Dr. Carolyn Bird conducts applied research with a focus on the community and family interconnections. She is the state principal investigator and past Vice Chair of Funding on Rural Families Speak About Health (NC1171), a national longitudinal research project investigating connections between health, economic well-being, and community. She is a member of the graduate faculty and teaches in her department’s masters degree program. 

     Dr. Bird is currently serving as Chair for the North Carolina Association of Cooperative Extension Specialists (NCACES) and serves as Senator on the North Carolina State University Faculty Senate. Her national leadership positions include the Executive Board of eXtension’s Financial Security for All Community of Practice. She is a member of eXtension’s Creating Healthy Communities Community of Practice. Dr. Bird’s international collaborations include cross-cultural studies with colleagues in Turkey. Her invited talks include keynotes for the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and at the First International Congress of the Family and Consumer Sciences, Belek-Antalya, Turkey. Her awards include the Dean Don Felker Financial Management National Award (2010); the Dean Don Felker Financial Management Regional Award (2010); and the Outstanding Extension Program Team Award (2010).