Lorie Higgins is an Extension Community Development Specialist and Professor of Rural Sociology at the University of Idaho. She has been training others to conduct REM and conducting REM for organizations since 2008. Lorie incorporates REM into many of her other programs at University of Idaho, including work with the Western Community Assessment Network (WeCAN), a three state community assessment and leadership development program (communityreview.org). Lorie’s Phd in Sociology is from Washington State University.
Lorie’s REM Reflections
“In a majority of cases, REM participants leave the process feeling more hopeful about their communities and with a greater sense of self-efficacy. As practitioners familiar with the literature, we know that these are some of the building blocks of community development.
“I think someone should map the impact of ripple mapping, because I believe that REM participants, armed with a palpable sense of their strengths and recent accomplishments, often proceed to make more positive changes in their communities and organizations.”