Danielle Samalin is a Director, Strategic Growth at Center on Rural Innovation. She possess expertise in community development, program development, public policy, community outreach, nonprofits and 19 more skills. Colleagues describe her as "Danielle is an authentic, visionary leader and inspiring manager. I consider myself immensely privileged to have benefited from Danielle’s leadership for over 7 years. Danielle has an uncanny ability to see and elevate the strengths of her staff, providing just-right challenges for growth and compassionately working through any impediments. She expects a lot of her team, but she also gives a lot to her team. Her openness, natural empathy and authenticity allows her to establish trust immediately, with members of her team or external partners. Danielle brings a unique artistry to her work within the housing industry. She has a strategic mind that makes connections across unlikely terrain to unlock new opportunities. She combines this with spot-on intuition, creating transformative products and experiences that address deep human need. Danielle never allows beauty or human connection to be lost in the grind of making a functional product or service. She is sharp, funny, kind and honest. I would work with Danielle again in a heartbeat; she is unbeatable."