Melissa Bond, MA

Community Arts Program Leader, Community Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, 
University of Kentucky

Melissa Bond is the Community Arts Extension Program Leader for the University of Kentucky CEDIK. The Community Arts Extension program provides arts engagement, education, and economic development support to Kentucky communities through the Cooperative Extension Service through 13 field staff. Melissa also oversees the CEDIK's First Impressions program and the Creative Economy program. Most recently, she was the project director for the Rural America Placemaking Toolkit and the Placemaking in Small & Rural Communities Conference, a partnership with USDA Rural Development to provide access to placemaking resources, programs, and information for rural communities across states, tribal nations, and territories. Her research centers on applied arts and design as methods of creative community engagement, with an emphasis on rural placemaking. Melissa is the co-author of Spark! Extension Creative Placemaking Toolkit.