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Sunday, June 23
Young Practitioners Leadership Training & Pre-Conference Meetings
Rural issues are extremely
important to you – but how do you make them relevant for other people you’ll
need to achieve your vision? At this day-long, intensive training, you’ll learn
how to strengthen your leadership abilities and hone the skills and capacity
you’ll need to tell a story that mobilizes others to act. Marshall Ganz,
professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, created this unique
opportunity for rising rural leaders. This session is limited to 35
participants who are in the early stages of their careers and working in
institutions or grassroots organizations that support rural communities.
7:30am Breakfast
8:30am Welcome
and introduction to the day
9:00am Public
Narrative Training
10:30am Break
10:45am Public
Narrative Training
12:30pm Lunch
1:30pm Public
Narrative Training
3:00pm Break
3:45pm Public
Narrative Training
5:00pm Adjourn
Sunday evening activities
3:00pm Registration
opens
6:00pm 2013
National Rural Assembly Reception
Join
us for drinks and light hors d’oeuvres in Foyer A-B.
7:00pm Dinner
& Program
8:00pm Adjourn
Monday, June 24
Rural Narrative for an Inclusive Nation
What makes rural
issues relevant? Today we’ll take a look at all of the factors and faces,
people and places that create the real rural America, and compare our current
reality with existing perceptions. As we explore ways to create a more
progressive narrative for and about rural America, we will focus heavily on the
shifting demographics and political changes currently underway in our rural
communities. We’ll also explore the opportunities these changes present for
rural places to take the lead in building a more sustainable and inclusive
nation.
6:30am Zumba!
Need a good morning workout to
get your rural policy day started off right?
Join us for a certified Zumba workout! All experience levels welcome.
Instructor: Angelic Mister, Family
Self Sufficiency Program Administrator, South Delta Regional Housing Authority
7:30am Registration opens
7:30am Breakfast
8:30am Welcome from the National Rural
Assembly Steering Committee
8:45am Plenary: Who We Think We
Are: The Story of Who We are Becoming
Four
individuals share the story of their rural place to weave an emerging narrative
focused on the new rural–more diverse, inclusive, and open to social and
cultural change. Strong media content will drive this conservation, with
participation from speakers across multiple sectors. Moderated by Dee Davis, President of Center
for Rural Strategies and publisher of the Daily Yonder
Confirmed speakers:
Marlene
Chavez, Colonias Policy Analyst/Educator with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Rev.
James Patterson, President, Partnership of African American Churches
M. A.
Pember, independent journalist
Erik
Stegman, Half in Ten Manager, Center for American Progress
10:00am Break
10:30am Plenary: Immigration and Rural Communities
As a nation of immigrants, we continue to
influence American identity, values, and culture with our varied backgrounds
and experiences. Those of us who have made our home in rural America—from
Indian Country to the Delta, from Appalachia to the Southwest—continue to play
a crucial role in settling, developing, and sustaining these communities. From
the Italian stonemasons that settled in Appalachia, to the Chinese workers who
built the transcontinental railroad, to the Mexican brazeros that powered the
agricultural industry of the South, generations of immigrants continue to
revitalize communities, reverse out-migration, sustain traditions, and
invigorate the economy of rural towns. Panelists will address the changing
demographics of rural areas, the contributions immigrants make to rural
communities, and the impact of Immigration Reform in creating opportunities for
rural places to take the lead in building a more sustainable and inclusive
nation. Moderated by Edyael Casaperalta, Program and Research Associate for
Center for Rural Strategies
Confirmed
speakers:
L. Patricia Ice, MIRA Legal Project Director,
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance
Doug McKalip, Senior Policy Advisor for
Rural Affairs, White House Domestic Policy Council
Angelica Orbe, member, United Farm Workers
Foundation
Julia Perez, Associate Director, The harvest/La Cosecha
Entrepreneur: small businesses and community development
11:30am Live Streaming: National Congress of American Indians
Mid-Year Conference, Reno, NV
Native communities are critical hubs of
innovation, particularly in areas such as health care, renewable energy, green
jobs, and youth empowerment. Tune into NCAI’s mid-year conference in Reno,
Nevada and listen to a message from NCAI President Jefferson Keel.
12:00pm Lunch
1:30am Plenary: Rural America:
Essential to the Nation
What
makes rural communities crucial to the nation’s strength and health? What are the
key factors preventing this reality from being recognized and taken into
account? We’ll ask practitioners from the field to offer snapshots of the role
rural people and communities are ready to play as leaders on some of the
greatest issues of our time. They’ll
address climate change, healthcare, and broadband. Moderated by Dylan Kruse, Sustainable Northwest
Confirmed speakers:
Steph
Larsen, Assistant Director of Organizing, Center for Rural Affairs
Clay
Pope, Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts
Marnie Werner, Center for Rural Policy and Development
2:30pm Break
3:00pm Re-convene: Networking
Exercise
3:30pm Plenary: The story of Self,
the story of Us, the story Now
Rural is essential to our nation. Our young people are our nation’s greatest resource. Right now, our rural youth are ready and able to reclaim their story, the story of opportunity, the story of us, the story of now. In this session Monique Miles, deputy director of the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions and participants from yesterday’s Young Professionals Leadership Training session, along with Amy Sterndale, communications director from the Carsey Institute, will provide examples of how they are reframing the rural story with passion and data, making it relevant to the nation. Moderated by Amy Sterndale, Carsey Institute, University of New
Hampshire
4:30pm What to expect tomorrow:
panels, breakouts, and more!
