Bob Ault
Regional Community Development Coordinator
• About Me:
I was born and raised in Washington State, and spent the better part of my adult life working for the US Forest Service in the great state of Montana. I have an undergraduate degree in sociology and a graduate degree in Planning and Public Policy. I have been lucky enough to work for creative, innovative non-profits including Umpqua Community Development Corporation in Roseburg and St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County. I’m married and my wife Suzanne has put up with me for over ten years. We have two children, Matthew is ten and Grace is five. They are better than me in every way. I adhere to the Dickensian model of community development, which is something I made up and I’m still defining.
• What I do at RDI:
I am the Regional Coordinator for Southwest Oregon and Sisikyou, County, CA. I work primarily in Southwest Oregon and Northern California, but I can go anywhere and help out with almost anything in which RDI is involved. I’m lucky because I get to travel to and work in rural communities all around the region. I really like seeing new country and meeting the people who live and work in rural communities.
• State where I was born:
I was born in the State of Washington, and lived for many years in Montana.
• What I wanted to be when I was 8 years old:
When I was eight years old I wanted to be Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) from Marvel Comics Fantastic Four. The group was composed of the Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic (weird, stretchy guy-definitely not cool), and The Thing, a guy who looked like he was made of rocks. My eight year old mind was pretty sure that girls would not be attracted to a guy made of rocks. I thought Johnny Storm was the coolest guy in the group. He could turn himself into a torch (thus the name) and fly. It seemed like fun to me.
• Interesting previous job(s) I've held:
As I started looking for a vocation, I realized that positions as a human torch were kind of hard to come by. So, instead I worked as a smokejumper for the US Forest Service. Smokejumpers parachute out of aircraft and attempt to extinguish wildland fires. It is about as close as you can get to being Johnny Storm outside of the comics.
• One of my personal goals for :
Read more fiction Go on a real vacation with my family Build up my new bike and ride it on the Aufderheide Highway Work out at least five days a week
• A place I want to visit at least once in my lifetime:
Kampala, Uganda
• My favorite book and why:
Favorite author is Charles Dickens. It seems to me that Dickens was keenly aware that the plight of each individual is a responsibility borne by all humankind. Favorite book is “Moby Dick:” by Herman Melville. Perhaps the greatest work written in the English language. Second favorite is “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy Books are important to me.
• My favorite board game:
I’m wrapped too tight to play board games.
• The coolest thing someone has done for me:
I have great family and friends. The fact that they put up with me is about as cool as it gets.
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Regional Community Development Coordinator
• About Me:
I was born and raised in Washington State, and spent the better part of my adult life working for the US Forest Service in the great state of Montana. I have an undergraduate degree in sociology and a graduate degree in Planning and Public Policy. I have been lucky enough to work for creative, innovative non-profits including Umpqua Community Development Corporation in Roseburg and St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County. I’m married and my wife Suzanne has put up with me for over ten years. We have two children, Matthew is ten and Grace is five. They are better than me in every way. I adhere to the Dickensian model of community development, which is something I made up and I’m still defining.
• What I do at RDI:
I am the Regional Coordinator for Southwest Oregon and Sisikyou, County, CA. I work primarily in Southwest Oregon and Northern California, but I can go anywhere and help out with almost anything in which RDI is involved. I’m lucky because I get to travel to and work in rural communities all around the region. I really like seeing new country and meeting the people who live and work in rural communities.
• State where I was born:
I was born in the State of Washington, and lived for many years in Montana.
• What I wanted to be when I was 8 years old:
When I was eight years old I wanted to be Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) from Marvel Comics Fantastic Four. The group was composed of the Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic (weird, stretchy guy-definitely not cool), and The Thing, a guy who looked like he was made of rocks. My eight year old mind was pretty sure that girls would not be attracted to a guy made of rocks. I thought Johnny Storm was the coolest guy in the group. He could turn himself into a torch (thus the name) and fly. It seemed like fun to me.
• Interesting previous job(s) I've held:
As I started looking for a vocation, I realized that positions as a human torch were kind of hard to come by. So, instead I worked as a smokejumper for the US Forest Service. Smokejumpers parachute out of aircraft and attempt to extinguish wildland fires. It is about as close as you can get to being Johnny Storm outside of the comics.
• One of my personal goals for :
Read more fiction Go on a real vacation with my family Build up my new bike and ride it on the Aufderheide Highway Work out at least five days a week
• A place I want to visit at least once in my lifetime:
Kampala, Uganda
• My favorite book and why:
Favorite author is Charles Dickens. It seems to me that Dickens was keenly aware that the plight of each individual is a responsibility borne by all humankind. Favorite book is “Moby Dick:” by Herman Melville. Perhaps the greatest work written in the English language. Second favorite is “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy Books are important to me.
• My favorite board game:
I’m wrapped too tight to play board games.
• The coolest thing someone has done for me:
I have great family and friends. The fact that they put up with me is about as cool as it gets.
> Click to Return to Staff Listing