Matt Dunne is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI). The Center is bringing together a network of innovation hubs across rural America through a team of experts. The organization focuses on digital economic development, rural opportunity zones, entrepreneurial investment, and broadband expansion. Dunne has an extensive background in … [Read more...]
Episode 35: Resilient Strategies for Rural Economies
Is the common view of rural America outdated? Are the strategies needed to build today’s rural economies actually being implemented? Hanna Love, with the Brookings Institution and Mike Powe, with the National Main Street Center, recently collaborated on a five-part research series on rural revitalization. They argue that our attention should not be focused on an inaccurate … [Read more...]
Episode 34: Building Possibility
Deb Brown offers programs on various small-town challenges and has traveled extensively through rural America helping communities on their path to vitality. Her keynotes, webinars and workshops help small towns figure out what to do with empty buildings, improve marketing and economic development, and overall become more innovative and idea-friendly. She has helped all … [Read more...]
Episode 33: Overcoming Challenges in Rural Healthcare
Michelle Rathman is the founder of Impact! Communications based in Geneva, Illinois. She started her business in 1989 as a Chicago-area public relations, advertising, and marketing firm. The company represented clients from a variety of industries and provided high-level PR services. This included booking published authors on national television shows, like the Oprah Winfrey … [Read more...]
Episode 32: TROTFITNESS
Nisan Trotter is an entrepreneur, public speaker, author and owner of TROTFITNESS in Lewisburg, Penn. (population: 5,730). Trotter was raised in Silverhill, Ala. (population: 997), where he was brought up by a loving support group of family and friends. He said he cut his teeth on the pews of the local church and learned about hard work early on, citing his mother and … [Read more...]