“I really value the sense of community and how folks show up – not just for the good stuff, but for the challenging times, too. That is really powerful.”

Carrie Pipinich sees big economic opportunities coming up for rural communities. As senior program officer for Community Economic Development, her job is to work alongside people and places to identify the assets and ideas that can help grow their future. And she thinks it’s a bright one.

“Diversifying our economies using tools like increased broadband access and entrepreneurship-based strategies helps our rural communities think about ways that they can thrive into the future,” she says.

A Seattle native, Carrie earned her undergraduate degree from Barnard College in New York City. “It was a great experience, but very much not home, so after graduation I happily came back to the Pacific Northwest,” she says.

She received her master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Portland State University in 2011. A placement with University of Oregon’s RARE AmeriCorps program led to her employment with Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, where she spent the next 12-plus years serving the region’s rural communities. She most recently served as MCEDD’s deputy director of economic development.

Carrie will work remotely from The Dalles, where she lives with her husband, young son and two dogs. “We love to get the whole pack outside to play,” she says.