Marc Wilken
Hometown:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Connect: LinkedIn
Marc is excited to deploy his program development background to create vibrant communities through the outdoors. As a nature enthusiast and environmental advocate, he hopes to see the natural assets of the PA Wilds region help build more resilient ecosystems that can flourish, and position the people and places across the PA Wilds to thrive.
Marc Wilken (he/him/his) is a community-driven and service-oriented strategist with 14+ years of experience in launching and managing initiatives and programs aimed at serving disadvantaged communities, building and sustaining public-private partnerships, and securing and generating new funds and revenue. Through intentional planning and the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, he helps grow local economies through business development and creative placemaking initiatives. As a resource and champion for budding entrepreneurs and young creatives from under-resourced communities, Marc facilitates opportunities for minority-owned businesses in the arts, culture, and creative economy, and help stand up social enterprises that provide mentorship for youth and job training for disconnected young adults, returning citizens, and individuals with disabilities.
Through his professional journey, Marc has gained indispensable insights into relationship building and community trust, and working with subject matter experts, civic and business leaders, and residents from divergent backgrounds to inform inclusive, practical, and efficient solutions.
ERC Project
Project Title:
Advancing Rural PA's Outdoor Recreation Sector
Host Community or Region:
Pennsylvania
Host Organization:
PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship
For over 20 years, the highly rural PA Wilds region, encompassing over 2 million acres of public land, has been purposefully engaging in place-based development for its outdoor recreation and tourism sectors. The goal is to diversify local economies, attract investment, retain population, inspire stewardship, and enhance overall quality of life. This project guided by the PA Wilds Center aims to evolve stakeholder and investment frameworks, ensuring outdoor recreation programs remain locally-informed and responsive to opportunities and challenges as the economy grows. The project will focus on the highly rural Pennsylvania Wilds region, covering 13 counties in north-central Pennsylvania. The ERC Fellow will conduct partner outreach, oversee governance plan evolution, identify best practices for countywide strategic planning, and facilitate partner conversations on prioritizing recreation infrastructure projects. The project seeks to accelerate job creation and increase connectivity, awareness, participation, community engagement, and capacity for outdoor recreation entrepreneurship communities of rural PA.
Interested in supporting this project or learning more? Contact the ERC program team here.
Photo credit: Allison Schanbacher