5:00pm Adjourn to reception
Join us for drinks and light hor
d’oeuvres in Foyer A-C.
Dinner on your own. Or sign up
throughout the day for one of our Dine-Arounds!
Sign-ups located at registration booth in Foyer A-C.
Tuesday, June 25
Reaching for Rural Resources
In politics they say that
success takes money and people. This truism also applies to building stronger
rural communities. Hear about how we are doing. Learn about how we can improve.
6:30am Zumba!
Need a good morning workout to
get your rural policy day started off right?
Join us in Salon D for a certified Zumba workout! All experience levels welcome.
Instructor: Angelic Mister, Family Self Sufficiency Program Administrator, South Delta Regional
Housing Authority
7:30am Registration/information
booth opens
7:30am Breakfast
8:30am Good
morning & overview of the day
8:45am Plenary: Messages That Resonate: Frames for advancing economic
opportunity in rural America
This session focuses
on how we craft messages about rural America that engage and build support
among rural Americans for public policies that create genuine opportunity. The
speakers will report on the findings of a just completed poll of rural voters
in three key regions. The poll reveals views of rural voters on economic
conditions in rural America, causes of economic problems in rural communities
and the role of government in addressing those problems. It tests messages for
use by rural advocates in engaging the rural grassroots and prompting them to
act on policy change. Speakers will discuss the implications of the
findings for rural advocates working to prompt rural Americans to get more
active in the democratic process and elected officials to get more responsive
to rural economic concerns. Moderated by Dwight Langhum, Langhum Mitchell Communications, Inc.
Confirmed speakers
Chuck Hassebrook, Executive Director, Center for Rural Affairs
Celinda Lake, President, Lake Research Partners
Bill
Greener, Founding partner, Greener and Hook, LLC
Ed
Goeas, President and C.E.O. , The Tarrance Group
10:00am Break
10:30am Keynote Address, Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and
Human Services
11:15am Keynote Address, Tom Vilsack, U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture
11:45am Plenary: The State of Rural
Philanthropy: Changing it.
This panel is to explore the challenges of rural philanthropy, that is
rural grantmaking foundations, not from a perspective of what can rural
nonprofits do to make themselves more attractive to foundations, but what is it
about foundations and overall institutional philanthropy that is a structural
impediment to rural nonprofits accessing the over $600b in tax exempt assets
controlled by private and public (community) foundations. Although there
are overall trends that show how philanthropy has hardly come close to
addressing the challenge of some years ago of doubling its support for rural
nonprofits, within each sphere or subgroup of rural nonprofits—community
economic groups, health clinics, arts and culture groups—there are distinctive
challenges as well. Moderated by Carol Blackmon, Quitman County
Development Organization
Confirmed speakers:
Rick Cohen, National Correspondent, Nonprofit Quarterly
Robert L. Jackson, Mississippi State Senate
Sandra Mikush, Deputy Director, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
1:00pm Lunch
2:00pm Breakout Sessions
See
insert for selections and room numbers
3:15pm Break
3:45pm Second set of breakout sessions
See
insert for selections and room numbers
5:00pm Adjourn
to reception
Dinner on your own.
Or sign up throughout the day for one of our Dine-Arounds! Sign-ups located at registration booth in
Foyer A-C.
Wednesday, June 26
Call to Action
On this final day
we’ll bring all the pieces together into a narrative that addresses a new, more
progressive agenda for rural America. Participants
are encouraged to take newfound insights and lessons-learned into breakout
sessions led by members of the White House Rural Council. These sessions will offer participants the
opportunity to respond to priorities affecting rural policy as outlined by the
Administration.
6:30am Zumba!
Need a good morning workout to
get your rural policy day started off right?
Join us in Salon D for a certified Zumba workout! All experience levels welcome.
Instructor: Angelic Mister, Family
Self Sufficiency Program Administrator, South Delta Regional Housing Authority
7:30am Information
booth opens
7:30am Breakfast
8:30am Overview
of day
8:45-10:00am White House Rural Council Breakout Sessions,
Doug McKalip, Senior Policy Advisor on Rural Affairs
Get an introduction to the White
House Rural Council and then select a breakout session led by a Council member
focused on one of four topics:
Wayne Ting (National Economic
Council) & Michael Chodos, Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development, U.S. Small Business Administration – Finance & Entrepreneurship: small
businesses and community development
Doug McKalip (Domestic Policy
Council) – Rural Opportunity: jobs, job training, and other workforce issues
Jay Jensen (Council on
Environmental Quality) & Ann Acheson, Deputy Associate Director for Lands within CEQ – Conservation: natural resource management, climate
change, and energy
Tom Morris (HHS), Jessica Zufolo (USDA), & John White (ED) – Quality of Life: healthcare, education, and other quality of life issues
10:15- 10:45am Closing
Remarks & Adjourn