered in this area covering a great many community issues including land use, and changing community demographics. There are many examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following is an example of one such activity that took place during the reporting year.

Responding to the need to provide reliable information to communities on Latino immigration and Latino culture, the Purdue Extension in Marion County has created, The Changing Face of Indiana, a program to educate Hoosiers about the immigration, the cultural and economic contributions of Latino immigrants, the economic and quality of life issues that can result for both Latino and non-Latino residents, and facilitation of the actions communities can take to address these issues. During the reporting year, 575 individuals attended The Changing Face of Indiana educational program.

A comprehensive evaluation of this program was conducted and among the findings were that 93% of participants identified specific actions their community could take to manage the transition. Some of the action items appearing most often include  language training for non-Spanish speakers, English as a New Language training for Spanish speakers, find and create opportunities for cultural exchange, and the implementations of efforts to make their communities welcoming environments.

Impact: Helping Communities Create More-Sustainable and Competitive Local Economic Development Systems

The community and economic development literature is increasingly pointing to the significant impact entrepreneurship can play in economic development. Few Indiana communities, however, have articulated an entrepreneurship strategy. Indiana communities, especially rural communities, cannot rely exclusively on industrial attraction activities to grow their economy. Instead, they must look within to foster environments in which new enterprises can be launched and existing small businesses can grow. Communities with strategies that include a focus on entrepreneurship are a proactive step in creating sustainable and competitive local economic development systems.

In 2007, Extension staff, both specialists and Educators, has worked with 56 communities to help them create more sustainable and competitive local economic development systems. Several programs have been conducted in this area that have focused on entrepreneurship in general and in specific areas like food entrepreneurship.  There are several examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following is an example of one such activity that took place during the reporting year.

Purdue Extension in Hendricks County joined with other community partners to plan and conduct an Entrepreneurship & Small Business Expo. The target market for this event was small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs in Hendricks and neighboring counties. This program seemed to be of greatest interest to people who are seriously thinking of starting a business, those who had started their business within the past year, and owners of established businesses who have plans for growth. The Expo included special speakers and opportunities for attendees to learn about firms and organizations that serve small businesses, including lenders, professional services, educational institutions, business development organizations, and others.

The event was attended by 168 individuals representing 102 different businesses. 30 business-support organizations were also represented. The overwhelming majority indicated that the event was helpful and attending entrepreneurs were surveyed and 98% indicated that they had learned one new thing that would be helpful in growing their business.

Impact: Helping People Build their Community Leadership Skills and Become Active in Community Problem-Solving

The people of Indiana have a long and distinguished history of grass-roots community problem-solving. As community issues become more complex, additional help is often needed to build leadership skills that will result in citizens’ abilities to be more effective in addressing their communities’ pressing issues. Nonprofit organizations play a vital leadership role in Indiana’s communities and the staff and volunteers need new tools be effective in serving their communities.

A recent report by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy found that the most significant restraints on Indiana’s 60,000 nonprofit organizations include small staffs and limited financial resources. Forty-eight percent of the state’s nonprofits have no staff and 41% have just 1-2 employees. Half of Indiana’s nonprofits have revenues of less than $40,000. The report has several recommendations that could help strengthen Indiana’s nonprofit sector and among these recommendations are that nonprofits should collaborate and network to build on their strengths and to help them solve the problems facing their communities.

Extension staff, both specialists and Educators, has served 3,487 individuals by offering educational programming to help them build their community leadership skills and become more active in addressing their communities’ issues. A wide range of programming has been offered in both leadership training and organizational capacity building. There are many examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following is an example of one such activity that took place during 2007.

To meet the kind of needs described in the Indiana University study, Purdue Extension offered The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing Program during the reporting year. This is a statewide program that pairs campus-based specialists with county-based Extension professional in the delivery of a two-way video, two-day workshop. Campus based specialists provide curriculum materials and coordinate administer the training, including the allocation of Continuing Education Credits for Indiana Certified Teachers, Indiana Public Accountants, Indiana Social Workers, and Law Enforcement officers.  Cost recovery via gifts, scholarships, and registration fees support general operating administration of a professional development mini grant program for county based Extension professional facilitating on-site training. The workshop was delivered in 23 counties. 

