Cara Crisler, MA

Project Officer

Office: 919-843-3298
Fax: 919-843-3083
cara_crisler@unc.edu

Job Focus

Cara first worked with ALBD as a Project Manager, primarily focusing her efforts on Fit Community, an initiative of the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC), which was launched November 10, 2005. This designation and grant program recognizes and rewards North Carolina communities' efforts to support physical activity and healthy eating partnerships, promotions, programs, policies, and environments. Cara helped to develop this program and continues to provide technical assistance to Fit Community applicants and grantees, now in her role as Project Officer.

Why am I working at Active Living By Design?

While living and studying in the Netherlands, I became inspired by the creative means used there to meet the challenges that accompany a large population living in a limited land area. Careful land use planning and design is employed at every turn. The streets are vibrant with people of all ages and diverse activities, and there is a distinct edge between urban and rural landscapes. When I returned to the States in 1996, I determined that much can be done here, too, to move toward a more sustainable use of natural resources while simultaneously providing for active living. This experience has inspired me to spend the last ten years advocating for better community planning practices.

Bio

Cara has a range of managerial and nonprofit experience primarily concerning land use planning advocacy and coalition building. Prior to her current role, Cara moved through the ranks of the NC Smart Growth Alliance, finally serving as its Executive Director. Her related experiences include helping to found the Triangle Smart Growth Coalition, serving as a board member of Triangle Growth Strategies, Inc. and The Village Project, co-chairing the Orange County Commission for the Environment, and serving as a trained volunteer facilitator for the Orange County Dispute Settlement Center. She currently serves on the Orange County Transfer of Development Rights Task Force.

Earlier in her career, Cara served as an AmeriCorps*Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA), coordinating a sustainable community planning program at the East Tennessee Community Design Center and authored the manual FutureScapes: Guidelines for Creating Community-based Development Strategies. She later worked as a planning consultant in eastern Tennessee, primarily responsible for engaging the public in growth management planning processes and coordinating Visual Preference SurveysTM and charrettes. In addition, Cara spent two years as the Training Director for the Carolina Population Center at UNC-CH.

Cara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of Tennessee and a Doctorandus (master’s degree) in “spatial science” (city and regional planning) from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, the Netherlands. She also completed the National Smart Growth Leadership Training Program at the University of Maryland.

Walking the Talk

The most important way in which I "walk the talk" has to do with where I live. My family lives in downtown Carrboro, where we can walk or bike to all of our daily needs. On most days I bike our son and daughter to daycare en route to work (nine miles roundtrip) and as a family, we walk to the neighborhood park or through a nearby forest with our dog. We also walk or bike at least twice a week to our local food coop and/or farmer's market, where we buy mostly organic produce. In addition, I love organic gardening and grow summer vegetables and herbs. We also participate in a "community-supported agriculture" (CSA) program and receive a box of local, organic produce weekly throughout the long North Carolina growing season. This inspires us to eat home-cooked, balanced meals with fresh foods minimally six days a week.