Charlie French
Extension Associate Professor/Specialist, Community & Economic Development

As a Community and Economic Development Specialist for UNH Cooperative Extension, Dr. French provides municipalities with planning assistance in the areas of land use, recreation, tourism , civic agriculture, community development, and economic development.  From 1999 - 2001, he was an Economic Development Educator for the University of Illinois Extension and from 1995 - 1997 he served as a  Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Panama, where he taught conservation principles and sustainable agriculture techniques to school-age youth and to subsistence farmers.

Charlie brings his applied experience into the classroom as a faculty member in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, where he teaches courses in community and economic development. Couses taught by Charlie include CD-415 (Community Development and Planning Perspectives) and RAM-993 (Graduate Seminar).

 Curriculum Vitae

• Community entrepreneurship: Welcoming entrepreneurs to your town.

• Urban community gardening and local food systems.

• Resident-owned manufactured housing communities in New Hampshire.

• Ecosystem-based management through collaborative networks.

• Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Earth Systems Sciences, University of New Hampshire.

• M.A. in Geography/Regional Planning and Development, Western Illinois University.

• B.A. in Geography/Environmental Studies, Dartmouth College.

• Extension Associate Professor and Coordinator of UNH Cooperative Extension's Community Development Program (2001 - present).

• Board Member, Sustainable Harvest International.

• Board Member, National Association for Community Development Extension Professionals.

• Principal Investigator on multiple grants, including "Community Assets for People (GIS) Mapping Project" and "Use of Distance Education Technology to Educate Students about Natural Resources Management".

• Advisory Committee Member, New Hampshire Carbon Challenge

• UNH Outreach Scholar (2004 - 2005).

• Economic Development Educator and Carbondale Extension Center Coordinator, University of Illinois Extension (1999 - 2001).

• Peace Corps Volunteer, Environmental Education and Sustainable Agriculture (Panama 1995 - 1997).

• Cartographic Intern, National Geographic Society (1994).

• National Association for Community Development Extension Professionals.

• International Community Development Society.

• Community development

• Economic and tourism development

• Land use and natural resources planning

• Public participation in local decision-making

• French, Charles and Michele Gagne. "Community Visioning in New Hampshire: The Meaning of Success". Special issue of the journal Community Development (in progress).

• French, Charles; Becker, Mimi and Bruce Lindsay. "Boston's Ethnic Gardens in the Face of Demographic Change". Under review by the journal Geographical Review.

• French, Charles and Fabienne Lord Fonseca. "Ten Years of Community Profiles in New Hampshire: Community Success Stories". Published by the University of New Hampshire, August 2008.

• French, Charles; Giraud, Kelly, and Sally Ward. "Building Wealth through Ownership: Resident-Owned Manufactured Housing Communities in New Hampshire." Journal of Extension. April 2008. Article available on the Web at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2008april/a3.shtml

• Ward, Sally; French, Charles and Kelly Giraud. "Resident-Owned Communities in New Hampshire". Cooperative Housing Journal. Published by the National Association of Housing Cooperatives. 2006 Annual Issue.

• Co-Author of "Cooperative Extension's Community Development Foundations of Practice". Published in partnership with the National Regional Rural Development Centers. January 2005. Publication available on the Web at: http://www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/projects/corecomp/fop.pdf

• French, Charles and Thane Harrison. "An Introduction to Fiscal Impact Analysis". Town and City Magazine. Published by the New Hampshire Local Government Center. October 2005.

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