Photo by Jessica D'Avanza

I found my way to Charlie French's office in Charles James Hall on a typical rainy Friday afternoon in April. When I arrived Charlie was smiling brightly and eager to meet with me. I quickly noted a bike in the corner of his office, which overlooks Morrill Hall and I sensed I was in the presence of an avid outdoorsman. I later discovered that the bike is in fact a symbol of his love of the outdoors. He's a biker, kayaker, fisherman and hiker. "Every year I hike with my dad for a week at Baxter State Park in Maine." He is also a runner and has competed in the Boston Marathon.

Aside from his enthusiasm for the outdoors, Charlie is also well-traveled. He has done what many people only dream of doing - after graduating from Dartmouth with a degree in geography, he served as an intern in the Cartographic Division at National Geographic in Washington D.C.; "It was a fun job," Charlie says, "But I got the travel bug." To satisfy it, Charlie joined the Peace Corps, which placed him in rural Panama to teach farmers about sustainable agriculture techniques. His college Spanish that he had no interest for at the time came in handy as he learned the native tongue. He served from 1994 to 1997 and when his service was complete he decided to travel again, but this time to grad school at a joint program between Illinois State and Western Illinois University where he mastered in urban planning. The small town of Ashland, Illinois took him on as their Town Planner.

"The Peace Corps taught me to be an independent thinker, but at the same time one who focuses on building social relationships and networks. I learned most of what I know about community development and community organizing while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer… I came to understand that community sustainability only occurs by building the capacity of the community's citizenry to enhance and improve their own futures."

Charlie expressed that he was sad when he had to leave the Peace Corps because he felt it was the end to his grass-roots community work. In graduate school, however, he discovered Cooperative Extension and, ultimately, Charlie packed up and headed to the University of New Hampshire to take on the position of Community and Economic Development Specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension. His main duties in the position are developing technical assistance and training programs for Cooperative Extension and the public. He also engages UNH faculty and students in providing outreach to New Hampshire communities. Strategic Planning, Master Planning, GIS mapping of socioeconomic trends and local economic/market analysis are just a few of the whirlwind of outreach activities that he works on in his office. "The most rewarding part of my job is when I actually get to see the fruits of my capacity-building outreach activities. UNH provides such a stimulating intellectual environment; I enjoy the unique aspect of being connected to some of the most cutting edge research coming from UNH faculty and students."

Charlie states that working with the students here has had a profound impact on him; "I taught a course at the Thompson School for Applied Science entitled, "Managing Change and Conflict in Communities." It was gratifying to see the students put into practice the principles that I instilled throughout the course. It gives me hope that the spirit of civic and community engagement is not dying."

Now living in Newmarket, NH, he is also working on his Ph.D. in Natural Resources where his dissertation will focus on community gardening. Charlie also had some good news to share with me on my visit, as he will be getting married on May 15 to his fiancé, AnnMarie. From there he will be visiting the islands of Hawaii and as he says, "So when this piece comes out on the HR section of UNH's website, I'll be basking in the Hawaiian sun."