Alec Dompka

Alec supports economic development projects and strategy development by working with local and tribal governments, non-profits, and private businesses to coordinate and facilitate positive economic development. While applying technical knowledge and science-based expertise to these projects, he hopes to demonstrate that economic development in rural communities can be locally led and directed, inclusive and effective. Alec works to create and advance economic evaluation methods that more accurately measure economic development outcomes. These look beyond GDP and other limited metrics into things like environmental and cultural capital and center issues of distribution and effects in underserved communities.

Alec works in a region plagued by the legacy of boom-and-bust extractive industries. His research and extension work addresses these issues and supports community resilience in their wake. Alec aids clientele in a broad range of topics from energy generation and transmission to agricultural and recreation tourism. Living in the rural region he serves allows Alec to have a unique on-the-ground perspective and to quickly respond to community needs. Alec conducts extension education through various mediums and strives to make economic education accessible and engaging to the public.

Born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dompka earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State, double majoring in political science and economics. He also holds an M.A. in agricultural and natural resources economics from NC State. Outside of work, you can find him climbing, backpacking, or skiing in the mountains. If you’re lost in Del Norte, give him a call, he’s a Del Norte Search and Rescue team member.

Follow me on Twitter at Alec_rural_dev