You could say that Christine Logan, Economic Development Representative in the Southwest region, likes to learn and likes school. With just a few breaks in between, she has attended New Mexico State University for 16 years. Her latest degree is a Doctorate of Economic Development (DED) which she received on December 8th.

While working full time with the Economic Development Department (EDD) she began taking economic development classes to increase her knowledge and because she enjoyed the subject. Her undergraduate degrees are not in business so she began by taking classes that didn't have prerequisites, just for fun. Once she had taken all those classes, she took the undergraduate economics classes which were required for the higher level economic development courses. At that point she decided to "go all the way" and was officially admitted into the DED program at the university.

Christine likes the variety of experiences and responsibilities that fall under the economic development hat. "One day you could be working in real estate, then finance, and entrepreneurship the next day," she said.

She admitted that she is sad that she can't go to school next semester. She has promised her husband that she will not go to school for at least one year. She hopes to camp and walk her dog more with the time that she had previously put towards class and schoolwork.

EDD couldn't be more proud of Christine and her doctorate degree. She probably won't answer if you call her Dr. Logan though. She's very low key about the degree and all the other certification "letters" she can list after her name. In addition to DED, Christine has a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) and is a Certified Planner (AICP, from the American Institute of Certified Planners). She also has an economic development certification (CEcD) and is a Professional Land Surveyor.

It all ties together - she started measuring and mapping land as a land surveyor, then began zoning and implementing master plans to build a community on that land, then moved to putting jobs into those communities on the land.

Thank you for all your hard work, Christine!