Plymouth, N.H. – Thad Guldbrandsen, founding director of the Center for Rural Partnerships and interim coordinator of the White Mountains Institute at Plymouth State University, is the 2011 recipient of the Young Professional of the Year award from Business NH magazine. This award honors an outstanding professional, age 40 or younger, who is a rising star in their industry and who has demonstrated leadership and a commitment to giving back to the community. Guldbrandsen is an anthropologist and a member of the faculty of the department of Social Science at Plymouth State University.
Thad Guldbrandsen
“I appreciate the work Business NH Magazine and Stay Work Play New Hampshire have done to promote a positive climate to bring young professionals to New Hampshire,” said Guldbrandsen. “I value the collaboration I’ve had with New Hampshire colleagues in a variety of projects, and the fact that I was chosen for this award suggests the selection committee values collaboration as much as I do. Plymouth State University is a great place to work and a great base for doing meaningful projects on behalf of New Hampshire.”
Guldbrandsen also credited the mentors he has worked with, including Dennis Meadows, Steve Barba, Nina Glick-Schiller, Catherine Lutz, Dorothy Holland, Donald Nonini, and James Peacock, Larry Grossberg and Mark Okrant.
Business NH Magazine editor Matt Mowry said their selection of Guldbrandsen as Young Professional of the Year was based on Thad’s commitment and success in assisting smaller, outlying communities.
“Our judges were impressed by the integral role Thad plays in helping many of NH’s rural communities,” said Mowry. “As director of Plymouth State University’s Center for Rural Partnerships, he has helped to bring many rural initiatives to fruition, particularly in the North Country. Thad embodies the type of young professional we want to attract and retain in New Hampshire’s workforce.”
Plymouth State University President Sara Jayne Steen said Guldbrandsen deserves the award, both for his accomplishments and his potential to help forge an exciting future for the Granite State.
“Thad Guldbrandsen is a rising star, an academic professional who uses an entrepreneurial approach to address problems and community issues with a personal style that brings out the best in others,” said Steen. “Thad is personally and professionally dedicated to the future of New Hampshire.”
He is co-author of the award winning book, Local Democracy Under Siege: Activism, Public Interests, and Private Politics (NYU Press 2007) and several other articles and book chapters on topics related to globalization, local democracy, regionalism, sustainable development, and social inequality. Guldbrandsen was named as part of the Union Leader’s “40 Under Forty” young leaders who make a difference in New Hampshire in 2008. Thad was born in Rochester, N.H. and moved to Alton when he was 13. He graduated from Alton High School in 1991 and continued his education at the University of Wyoming, before attending the University of New Hampshire, where he earned a bachelor’s in Anthropology. He later attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he secured a Ph.D. in Anthropology.
Guldbrandsen received his award at Business NH Magazine’s Rising Stars “Big Bash” Awards Party November 7 at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord. The event was sponsored by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Public Service of New Hampshire, the University of NH Whittemore School of Business and Economics, Fidelity Investments and BAE Systems.
For more information about the award, visit www.eventsNH.com or call Business NH Magazine at (603) 626-6354.
For more information about this release, contact Bruce Lyndes, PSU News Services Mgr., or call (603) 535-2775.
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