Throughout my career, I have been engaged in a number of capacity building programs. Initially, I worked for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service where I founded NC Tourism Extension in 2000. I also partnered with The Conservation Fund Resourceful Communities Program, Handmade in America, Recreation Resources Service, and various destination marketing organizations working throughout NC’s 85 rural counties.
While at East Carolina University (2010-2014), I was apart of the Talent Enhancement and Capacity Building program led by Mr. Kenny Flowers. Recently, the Rural Community Capacity program (RC2) was initiated at AppState based on the work that Kenny and I did at ECU. From 2022-2024 the RC2 program served over 50 rural communities all over the state. RC2 is a set of principles that can be applied to any cultural or geographical contexts including international locales.
Capacity building is defined as developing skills and confidence to tackle local problems. Tough issues require an internal and external perspective and multidisciplinary approaches. Capacity building is simply sorting through all of the tools in the toolbox to support local visions.
The UPLIFT program, which is designed to support community driven initiatives, began in 2022. Over the course of three years, UPLIFT is serving many rural communities in North Carolina by supporting the local vision for tourism development. Programs have included festival trainings, tourism incubator, grant and loan assistance, webinars on a variety of topics, PR support, and targeted initiatives for destination marketing organizations. For more details about this go to www.uplifttourism.com. Soon the UPLIFT program will be expanding to other states and destinations. Please contact UPLIFT for more information and/or myself to conduct workshops in your community/organization.