The program has built a solid reputation around the state for assisting nonprofits, especially small, community-based organizations. Attendees report that their participation in the program assisted them with applying for and receiving over $5.5 million in funding to address community issues. Grants have supported building renovations, infrastructure development, school-based programs and equipment, small business funding, environmental protection projects, health and human resource projects, programs to enhance computer and health education projects, youth programs, and general operating dollars supporting organization growth and sustainability.

Impact: Helping Communities Identify & Address Critical Issues

Community are complex organizations in which no single person or entity is “in charge.” Most communities lack the “civic space” in which to frame issues and identity ways to address them. In many communities, Extension provides that civic space acting as a neutral convener, providing the facilitation needed to engage stakeholders, and serving as an impartial source of research-based information to assist the community in making better-informed decisions.

In 2007, Extension staff, both specialists and educators, were involved in 370 communities helping them build their capacity to identify and address critical issues. The array of issues is wide and the ways in which Extension has assisted has taken a number of forms. Some of the areas in which community issues have been identified and addressed include local government finance, land use and natural resource, entrepreneurship, workforce development.

There are many examples of Extension’s work in this area. The following are two representative examples of Extension programming that took place during the reporting period: (1) Responding to the need for programming related to local government finance, two state-wide sessions were delivered on the topic. Over 600 local government officials attended these programs. (2) In Allen County, Extension assisted in forming a new coalition of youth-serving organizations that resulted in a youth summit. One of Extension’s contributions was to assist the helping the community’s youth conduct town hall meetings to identify priority community needs.

The following are some of the impacts and results from the programming related to this issue. (1) In the local government finance program 97% of participants indicated that the information from the session helped them identify important community issues related to local government finance and 88% indicated that their new knowledge would have an impact on the fiscal well-being of their community. (2) The adult advisers attending the Allen County youth summit indicated their perception of the significant benefits of a venue in which youth could identify community issues about which they are concerned and to communicate these concerns to adult civic leaders. As a result, the youth applied for and received three grants of $500 each (total of $1,500) to help address community needs. 

Partnership Increases Educational Opportunities for Clinton County Students

Purdue Extension's Learning Network of Clinton County has joined a partnership with the Indiana University High School (IUHS), and Community Action Program, Inc. of Western Indiana to provide a facilitated learning program for high school students seeking alternative forms of education.

Under the partnership, traditional and nontraditional students take online IUHS courses that apply toward their local school’s diploma requirements, or toward an IUHS diploma. Through the Clinton County Learning Network, students receive access to computer labs, on-site tutors, and licensed teacher-facilitators funded through a grant from the Clinton County Department of Child Services. Support services such as career planning, mentoring, and Department of Workforce Development — funded scholarships are also available. IUHS is also providing a 25 percent discount on tuition to students participating through this partnership.

“The collaboration among these three organizations provides a unique and exciting opportunity for students in Clinton County,” said IUHS Director Bruce Colston. “We hope to form similar partnerships in other communities so that students across Indiana can realize their educational goals.”

Indiana University High School is an accredited virtual high school offering more than 100 distance education courses, 60 dual-credit courses, and AP courses in English, history, and chemistry. More information about IUHS is available at scs.indiana.edu.

Contact Susan Tharp at [email protected] or visit www.lnocc.org to learn more about the Clinton County partnership and the possibility of creating similar partnerships in your community.

Meet Kris Parker, Porter County

Kris Parker is an Extension Educator in the area of Economic and Community Development at the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service in Porter County. Prior to joining Extension in 2005, Kris held several posts in the nonprofit sector in Oregon, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Minnesota.  She managed a family shelter and emergency assistance program with Catholic Community Services. She worked to train international peacebuilders working in post-conflict communities with the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and the CONTACT Summer Institute. Kris and her husband, Craig, spent a 5-month stint as volunteers in a remote village in the Dominican Republic doing community development work with The Nature Conservancy.

Kris has an M.A. in Intercultural Service, Leadership and Management from the School for International Training in Vermont and a B.A. in Human Development and Social Relations from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.

