Reviving Hometowns, Energizing Communities with Dr. Eleanor Cooper – 9-3-16

July 25, 2016

How is the health of your hometown?  Strong local schools and economies are a foundation of American society, and yet in this year of a national election, we might forget to reflect on our own local priorities.  There are efforts going on all across the country, in towns big and small, to keep communities strong, vital, and energized.  What is the key to keeping our hometowns healthy?  This week we speak with a woman who has been a leader for change in her own community, and now helps others lead themselves back to health.  Join us as she shares her insights on what we need to know about having a healthy hometown.

Dr. Eleanor McCallie Cooper is the former Executive Director of Chattanooga Venture, the organization that led Vision 2000 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Chattanooga’s visioning process is renown for setting a new course for the city’s revitalization that led to the Tennessee Aquarium and a “spirit of Renaissance” that brought Volkswagen to Chattanooga. She is currently a consultant to the Visioning a Greater Racine team in Racine, Wisconsin.

Dr. Cooper served as Vice-President of the Lyndhurst Foundation. In recent years, she has been the Chattanooga Coordinator for the Marshall Memorial Fellowship, a program of the German Marshall Fund of the United States that brings young leaders from 22 countries in Europe to the United States.

Dr. Cooper received her Bachelors Degree in English Literature from Agnes Scott College, and a Masters Degree in American Civilization at the University of Alabama.  In 2013, she received a doctorate from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for her work on community learning and change.

For more information about the Visioning a Greater Racine effort, go to http://www.visioningagreaterracine.org/.