Dr. Richard Besser to Appear as Keynote Speaker at Rural Assembly Everywhere

We look forward to remarks from Dr. Richard Besser, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at Rural Assembly Everywhere!

Dr. Besser will be joined by Ligia Cravo, Senior Program Officer at Hearst Foundations and board member of Center for Rural Strategies, for a conversation about the effects of Covid-19 on rural America. They’ll focus on the ways this virus has exposed the cracks in rural America’s community health system and how long-standing societal barriers like racism – baked into our systems and institutions – have led to tragic consequences for communities of color during the pandemic. Dr. Besser and Ms. Cravo will also explore the kind of policies and investments that are needed to repair what is broken.

Dr. Besser is the former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ABC News’ former Chief Health and Medical Editor and is now on the Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy and the New Jersey Governor’s Restart and Recovery Commission. At RWJF, Dr. Besser leads the largest private foundation in the country devoted solely to improving the nation’s health.

Ligia Cravo is Senior Program Officer at The Hearst Foundations and an innovator in the field of philanthropy and is dedicated to promoting inclusive economic development strategies and community health. She’s held leadership roles with Hispanics in Philanthropy, the Council on Foundations, Women in Philanthropy and the LCU Foundation for Women’s Education. Ligia serves on the Advisory Council of New York Foundation for the Arts and is also a beloved member of Center for Rural Strategies Board of Directors.

Check out the full schedule at a glance on our website (details subject to change). And stay tuned for more announcements coming soon.

Registration is now open for Rural Assembly Everywhere. Be one of the first to claim your FREE spot and join us October 26 to 30 for a great line-up of keynote speakers, breakouts, and happy hours.

Drawing Resilience: Jaiden Dokken

Jaiden Dokken is a writer, printmaker, ceramicist, cidermaker, and self-described highly persistent pen pal. They are Clallam County’s first Poet Laureate and will spend the next two years bringing poetry to the northwesternmost corner of Washington State. Dokken’s work has been published in Fiction International, Algorithm, Muses and Vices, SpeakEasy, Superfroot Magazine, and Pile Press. They are an editor and reader for Perennial Press.

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How to share your story at Everywhere

Save the date for Rural Assembly Everywhere, a multimedia production designed by and for rural leaders and their allies, on June 28th!

A free virtual event, Everywhere: Toward Safer, More Connected Communities will explore the ways rural people are pushing back against harmful policies and narratives and the steps they are taking to create safer, more connected communities.

Read More »

Coming soon: Rural Assembly Everywhere Summer 2023

Save the date for Rural Assembly Everywhere, a multimedia production designed by and for rural leaders and their allies, on June 28th!

A free virtual event, Everywhere: Toward Safer, More Connected Communities will explore the ways rural people are pushing back against harmful policies and narratives and the steps they are taking to create safer, more connected communities.

Read More »