Through her work with Extension, Kris provides training on various topics of leadership and civic engagement, diversity, small business development, and nonprofit and organizational development.  She actively partners with organizations in Porter County and Northwest Indiana to advance economic and community development.

Kris started a local foods network for Northwest Indiana beginning with a Local Foods Forum in 2006. She led the team that planned the Local Foods Expos in Northwest Indiana and Elkhart County in 2007. Her monthly e-newsletter South Shore Local Foods Connections continues to serve as a regional resource for local foods information. She is also a Purdue New Ventures Team member.

Kris serves on the board of the United Way of Porter County and the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. She was previously a board member of Leadership LaPorte County. She is a member of the Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council and serves as co-chair of the Emerging Leaders’ Society (United Way of Porter County) and the Valpo Chamber’s Leadership Academy.

As an Extension Educator, Kris enjoys her work best when she knows that she is making a positive difference in people’s lives. She is grateful to have the opportunity to work in an organization that encourages her to wake up every morning and ask herself, “What can I do for my community today?”
Kris can be contacted by phone at 219-465-3555, Ext 27 or by email.

Video Worksop: Community Support Systems for Entrepreneurship

How does a community become a great place for businesses to start and grow? What models are out there that work? What role can those of us in supporting organizations play? These are the types of questions discussed during this two-hour video workshop conducted on February 7, 2008 by Scott Hutcheson of Purdue Extension ECD and Jeff Sanson of the Indiana Council for Economic Education. The links for both the video workshop and the PowerPoint handout is available below:

• Video Workshop
• Handout

 

Meet Carmen DeRusha, Marion County

Carmen E. DeRusha is an Extension Educator in the area of Economic and Community Development at the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service in Marion County.  Carmen,originally from Colombia, moved to the USA in 1986.  She has worked successfully in the area of neighborhood development in two urban neighborhoods in the City of Indianapolis.  Most recently, she has focused her time working with the Hispanic community in Indiana.

Carmen served a the Executive Director of La Plaza from March of 2003 to December 2004, a partnership organization of The Hispanic Center, Fiesta Indianapolis, The Indianapolis Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Hispanic Education Center. In October of 2004 she was asked to serve as the Interim Director of the Hispanic Center a 34 year old Hispanic Organization dedicated to serve the social and health needs of Hispanics In Marion County.

Carmen believes very strongly in the power of people working together towards a shared vision.  She would like to contribute to the creation of community-based organizations within the Hispanic community as a way to strengthen the presence and positive influence of the people of Hispanic origin in the community at large.

Carmen has served as a volunteer on the Board of Directors of Fiesta Indianapolis, Inc.,four years as President; the Board of Directors of Marion County Commission on Youth,Imagine Campaign for the Marion County Public Library and La Plaza Inc., the Mayor’s Latino Commission and the American Pianists Association. In 2002 Governor Frank O’Bannon appointed Carmen to the Indiana Heritage and Cultural Council.

Currently she is Board member of the Goodwill Industries Foundation, the Hawthorne Community Center, President of Sociedad de Amigos Colombia, SADCO, member of the Local Initiative Support Corporation, LISC Advisory Committee and the IndyNeighborhoods Implementation and Demonstration Working Groups.

Carmen is passionate about building bridges of understanding between Latinos and the community at large. Carmen has provided leadership in organizing and implementing the following events: Fiesta Indianapolis, 1999 to 2002, co-chair of the Latino Summit “The Changing Face of Indiana from 2001 to 2004, Latin American Symphonic Music Concerts from 1997 to 2007 and as chair of the First Conference on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, 2006.

As a guest speaker, Carmen addresses the topics of diversity, culture and Latino issues in general.

In 2002, Carmen received the Indiana Extension Educators Association Innovator Award for Leadership and Community Development. She has also received a Cultural Vision Award from NUVO news weekly, the Hispanic-American Service Award from the Hispanic Education Center and a “Paul B. Crooks Award” from Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service.

Carmen is a participant in the National Training Laboratory, Diversity Practitioner’s Certification Training.

Carmen can be contacted by phone at 317-275-9305, Ext 253 or by email.