By Dean Whittaker In March of 2009, I met and hired a Nepalese Hope College intern by the name of Vidhan Rana. Vidhan came to me as an intern with a desire to learn about economic development so that when he returned to Nepal, he could help build schools in the rural...
By Dean WhittakerSo, what have I learned this month? In seeing the movie, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” I learned what a unique, compassionate and kind person Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers) was, perhaps best exemplified in how he spoke to children about...
By Dean Whittaker My nature is to wonder. I wonder about lots of things but mostly about the future. I study social, technological, economic, environmental and political trends. One thing I have been puzzled by is why economic development organizations continue...
By Dean Whittaker As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the things for which I am grateful. This month I received an email from an old friend who attached a letter that I had written him in 1977 congratulating him on his new position as president/CEO...
By Dean WhittakerOn October 14-17, I attended the annual meeting of The International Economic Development Council in Indianapolis, Indiana. The scale and scope of the four-day event surprised this old hand: With 80 concurrent sessions and hundreds of speakers, we,...
