Dr. Jayme Walters

Dr. Jayme Walters is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and the Executive Director of the Transforming Communities Institute (TCI) at Utah State University. A first-generation college graduate from rural Illinois, she holds a PhD in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, an MSW from the University of Georgia, and a BSW from Southern Illinois University. Dr. Walters has nearly 20 years of experience in nonprofit and community practice, with a decade as a researcher and educator. Deeply rooted in social justice, her published and applied scholarship centers on helping communities and nonprofits build capacity and address urgent social issues that affect residents’ dignity and worth. Dr. Walters collaborates with community partners, faculty, staff, and students on research and solution-building projects responding to homelessness, food security, and access to legal services, among other issues. 

Research Focus: “Strengthening Knowledge about Rural Nonprofit Capacity & Philanthropy”

Dr. Walters’s fellowship work will focus on multiple aspects of nonprofit capacity in rural areas. She will explore the use of technology for rural nonprofits and its effect on their fundraising capacity. This research will focus on how this technology could be used to diversify and stabilize revenue streams in times of funding disruption and for organizations with limited capacity. She will also dive into the perceptions of rural communities and nonprofits investigating how perceptions of rural areas affect grant making through the lens of perceived impact, racism, classism, and other cultural forces and how rural nonprofits are navigating these challenges in serving marginalized and vulnerable populations.