Catherine Rasmussen

Educator

Southeast Minnesota

rasmu035@umn.edu
Phone: 507-389-6749
Fax: 507-389-6787

Extension Regional Office, Mankato
1961 Premier Dr., Suite 110
Mankato, MN 56001-5901

Education

• B.S., English and Speech, Minnesota State University, Mankato
• M.S., Continuing Studies, emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction

Work Experience

Catherine (Catie) Rasmussen has been an Extension educator in leadership and civic engagement since 1997. Along with her prior career as a secondary teacher, she brings more than 35 years of experience in educational programming.

Her primary focus of work has been designing and implementing "bridging leadership programs” with the purpose of building leadership capacity and enhancing collaboration among communities to address local issues. She has taken her expertise to the countries of Morocco and Kenya, working with partnering universities to develop cohort programs for building the leadership capacity of both their faculty and community members.

Catie is a frequent educator of leadership development workshops for organizations. She is a certified trainer in the field of emotional intelligence and developed the curriculum for Extension state and national leadership programs. In her role as an educator, Catie has a passion for engaging participants in the joy of learning about both themselves and those around them to create positive change.

Affiliations, Honors and Community Service

• Awards: Early Career Award MN Association of Extension Educators (2002); National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Excellence in Community Development Programming Individual Award (2007); Extension Dean and Director's Distinguished Diversity and Inclusion Team Award (2009 and 2013); Association of Minnesota Counties Achievement Award (2006 and 2009); Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Local Government Innovation Award (2007); County Bridge Builder Award (2014); Association of Minnesota Counties Achievement Award (2006, 2009 and 2015); National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Team Award, (2009, 2017 and 2019).
• Certified Trainer: Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I 2.0®), Everything DiSC Workplace® Profile; Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI); Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory (ICS), Technology of Participation Training in Group Methods (TOPS); Study Circles (Everyday Democracy); The Art of Hosting Facilitation; Global Competencies Inventory (GCI) and Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES)
• Member: International Leadership Association; Association of Leadership Education; National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals

Selected Publications

• Rasmussen, C., & Hinz, L. (2019). Committees That Work: Common Traps, Creative Solutions — A Guidebook for Leaders And Team Members.(2nd ed.). Saint Paul, MN: Regents of the University of Minnesota.
• Tuck, B. A., Chazdon, S. A., Rasmussen, C. M., & Bohn, H. J. (2020). Measuring the Economic Benefit of Extension Leadership Programs: McLeod for Tomorrow. Journal of Extension, 58 (4).
• Fritsch, A., Rasmussen, C., & Chazdon, S. (2018). Old Concept, New Generation: Millennials and Community Leadership Programs.The Journal of Leadership Education, 17 (4).
• Rasmussen, C., Pardello, R., Vreyens, J., Chazdon, S., Teng, S., & Liepold, M. (2017). Building social capital and leadership skills for sustainable farmer associations in Morocco.The Journal of Association of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 24 (2).
• Liepold, M., Rasmussen, C., Boyce, K., & Trudeau-Poskas, D. (2013). Outside the comfort zone: strategies for developing emotionally intelligent leaders. The Journal of Leadership Education, 12 (2).
• Rasmussen, C., Armstrong, J., & Chazdon, S. (2011). Bridging Brown County: Captivating social capital as a means to community change. The Journal of Leadership Education, 10 (1).