Mike Delany joined University of Illinois Extension in August 2020 as a Community and Economic Development Educator serving Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside counties. He is working to develop and deliver research-based programs, collaborate with community partners, and extend university resources in Northwestern Illinois.

Having grown up in Rockford, Delany earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, as well as a J.D. from the University of Illinois. He has worked and studied in places as varied as St. Louis, Missouri; Stuttgart, Germany; and Santiago, Chile. Delany’s expertise is in corporate- and business development. He has been actively involved as a volunteer in Rockford’s recent community-development initiative, known as “Transform Rockford.”