Craig Smith
Deputy Director
• About Me:
I grew up in Southern California and attended Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, a very small cluster school at rural Sonoma State University where I earned a Bachelors in Liberal studies with a specialization in Community Organizing a Development. As part of my independent studies, I help create a volunteer run community resource center that provided job and housing info, legal aid and public assistance counseling and a help line. The center was initially supported by donations and low cost community dinner fundraisers which I coordinated. During my senior year as director, I secured county funding for operations and received the Sonoma County Volunteer of the year award.
After watching Northern California begin to develop at a pace that resembled the Southland, in 1975, I migrated north after graduation and made my home in Oregon. I started a food business and developed and managed the large non-profit Portland Saturday Market. In 1990, I received a Masters in Business Administration from Portland State University, sold my business to my employees and moved to La Grande to work with the Regional Services Institute at Eastern Oregon University.
I started Rural Oregon Marketing Project that provided marketing assistance and training to businesses in the 10 most eastern counties of Oregon. One of the funders to this program was Lynn Youngbar, who ran the Community Initiatives Program at the Oregon Economic Development Department. When RDI was spun off from the Community Initiatives Program by the Legislature as a non-profit in 1992, Lynn hired me as the first staff person for RDI.
My wife, Amy, and I have two young children, Ethan and Harrison. Outside of work, I volunteer on the site council for my children’s school and love to bicycle, ski, and play with my children.
• What I do at RDI:
As little as possible. Actually as Director of Operations, I oversee all the operations of RDI as well as working closely with the field staff.
• State where I was born:
California
• What I wanted to be when I was 8 years old:
A lawyer like my dad.
• Interesting previous job(s) I've held:
Sewing labels in wigs.
• One of my personal goals for :
To take a six month sabbatical and travel around the world with my family.
• A place I want to visit at least once in my lifetime:
Trekking in Nepal.
• My favorite book and why:
My favorite book is The Small Mart Revolution by Michel Shuman because it demonstrates the importance of entrepreneurship, buying locally and supporting small businesses as the most viable strategy to create vital communities. This supports our beliefs and action at RDI.
• My favorite board game:
My favorite boardgame is “Sorry” because it takes very little skill and lots of luck.
• The coolest thing someone has done for me:
My eighth grade history teacher taught me how to rock climb and backpack.
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Deputy Director
• About Me:
I grew up in Southern California and attended Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, a very small cluster school at rural Sonoma State University where I earned a Bachelors in Liberal studies with a specialization in Community Organizing a Development. As part of my independent studies, I help create a volunteer run community resource center that provided job and housing info, legal aid and public assistance counseling and a help line. The center was initially supported by donations and low cost community dinner fundraisers which I coordinated. During my senior year as director, I secured county funding for operations and received the Sonoma County Volunteer of the year award.
After watching Northern California begin to develop at a pace that resembled the Southland, in 1975, I migrated north after graduation and made my home in Oregon. I started a food business and developed and managed the large non-profit Portland Saturday Market. In 1990, I received a Masters in Business Administration from Portland State University, sold my business to my employees and moved to La Grande to work with the Regional Services Institute at Eastern Oregon University.
I started Rural Oregon Marketing Project that provided marketing assistance and training to businesses in the 10 most eastern counties of Oregon. One of the funders to this program was Lynn Youngbar, who ran the Community Initiatives Program at the Oregon Economic Development Department. When RDI was spun off from the Community Initiatives Program by the Legislature as a non-profit in 1992, Lynn hired me as the first staff person for RDI.
My wife, Amy, and I have two young children, Ethan and Harrison. Outside of work, I volunteer on the site council for my children’s school and love to bicycle, ski, and play with my children.
• What I do at RDI:
As little as possible. Actually as Director of Operations, I oversee all the operations of RDI as well as working closely with the field staff.
• State where I was born:
California
• What I wanted to be when I was 8 years old:
A lawyer like my dad.
• Interesting previous job(s) I've held:
Sewing labels in wigs.
• One of my personal goals for :
To take a six month sabbatical and travel around the world with my family.
• A place I want to visit at least once in my lifetime:
Trekking in Nepal.
• My favorite book and why:
My favorite book is The Small Mart Revolution by Michel Shuman because it demonstrates the importance of entrepreneurship, buying locally and supporting small businesses as the most viable strategy to create vital communities. This supports our beliefs and action at RDI.
• My favorite board game:
My favorite boardgame is “Sorry” because it takes very little skill and lots of luck.
• The coolest thing someone has done for me:
My eighth grade history teacher taught me how to rock climb and backpack.
> Click to Return to Staff Listing