We are thrilled to welcome Marci Miller to the RDI team! She was recently hired as the Program Manager for the USDA Rural Development Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge awarded to RDI for work in Othello, WA. This two-year project is a highly participatory, community-led project. Marci has worked as a project manager for the Western Community Assessment Network (WeCAN) since 2019 under the direction of Dr. Lorie Higgins, Community Extension Specialist at the University of Idaho. As a convener of the Peer Learning Network, Community Bootcamp, and Solutions Roundtables for Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming rural communities, she is well versed in rural Idaho topics and issues.

Marci is rural born and raised in the far corner of Northeast Washington state to the Palouse in Moscow, ID. She earned her B.S. in Conservation Social Science with minors in Outdoor Recreation, and Environmental Education & Interpretation. Marci will graduate with her M.S. in Adult, Organization Learning and Leadership in May 2023. She loves spending time in nature with her husband and young daughter. She also enjoys whitewater rafting and camping all over the Western US. Marci and her family have an organic vegetable farm (Deep Roots Farm) in Moscow, ID, that keeps their hands dirty and bellies full.