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Thanks to a grant from the Ford Family Foundation and support from Polk County, the city of Independence and SEDCOR have jointly hired Alex to work as a rural innovation catalyst and the business retention and expansion manager to assist traded-sector businesses in Polk County.

Alex will work with Independence Economic Development Director Shawn Irvine on the Smart Rural Community effort to encourage the establishment and growth of technology and agriculture-based companies in Polk County. The Rural Innovation Catalyst also will work to foster entrepreneurship and STEAM education programming.

For 10 years, Alex worked at Willamette University serving as assistant director of alumni communication and then as associate director of research and prospect management.

A 2006 University of Oregon graduate, Alex, whose last name is pronounced Pa-ra-skeh-vas, grew up in Salem, graduating from South Salem High School in 2002.