
Jurisdiction: Spindale
University: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Hometown: Carrboro, NC
Walker Harrison is the Lead for North Carolina Fellow in Spindale, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Walker graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019 with a BA in Geography, concentrating in Environmental Systems and Geospatial Analysis. As an undergraduate, Walker received multiple university awards for innovative use of geo-spatial (GIS) analysis in his research. He also completed a minor in German at the Universität Mannheim in Germany. While at UNC-Chapel Hill, he enjoyed working as a science educator and mascot at Morehead Planetarium and as a research assistant at UNC’s Highway Safety Research Center.
Recent Work Accomplishments:
Walker helped plan the grand opening of Spindale's Thermal Belt Rail Trail. He spatially referenced all tax delinquent properties in Spindale to provide a visual representation of properties behind on property taxes. He was also invited to speak to a group of federal legislative staffers about his work in Spindale regarding walkability and business vitality.