Cindy Houlden joined the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center in August 2018. 

She has held a variety of economic development and academic positions, including Project Coordinator with Buffalo County Economic Development, Program Coordinator – Nebraska Safety Center, Director of Donor Relations for the National Audubon Society – Nebraska Office, and Economics Lecturer – University of Nebraska – Kearney. 

Having lived in rural Nebraska since 4th grade and being a farm girl at heart, she has a passion for empowering the residents of rural Nebraska to develop their communities. She is excited to focus on helping cooperatives and groups to develop and grow within their communities. Cindy is based in Kearney.

She is a graduate of Kearney State College with a BA in Economics and International Studies – Marketing with a minor in Political Science. She received her MBA with an emphasis in Corporate Communications from the University of Nebraska.

She has a certificate in Principles and Techniques of Fundraising from the University of Indiana Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a certificate in Principles of Cooperative Development from the International Centre of Co-operative Management, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.