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.

Charlie received a B.A. in Geography from Dartmouth College, an M.A. in Geography and Regional Planning from Western Illinois University and his doctorate in Natural Resources and Earth Systems Sciences from the University of New Hampshire.