About THE AUTHOR

The idea of creating an economic development and urban planning travel blog has been percolating for some time stimulated by 40+ years of U.S economic development consulting experience as well as extensive travels throughout the USA and globally. I am proud to announce that I recently received a Lifetime Achievement award from the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) recently selected me for a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of my economic development consulting career. 

40+ years of working with local governments, non-profit economic development organizations, for-profit developers and Indian Tribes provided an opportunity to travel and engage with community stakeholders in nearly every region of California where I live and numerous other states where I have also worked that include Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. I met a lot of great people along the way and navigated my way through some difficult situations.

As you may guess – adventure travel is in my blood following amazing trips through Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. My style is to travel overland, take the slow road and spend time in places, smell the roses and understand the local language and situation as much as possible. 

This all got started through service as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines during the mid-1970s. Travel throughout the Province of Palawan was an integral part of my work and nearly every day was an adventure travel day. Going to work included riding overcrowded Jeepneys and buses along terrible roads, riding small boats to get to places where there are no roads, and doing lots of walking to more remote barrios. 

Please feel free to scroll through my blogs and leave your email. You will be notified when new posts are born. I am a current resident of Poets Corner and earned a Bachelor’s of Economics Degree from the University of Washington and a Master’s of City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley