Rural Assembly Everywhere, our annual virtual gathering, is back July 23 with a compelling lineup of rural authors, leaders, musicians, and artists. Read about our featured guests below and register now to hear from them on July 23.
In Conversation: Mary Annette Pember & Shirley Sneve
Journalist and award-winning author Mary Annette Pember will discuss her book, Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools.
Pember is a citizen of the Red Cliff Band of Wisconsin Ojibwe. She is currently national correspondent for ICT News, formerly Indian Country Today, and has worked as an independent journalist focusing on Native American issues since 2000. Pember is the recipient of the Clarion Award, several Associated Press awards, and the Medill Milestone Achievement Award.
Shirley Sneve is the senior producer for the ICT Newscast, a program of IndiJ Public Media. A member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, Sneve is also affiliated with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. She directed Vision Maker Media from 2004-2019, which is the largest US funder of Indigenous documentary film projects for public broadcasting. She lives in Lincoln, Nebraska and serves on the boards of The Circle (Minneapolis, MN) The Center for Rural Strategies (Whitesburg, KY) and Arts Extension Institute (Amherst, MA)
Read more about this conversation.
A Conversation on Rural Philanthropy and Funding with Erin Borla and Ash Hanson
We know that rural folks are used to doing more with less, but that doesn’t mean we deserve less to begin with. Hear from Erin Borla, Executive Director and Trustee of the Roundhouse Foundation, and Ash Hanson, Chief Creative Officer at Department of Public Transformation, as they discuss what it looks like to meaningfully fund rural for the long haul. They’ll discuss what it looks like when rural seems to be a ‘hot topic’ but funding gaps continue to exist and what role philanthropy can play in closing those gaps.
Erin Borla (she/her) is an Oregonian— born and raised in Central Oregon and the granddaughter of Oregon’s own tough mother, Gert Boyle of Columbia Sportswear. For 20 years, she has worked with and for nonprofit organizations that support rural communities with innovative economic strategies. Her dedication to supporting rural spaces through listening, collaborating and open and honest sharing of ideas helps her elevate community partners throughout her work.
Borla holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences from Oregon State University and a master of tourism administration degree from The George Washington University. She completed her professional certificate in Tribal relations from Portland State University’s Mark O. Hatfield School of Government in 2022 and was recently announced as a Fellow for the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
The Roundhouse Foundation, founded by Borla’s mother, artist Kathy Deggendorfer, supports creative solutions across rural communities in Oregon including the nine federally recognized Tribes and 54 historic bands of Native communities that originally called this region home. The Foundation funds at the intersection of their four programmatic areas: arts and culture, environmental stewardship, education and social services.
Ashley Hanson (she/her) has 15 years of experience working with rural communities to activate stories, connect neighbors, and exercise collective imagination. She is a member of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice Leadership Circle and she was an Artist-in-Residence in both the Planning Department at the City of Minneapolis and with the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, where she employed creative community engagement strategies for equitable participation in urban and rural planning and development processes. Previously, she was the Program Director for the Minnesota Theater Alliance—where she managed statewide regional networks and resource sharing—and the Program Director for Public Art Saint Paul—where she produced large-scale participatory public art events and projects, including the Saint Paul City Artist-in-Residence program. In addition to her work with DoPT, she is the founder of PlaceBase Productions, a theater company that creates original, site-specific musicals celebrating small-town life. She holds an MA in Applied Theater with a focus on Rural Community Development, and she was named an Obama Foundation Fellow and a Bush Fellow for her work with rural communities.
Read more about this conversation.
Supporting Our Neighbors: A Panel on Mutual Aid and Caring for Our Neighbors with Agueda Morgan and Dawn Espe | Facilitated by Trish J. Gibson of Rural Assembly
Agueda Morgan and Dawn Espe will join us to discuss mutual aid and rural communities.
Agueda Morgan: With 20 years of extensive experience in survivor-centered approach, trauma-informed care, human rights, advocacy, protection, prevention, crisis response and community education, Agueda is dedicated to ensuring that every survivor has access to care that reflects their culture, dignity and needs. She approaches her work with collaboration and compassion, grounded in the belief that lasting change happens when communities shape the solutions that protect their safety and nurture their healing. Agueda’s experience includes working as the Associate Director of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the Women, Infant and Children program in Denver. She holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Gender-Based Violence at the University of Colorado-Denver.
Dawn Espe: Living in north Central Minnesota, Dawn Espe is a bridging entrepreneur focused on building equity and belonging in rural communities. She has over 25 years of experience in community and economic development, with a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Park and Leisure Services and a Master’s degree in Education. With a passion for ensuring everyone has a seat at the table, Dawn is a Qualified Assessor for the Intercultural Development Inventory and holds a Certificate in Equity and Inclusion from the University of Minnesota. She serves on the board for WeARE Advocates for Reproductive Education, participates in a variety of community-connection initiatives and is the executive director of The Sowing Room, an emerging nonprofit that supports creating inclusive places and spaces.
Trish J. Gibson, program and communications coordinator at the Rural Assembly,
Artist & Author Nikiko Masumoto
Nikiko Masumoto (she/her) will read her children’s book, Every Peach is A Story that she co-wrote with her father, David Mas Masumoto. Nikiko Masumoto is an organic farmer and artist. She is Yonsei, fourth-generation Japanese American, and stewards the same soil her great-grandparents worked in California where Masumoto Family Farm grows organic peaches, nectarines, apricots and grapes for raisins.
Poetry by Angel Ballew
Angel Ballew is a poet, agribusiness coach and consultant, and co-owner/manager of Ballew Farms in Richmond, Kentucky. Angel’s piece The Dirt Road was published in Testament: A Rural Anthology, from Backwoods Literary Press, 2025.
Music by Grace Rogers
Grace Rogers is a musician & writer from Bath County, Kentucky, currently residing in Louisville, Kentucky. Having just released her debut, full-length album Mad Dogs (Sophomore Lounge, 2025), Rogers blends rock, country, and traditional influences into tunes that, in the words of Leigh Viner, “hum like hymns and drive like rain”. Pitchfork named Mad Dogs one of the 30 Best Rock Albums of 2025, and Stereogum writes “Rogers has the kind of talent and irrepressible personality that makes a singer-songwriter stand out in a crowded field. Grace is currently an EngageKY Americorps VISTA at the Cowan Community Center in Letcher County, Kentucky and is also serving as the Artistic Director of the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School.
Music by Holiday Friends
Holiday Friends is an indie rock band from Astoria, OR. The four bandmates, Scott Fagerland, Jon Fagerland, Joey Ficken, and Zack O’connor live on the coast where they’ve built out their own studio to self-produce upbeat, and layered pop.
