Penn State Extension Land Use Webinar Series

In 2025, the NERCRD began a partnership with Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association (PA-APA) on a collaborative webinar series that focuses on issues of land use in Pennsylvania.

Northeast Kinship Care Working Group

Across the Northeast, Extension programs in multiple states have developed strong and impactful efforts to help address the needs of grandparents raising grandchildren. NERCRD convenes this group regularly to share resources and explore opportunities for collaborations.

2026 Northeast Housing Summit

Registration is now open for the Northeast Housing Summit, which will take place virtually on September 22, 2026, from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET.  This page will be updated regularly as more information becomes available.

June 23rd summit to focus on data center development and digital infrastructure

June 1, 2026

NERCRD’s Stephen Alessi collaborated with colleagues at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Center for Rural Pennsylvania on an upcoming Rural Economic Development Summit focused on data center development and digital infrastructure. The June 23rd event will take place in Harrisburg, PA, but a remote option will be available.

Northeast Region Kinship Care Extension Meeting

February 5, 2026

NERCRD is convening Extension educators, specialists, and professionals for a regional online meeting focused on grandparents raising grandchildren. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Measuring Northeast Extension Community Development Capacity

In the winter of 2024-2025, NERCRD Associate Director Stephen Alessi conducted an inventory of the capacity for research and Extension programming in the Northeast U.S. region that corresponds with the priority areas of the NERCRD. His findings are summarized in a poster presented at NACDEP in 2025.

Dispatch from the 2025 Maryland Digital Opportunity Summit

October 24, 2025

The 2025 Maryland Digital Opportunity Summit was held on October 15th in Silver Springs, MD. NERCRD Associate Director Stephen Alessi attended and shared this report.

Upcoming Event

Penn State Land Use Webinar Series continues in August with focus on small farms and green infrastructure

July 11, 2025

The Penn State Land Use Webinar Series is offering five monthly sessions from August through November focused on important community planning topics.

New research brief examines rural-suburban-urban differences among Northeast caregivers

June 24, 2025

The latest publication in NERCRD’s caregiving research brief series describes the caregiving experience for rural, suburban, and urban caregivers in the Northeast region of the U.S., as reported by households as part of the “NER-Stat: Caregiving Survey.”