Shannon Rogers joined the Community and Economic Development Team in July as a Natural Resource-Based Economic Development Specialist. She will help communities leverage the state’s rich natural resources and amenities to support vibrant communities and local economies.
“I am really excited about working for Extension,” said Shannon, “my work has always served to link scholarship and community engagement.” When asked what it was about the positon that interested her, she said, “the prospect of working with an interdisciplinary team that works together to respond to grand challenges facing communities is really exciting!”
Shannon, who served as assistant professor of ecological economics at Plymouth State University since 2012 and adjunct faculty at Dartmouth College since 2016, is an interdisciplinary scholar and educator who focuses on complex environment-human systems. Examples of her work include an inventory of walkability in Portsmouth and Manchester; collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers to infuse sustainable practices into day-to-day operations; assessing the value of watersheds in New England, and serving as community engagement lead for Dartmouth College’s Toxic Metals Superfund program.
Shannon has also worked in the private and public sectors supporting economic analysis, policy-making, and community engagement. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and her Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at UNH, where she explored the relationship between social capital and the built environment in Manchester and Portsmouth.
A native of New Hampshire, Shannon has a deep interest in improving the quality of life in communities by drawing upon the benefits provided by natural resources and amenities. Those benefits include clean water, clean air, recreation-based economic development, and provisioning of food and fiber.
