Martha Claire Drysdale is the Director of Community Sustainability for Communities Unlimited. Martha Claire has over 15 years of experience working in the public and private sectors including funding, public outreach, and community development. She has actively engaged hundreds of interns across AR, LA, and MS in community capacity-building projects. Martha Claire has a BS from Delta State University in Business Education and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Mississippi College. Martha Claire has over 15 years of experience in community and economic development. In her free time, she enjoys hunting, fishing, church activities, and spending time with her "adult-ish" children.

Session One:
Track: TAP Skills:
Title: RCAP Regions and Community Economic Development: Connecting the Dots
Day/Time: Tuesday, 8/16 | 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Description: Connecting the dots between environmental work and community economic development – what does this mean in our daily work? How does this translate into positive change for our communities? How can we meet our mission to build resiliency in rural America? This participatory session will allow space for discussion, challenging assumptions, and creative thinking as we identify how we do this now – and what needs to happen to re-wire our approach for even greater impact.  Be prepared to share, inspire and leave with new strategies to elevate our collective impact in meeting our mission. 

Session Two:
Title: World Cafe – Why Community Economic Development is So Important
Day/Time: Thursday, 8/18 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Description: Pathways to Prosperity: Why CED is so important to RCAP’s Mission