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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 rural economic development while maintaining his rural lifestyle on his family farm in Vermont – from serving 11 years in the Vermont House and Senate, growing a software company to over 100 people to working under President Clinton as director of AmeriCorps*VISTA and heading Google’s Community Affairs division where he was involved in a variety of rural initiatives.
In this episode of the Rural Business Show, Dunne talks about why he became involved in rural economic development and what opportunities he is most enthusiastic about today. We discuss how the pandemic has affected rural economies, and what we should understand about the “future of work.” He also shares what resources CORI provides to rural communities and suggests the first steps a rural community should take to strengthen its economy.