Don Manson is an Adjunct Professor in the Geography Program at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), where he is also a Research Associate on the Canada Research Chair’s Rural and Small Town Studies Team and the Coordinator of UNBC’s Community Development Institute. Don received his Masters Degree in Political Science from UNBC in 1997. Working with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities, Don has been involved in a large number of community based projects, including the creation of a community transition toolkit, a number of services studies looking at the needs of youth and seniors, an examination of the service industry sector in northern BC, as well as a number of economic and community development studies, community capacity issues, and the Northern BC Economic Development Vision and Strategy Project.
Community outreach, knowledge mobilization, and in-community research are among Don’s many responsibilities as the Coordinator of the Community Development Institute. Don visits, by truck, most communities in Northern BC and the Southern Yukon each year. Living out of his vehicle has become a research specialty.
Don has been a Research Associate on the British Columbia Resource Communities project, Project manager for the Rural and Remote Health Research Institute at UNBC, Project manager for the National Rural Health Research Summit held in Prince George in October 2000, Project manager for the British Columbia Rural Health Conference held in Prince George in January 2001, co-sponsored by UNBC and the North Central Municipal Association. He served a three year term as policy advisor to the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Rural Health for the Federal Minister of Health.
Don has co-authored several articles on community development, the practice of community research, and is a co-author of “A Northern Place: Economic Renewal in Northern British Columbia” to be published by UBC Press.
Laura Ryser is the Research Manager of the Rural and Small
Town Studies Program at the University
of Northern British Columbia. She completed her Master’s degree in Natural
Resources and Environmental Studies at the UNBC in 2003. Laura has travelled to many communities
across northern BC and throughout Canada to explore rural
restructuring and community transition, seniors’ needs, shopping and commuting
trends, quality of life, skills assessments, networking, and partnership development. Her research interests include rural and
small town community change, institutional barriers to change, social learning
mechanisms, power and rationality, rural poverty, and how service providers and
voluntary organizations are building capacity and resiliency to respond to
restructuring trends across Canada.
From 2002 – 2007, Laura was the Research Manager of
the Services Theme Team for the New Rural Economy Project
(nre.concordia.ca). Key topics examined
rural restructuring across Canada,
as well as the deployment of partnerships and innovative services amongst
public and non-profit sectors. In 2004,
Laura was the Coordinator of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation’s
National Rural Think Tank hosted in Prince
George. Laura
served a two year term on the Prince George Winter Cities Committee
(2000-2002). Prior to coming to UNBC,
Laura’s interest in rural development began with work she completed with the
United Nations Development Program in Mongolia
and the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Manitoba.
She has also had the pleasure of visiting rural communities in Iitate
and Awano, Japan. She currently volunteers for the St. Vincent
de Paul Society in Prince George.
