Rural Bridges
Rural Bridges is a unique program of Washington State University Extension. With its roots firmly planted in the land-grant tradition of using new knowledge to benefit people of all walks of life, it leverages the power of information technology as well as personal connections and affinities to build vibrant rural communities in Washington and nationwide.
Rural Bridges is housed in WSU Extension's Center to Bridge the Digital Divide and dovetails perfectly with CBDD's mission to "make a difference in the lives of people around the world through enabling them to more effectively access and utilize modern information technology." Created in the summer of 2000, CBDD features a team of 14 professionals with backgrounds in everything from economics, technology, and information design to business management and psychology. Since its inception, CBDD has attracted $25 million in program support; it has received support from more than 20 funding sponsors including multi-million-dollar grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Led by world-class faculty members, co-directors Dee Christensen and Monica Babine, Rural Bridges focuses on helping rural community leaders to build the capacity to prepare for, create, and attract jobs using the latest information technology. Rural Bridges also helps corporate executives, business owners, and other entrepreneurs evaluate rural communities that might meet their business needs. The results? New, living-wage jobs that strengthen rural communities as well as a new labor pool and reduced operating costs for urban business.
Since its beginning seven years ago, Rural Bridges has worked with communities in 14 counties in Washington to create more than 200 living-wage jobs. It was featured on Comcast Local Edition during CNN Headline News in 2006, featured in a special supplement in the Puget Sound Business Journal in 2005, and honored with the Washington Governor's Best Practices Award in Workforce Development in 2003. The Rural Bridges team is often asked to speak at national, state, and regional conferences and has received interest in their work from several other states including Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Nevada, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
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Dee Christensen
360.584.3025
christensend@wsu.edu
http://www.cbdd.wsu.edu
Monica Babine
425.827.8015
babinem@wsu.edu