About Us | Center for the Outdoor Recreation Economy | OSU

The Center for the Outdoor Recreation Economy is delivering a new kind of workforce development to meet the unique needs of the vast, extremely entrepreneurial, and rapidly growing outdoor recreation industry.

As a partnership of OSU’s Division of Extension and Engagement, the College of Forestry, and OSU-Cascades, the Center is fueled by both the resources of an R1 research university and deep ties with policy makers and industry leaders across the country.

Our work

Research: We are connecting industry and higher education to undertake research aimed at understanding outdoor recreation workforce needs.
Program development: We are uniting industry expertise, academic rigor, and innovative instructional design to deliver engaging and relevant training for every point along the learner’s career journey.
Industry engagement: We are partnering with industry stakeholders to identify and respond to workforce training, leadership development and research needs.
Higher education outreach: We are spearheading the creation of a national consortium designed to support and coordinate industry-responsive research & development at universities and colleges nationwide.

RELEVANT, ALWAYS

Everything we do is grounded in the practical needs of our industry partners and the learners we serve. We look for gaps to fill, weak links to strengthen and opportunities to identify and deliver the skills and applied knowledge needed to move the industry forward.

BUILD FOR TOMORROW

The Outdoor Recreation Industry is changing fast. It’s becoming more dynamic, technologically advanced and customer-centric. So we build change into everything we do: embracing innovation and experimentation, and equipping learners to thrive for years to come.

MAKE THE TENT BIGGER

The outdoors are for everyone, so we seek out opportunities to make the industry more welcoming to all people, especially members of underrepresented populations.We do the work to ensure that the pipelines and pathways we support result in a more diverse and equitable workforce.

REMEMBER WHY WE'RE HERE

The Outdoor Recreation Industry is uniquely entrepreneurial, with thousands of independent businesses serving the market in distinct ways that reflect the character of their communities. We connect the dots. Providing thought leadership and a core curriculum to make the industry as a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

BE THE CONNECTOR

The Outdoor Recreation Industry is uniquely entrepreneurial, with thousands of independent businesses serving the market in distinct ways that reflect the character of their communities. We connect the dots. Providing thought leadership and a core curriculum to make the industry as a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

SEE OUR VALUES IN ACTION

Explore programs

LEE DAVIS

Executive Director

Lee (he/him) brings a wealth of experience to Oregon State and is responsible for leading long-range and strategic plans for the Center. He is the past Executive Director of the Mazamas, a nonprofit education organization founded in 1894 with a mission of inspiring everyone to love and protect the mountains. Lee's commitment to the outdoor industry spans decades including both his professional and personal pursuits. In the last several years, Lee has led efforts to create Oregon’s Office of Outdoor Recreation (HB3350) and Oregon’s Outdoor Recreation Day (HB2143). He also helped to organize and build the Oregon Outdoors Coalition and has collaborated on federal legislation with Senator Ron Wyden’s office.

ERIN GAINES

Government Relations & Consortium Manager

As the Government Relations Manager for CORE, Erin (she/her) builds connections with government officials and industry representatives to secure statewide and national support and resources for outdoor industry workforce development. She is a government affairs, policy, and advocacy specialist with more than a decade of experience working on federal policy issues, including four years working on Capitol Hill for Senator Ron Wyden as his Natural Resources Counsel. She is currently leading efforts to develop and launch the Outdoor Recreation Economy Workforce Development Consortium, a group of higher education institutions focused on national coordination between academia and the outdoor industry. Erin received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2005 and a juris doctor from Lewis and Clark Law School in 2011.

DANIEL POWERS

Learning Design Manager

Daniel (he/him) manages the creative process from concept to completion for all of the Center’s programs and research products. He specializes in designing innovative, multimedia experiences that increase user engagement and end-product effectiveness. He is highly skilled in developing e-learning and other online assets ranging from content, media and video production to dashboards, toolkits, and online professional education courses. Daniel lives with his wife and son, and a small farm of animals, on Vashon Island, in the middle of Puget Sound, Washington.