Category: Chair’s Update

We welcome some great new board members for this coming year. Neil Linscheid comes to the Board from Minnesota Extension where he has focused on business and economic development, and Steve Jeanetta, who has served as treasurer in the past, has joined us as VC for operations from Minnesota Extension as well. James Calvin, a long-term […]

Gratitude is a consistent theme that emerges as I write this column. As chair of the CDS Board of Directors, I continue to be amazed at the resilience and creative impact of our treasured Community Development Society during these tumultuous times.  First, I’m grateful to Anthony Cook, our secretary, and the CDS nominations committee members who found […]

As the Community Development Society expands its vibrancy and impact, our sister societies are reaching out to us. This past week, the president of the International Association for Community Development (IACD) from Northern Ireland and an IACD board member from Australia contacted me to explore a deeper connection between our organizations. In addition, the National Association […]

There is a fresh vibrancy in the Society that is quite visceral. I am buoyed by emails and calls from members involved in committees and on the board who raise new questions and express a willingness to do volunteer work.  I am grateful for the nominees for CDS Board of Directors and officer positions. CDS elections […]

Our field of community development continues to expand. We’ve seen the emergence of over a hundred U.S. and Canadian university degree programs with community development majors, minors, or certificates. There have been similar degree programs launched across the globe along with new community development thrusts in government, nonprofits, and socially conscious enterprises. I’m delighted that CDS […]