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
Treasurer
Matt Tackett
President
Southern Economic Development Council
Board Trustees
Jonathan Dean, PCED
Planning Manager
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury
Kay Fitzsimons
CDI Texas Director
Executive Director, Leadership and Economic Dev
Lone Star College
Steve Halter, IOM, PCED, EDFP, MoCED
President
Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce
Jessica Hemingway, PCED
CDI Central in Louisiana Director
Vice President
Bossier Chamber of Commerce
Roger Hesketh
CDI Mid-Atlantic Director
Director of Community Revitalization
Center for Community Research & Service
University of Delaware
Erik Kingston, PCED
Housing and Community Access Specialist
Western Rural Development Center (WRDC)
Christopher Merrett, Ph.D.
CDI Midwest
Co-Director
Director
Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs Western Illinois University
Jerry Miller
CDI Northwest Director
Rural Support Manager
Idaho Commerce
Cory Parks
Chief Economic Development Officer
Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and Conway Development Corporation
Mary Patterson, PCED
Director, CDI Southeast
Program Manager/Professional Development and Conference Services
The University of Alabama
Kara Salazar
Assistant Program Leader for Community Development and Sustainable Communities
Purdue University Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Lisa Taylor, PCED
Project Manager
WSB Engineering
Matthew Twyford, PCED
Community Development Director
Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Sandy Wittig, MBA
CDI Midwest Co-Director
Deputy Director
Western Illinois University
Patti Worfe, PCED
President & CEO
Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County
Honorary Advisory Members
Michael Dougherty, PCED
Extension Specialist/Extension Professor
West Virginia University Extension Service
L. Steve Jones, PCED
Building & Sites Coordinator
Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Vic Lafont, PCED
Retired
Carolyn Motl, PCED
Principal
The Motl Group
Ex-Officio Member
Matthew Darius
PCED Certification Secretary
Executive Director
Southern Economic Development Council
