Community Development Council (CDC)
The Community Development Council (CDC) is the coordinating body for the CDI national network. It is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to establish professional standards through certification and training that will be recognized as valuable to both the community development practitioner and those who employ their services.
CDC was founded in 1995 to promote the advancement of standards of competence for community development professionals through accreditation of community development educational programs, professional certification, and the development of community leaders.
Support for the Council's activities comes from private and public sector sponsors and from fees generated by certification and accreditation services. It is not a membership organization but does maintain a registry of Professional Community and Economic Developers in good standing.
The CDC oversees the certification process through its board of trustees and works collaboratively with the Community Development Institutes to deliver the full range of services leading to certification. The 16-member board is comprised of representatives from private industry, government, educational institutions, and non-profits. SEDC serves as the administrative home for CDC.
CDI History
CDC Board Officers
Chair
Shelby Fiegel, PCED
CDI Central Director
Director, Center for Community and Economic Dev
University of Central Arkansas
sfiegel@uca.edu
Vice-Chair
Gloria Zacharias, PCED
Program and Policy Coordinator
Business Oregon
gloria.zacharias@oregon.gov
Secretary
Amy Freeman, EDFP, PCED
Sr. Business Advisor
Navarro SBDC
amy.freeman@navarrocollege.edu
Treasurer
Matt Tackett
President
Southern Economic Development Council
mtackett@sedc.org
Board Trustees
Jonathan Dean, PCED
Vice President of Economic Development
The Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance
jdean@allianceswla.org
Michael Dougherty, PCED
Extension Specialist/Extension Professor
West Virginia University Extension Service
michael.dougherty@mail.wvu.edu
Kay Fitzsimons
CDI Texas Director
Executive Director, Leadership and Economic Dev
Lone Star College
kay.l.fitzsimons@lonestar.edu
Jennifer Hayes
CDI Southeast Director
Associate Director, Professional Development and Lifelong Learning, College of Continuing Studies
The University of Alabama
jhayes@ua.edu
Steve Halter, IOM, PCED, EDFP, MoCED
President
Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce
shalter@poplarbluffchamber.org
Roger Hesketh
CDI Mid-Atlantic Director
Director of Community Revitalization
Center for Community Research & Service
University of Delaware
rogergh@udel.edu
Erik Kingston, PCED
Housing Resources Coordinator
Idaho Housing and Finance Association
erikk@ihfa.org
Christopher Merrett, Ph.D.
CDI Midwest
Co-Director
Director, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs Western Illinois University
CD-Merrett@wiu.edu
Jerry Miller
CDI Northwest Director
Rural Support Manager
Idaho Commerce
jerry.miller@commerce.idaho.gov
Cory Parks
VP of Economic Development
Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and Conway Development Corporation
corey@conwayarkansas.org
Kara Salazar
Assistant Program Leader for Community Development and Sustainable Communities
Purdue University Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
salazark@purdue.edu
Lisa Taylor, PCED
Project Manager
WSB Engineering
lisajgt@gmail.com
Matthew Twyford, PCED
Community Development Director
Arkansas Economic Development Commission
mtwyford@arkansasedc.com
Sandy Wittig, MBA
CDI Midwest Co-Director
Deputy Director
Western Illinois University
sk-wittig@wiu.edu
Patti Worfe, PCED
President & CEO
Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County
pattiw@eda-bc.com
Honorary Advisory Member
Vic Lafont, PCED
Executive Director,
South Louisiana Economic Council
vic.lafont@nicholls.edu
