Peace Corps Fellow Michelle Norris has been selected to fill the newly created position of Community and Economic Development Extension Educator in Clark County, Illinois. “Michelle has done an outstanding job in her position as a Peace Corps Fellow and we are excited to be adding her to our staff,” says Susan Guinnip, Clark County Extension Unit Leader. Norris helped to lay the groundwork which led to the creation of the position. Norris feels this new permanent position, housed within the local University of Illinois Extension unit, is the greatest success of her 11-month internship.

Norris has served as a springboard for helping a rural county of 17,008 people to envision growth and development in an effort to attract businesses, jobs, and tourists as well as enhance the life of its current residents. One of the major expectations of Norris’s new position is that Michelle continue to, “work with the Economic Development committee and the community to develop, coordinate, and implement countywide programming that will address these issues,” says Guinnip.

“Under Michelle’s leadership, the Economic Development committee has developed a Strategic Plan that will set the foundation for Economic Development in Clark County,” states Guinnip. Norris, a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Ukraine, worked with county stakeholders to formulate a 3-5 year economic development plan in order to attain their goals. Commenting on the plan, Julie Bounds, Economic Development Director for the City of Marshall, IL, says, “The Strategic Plan will allow our County to move forward in its economic development efforts.”

Serving as a neutral countywide representative, she has encouraged individual communities to join forces in order to more forcefully confront the challenges in community and economic development. “It was understood that the communities and local organizations had to begin collaborating in innovative ways to maintain the effort long-term,” says Norris. “Michelle exhibited true leadership skills. . . none of this would have been possible without her diligent efforts,” says Bounds in regards to Norris’s efforts in coordinating community involvement.

Norris completed her internship responsibilities in November of 2003 earning a Masters Degree in Political Science. “The internship has validated the important notion that community economic development cannot be undertaken with a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach. Throughout the internship, I’ve made it a point to attend every County Board, City Council, community civic event, etc. that I could fit into my schedule – to make certain people knew who I was and why the county had invested their money in bringing me here. This was essential to gauge the unique needs and capacities of the communities with which I worked. It was also imperative to form the networks needed to facilitate projects in a manner that would be sustainable when the Peace Corps Fellows internship is concluded.”

Norris has found her internship to be both personally and professionally rewarding. When asked what Norris valued most in her internship experience, she responded with, “I value the opportunity I’ve been given to work with a great group of people truly committed to this county’s future viability. This was a wonderful environment in which to work as a change agent.” Bound’s feels the same, “The Clark County Economic Development Committee has nothing but praise for her work.”