Dissertation: 鈥淩e-Creating the American West: An Examination of the Impacts of Creative District Policy in Rural Colorado.鈥�
Jennifer Shelby is originally from Boise, Idaho, where she lived听until 2015, when she moved to Colorado to study at the University of Colorado听Boulder. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, with a minor in visual art in 2012 from Boise State University. As an undergraduate, she was introduced to community issues at both local and global scales听through the humanities and economics studies. In 2013, her research on the cultural and economic value of farmers markets appeared as a chapter in the 鈥淚nvestigate Boise鈥� book, "Local, Simple, Fresh: Sustainable Food in the Boise Valley." She again wrote for the 鈥淚nvestigate Boise鈥� project in 2014, "Becoming Basque: Ethnic Heritage on Boise鈥檚 Grove Street," this time telling the story of public-private partnerships that shaped the development of the Basque Block in Boise, Idaho. In 2014, she received a master鈥檚 degree in community and regional planning. Her graduate research focused on the unique context of the American West and how that influences planning at urban, rural听and regional scales. Jennifer鈥檚 current research focuses on economic and community development through creative industries in the context of rural western communities.