Crisp Center Snapshot: '22-'23 review

Students in the Isley Innovation Hub. (ECU Photo by Cliff Hollis)

This year has been the most productive for the Crisp Center so far.

  • Workshops- 23
  • Businesses assisted- 760
  • Students involved- 300
  • Consulting hours 29,740

In addition to the quantitative metrics, the team also served on NC’s Small Business Advisory Council, Rural Center Board, and served as Grant Reviewers for CDFI Programs Grant ($5,000,000) with the Rural Center and NC Idea Seed ($600,000), served on NC Idea Data Advisory Council, Pitt CC Entrepreneurship Program Advisory Board, and the ENC Food Commercialization Center Board of Directors.

Effective July 1, we will welcome a new Interim Crisp Center Director Dr. Emily Yeager, an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation Sciences, Dr. Yeager’s work focuses on rural community development, rural tourism, and small-town entrepreneurship. Since joining ECU in 2018, after completing her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, she built programs, attracted external funding, and engaged with regional community leaders. A couple of her current initiatives fit well within the scope of the Crisp Center including the Tar-Pamlico Blue Economy Corridor, Building Rural Community Resilience, an investigation of tourism and recreation business owners in Pitt County, and a feasibility study of the Beaufort County Nature-Based Water Trail.

What I am most excited about is Dr. Yeager’s passion for helping our rural communities and businesses. I am excited to support Dr. Yeager as an affiliate faculty member in the Crisp Center. Her leadership is an exciting next step in our mission of growing and sustaining our regional small business community.

Welcome to the team Dr. Yeager!

David Mayo