Kara Salazar
Assistant Program Leader for Community Development
Purdue Extension
Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist
Illinois – Indiana Sea Grant
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
Purdue Campus Address
FORS Room 308
195 Marsteller Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907
salazark@purdue.edu
765.496.1070
she/her/hers
Kara Salazar is an Assistant Program Leader for Community Development with Purdue Extension and Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist, affiliated with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. Working with multidisciplinary teams, Kara oversees the development and delivery of programs to support environmental planning, community development, and sustainable development strategies in communities across Indiana and Great Lakes states. Kara provides leadership to the Purdue Extension Community Development Program and serves as a liaison between Illinois – Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue Extension.
Kara has a B.S. in public affairs and environmental science and a M.P.A. in natural resources management and nonprofit management from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She also received a M.S.Ed. degree from the IU School of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) with concentrations in community building and science education. Additionally, she is a PhD candidate in Natural Resources Social Science at Purdue University. Kara is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), a Climate Change Professional (CC-P), and a Professional Community and Economic Developer (PCED) with credentials from LEED AP Neighborhood Development, the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP), and the National Charrette Institute.
Featured Works
- American Citizen Planner - Indiana
- Conservation through Community Leadership
- Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces
- Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces: Creating Healthy Communities
- Facilitative Leadership
- Land Use
- Rainscaping Education Program
- Renewable Energy
- Rural Housing
- Tipping Point Planner - Decision Support Tool
Recent News
Indiana communities are facing complex land-use planning decisions, specifically in regards to...
Since its adaptation by a subcommittee of the Purdue Land Use Team in 2019, the ACP-IN Signature...
Climate change is spotlighting the importance of managing water resources. Building on previous...
Energy-intensive development practices contribute to increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the...
This publication provides an overview of how changing climate conditions will affect Indiana and...
Despite strong evidence that climate change is happening, many people do not realize the urgency...