Lindsey Karlson
Community Outreach Coordinator

Email: Lindsey.Karlson@RuralLearningCenter.org

About Me: I am a South Dakotan, born and raised. This is a fact I have come to acknowledge and appreciate more and more as the years pass. I attended Augustana College and there discovered two subjects in particular that sparked my passion: economics and sociology. I was absolutely unsure where these passions would take me.

Luckily, the Rural Learning Center and I found each other a few months before I graduated from Augustana, and I have been here ever since. It turns out economics and sociology are a great fit for working in and with rural communities. My work at the Rural Learning Center has deepened my love for South Dakota: the people, the places, and the lifestyle. Today I am doing work I love in a place I love. It doesn't get better than that!

What I do at the RLC: Good question. Officially I'm the 'community outreach coordinator' at the RLC. I spend most of my time traveling around South Dakota and the Midwest, working with and coaching small town leaders to help them understand their place more deeply.

Hometown: Madison, SD

What I wanted to be when I was little: A lawyer. Those who know me are not surprised by this - I love a good, intellectual argument!

Interesting previous job(s) I've held: The most interesting job I've had was the summer I worked as an intern with the Department of Social Services. My work for the summer entailed conducting research around treatment of economic assistance applicants by benefit specialists. Not long after I started, I decided that the best way to know how people are being treated is to walk in their shoes... so that's what I did for the remaining part of the summer. I traveled around the state of South Dakota encountering 'benefits specialists' as a client seeking economic assistance. The secret shopper of social services... who would have guessed!

A place I want to visit at least once in my lifetime: Travel has become a passion of mine, so choosing one place is impossible!

Favorite rainy day activity: A three way tie between baking cookies, watching a good comedy, and taking a nap.