Dawn Mandt is the Executive Director of the Red River Regional Council with 30 years economic and community development experience. The Regional Council has a team of four full time professionals. The Regional Council assists in completing projects that strengthen where we live (water and wastewater infrastructure, new playgrounds, housing rehabilitation and development, healthcare facility expansions/renovations, disaster mitigation, child care); where we work (K-12 entrepreneurial education and workforce development, business startups, purchases and expansions); and where we play (new campgrounds, outdoor recreation, tourism/visitor development through public/private partnerships, historic preservation).
The Regional Council manages an array of development programs as well as a numerous organizations and strategic initiatives including the Nelson and Pembina County Job Development Authorities, Rendezvous Region Tourism Council, NE Manufacturers Group, NE North Dakota Youth Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development Initiative.
Mandt holds a BA in Business Administration/Economics and History/Political Science and a Master of Arts in Leadership from the University of Jamestown. She was awarded the Governor’s Choice Economic Developer of the Year – Small Cities in 2015. Dawn also serves on the following Boards of Directors: Pembina Gorge Foundation, North Dakota Rural Development Council, and North Dakota Association of Regional Councils.
Counties served (figures taken from 2020 census): Pembina County, population 6,844; Walsh County, population 10,563; Nelson County, population 3,015; Grand Forks County, population 73,170