Looking for full descriptions of our breakout sessions and happy hours? Click here. 

Rural Women Everywhere logo

Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 19
Revitalizing the Promise of the Rural Agora
  • Hahrie Han and Featured Speakers

Revitalizing the Promise of the Rural Agora

A democracy is only as strong as its agora – the town halls, faith groups, parent-teacher organizations, and neighborhood associations that create opportunities for people to cultivate the capacities needed for self-governance. In many parts of rural America, however, the agora is eroding, and women are stepping up to rebuild. This panel looks at rural communities across the country where women are making decisions that build civic capacity and foster participation in democracy. The panel is moderated by Hahrie Han, inaugural director of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and featured speakers. Director Han will explore their particular challenges organizing in geographically dispersed rural communities, and the distinct methods they use to cultivate an active rural agora.

Tuesday, Oct. 19
Allyship with the Rural LGBTQ+ Community
  • LB Prevette, Mikah Carlos

Allyship with the Rural LGBTQ+ Community

We know it takes persistent work and participation to counteract that narrative of rural communities as inhospitable and non-inclusive. How do we support the flourishing of queer communities in rural America? This panel will offer stories and insights from rural lgbtq+ leaders, who will talk about their experiences building community in rural areas, what they most appreciate about their small towns, and how rural allies can continue to provide support. Moderated by advocate, organizer, and storyteller, LB Prevette, this roundtable will also include Mikah Carlos.

Tuesday, Oct. 19
Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners
  • Throughout

Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists and we’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

Day 1 Breakouts

Tuesday, Oct. 19
At the Frontlines of the Pandemic: Perspectives from Women in Business and Public Health
  • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
  • Health Action Alliance

At the Frontlines of the Pandemic: Perspectives from Women in Business and Public Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the disparities in health care and vaccine access in rural communities across the country. This hour-long breakout session will discuss how women-led businesses in rural areas are vital to creating a healthier community, and a healthier community improves outcomes for businesses. During the session, we will hear how women business owners from rural Iowa and Mississippi have been on the frontlines during the pandemic. Joining them will be voices from rural health systems in Minnesota and Texas to share the impact of public health and the burden the pandemic has played on women in healthcare in rural communities.

Tuesday, Oct. 19
Who Does She Think She Is? Get Happy With Off The Clock!
  • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
  • Partners for Public Transformation & Voices for Rural Resilience

Who Does She Think She Is? Get Happy With Off The Clock!

Department of Public Transformation and Voices for Rural Resilience bring together seven RURAL ROCKSTAR women for "Who Does She Think She Is?" as a part of Rural Women Everywhere! We invite rural women to witness and support each other on our journeys to lead with ambition - to be audacious, bold, articulate and empowered - to reflect on our own experiences, while hearing from rural cultural workers Julie Garreau | Wičhaȟpi Epatȟaŋ Wiŋ (Eagle Butte, SD); ChristinaMaria Patiño Xochitlzihuatl Houle (Brownsville, TX); Salma Ahmed (Hibbing, MN); Dr. Yvette McDaniel (Orangeburn, SC); Jamie Horter (Lyons, NE); and Maria Sykes (Green River, UT), who will share challenges they have faced and the ways they keep moving forward with audacious ambition! We will also be joined by featured poet, Cassie Willams, sharing an original poem about women's ambition!

Tuesday, Oct. 19
Rural Women in Journalism
  • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
  • Journalists at the Daily Yonder: Caroline Carlson, Xandr Brown, Liz Carey, & Kristi Eaton

Rural Women in Journalism

Join women from the Daily Yonder (and some bonus friends!) for a conversation about women in rural journalism. We’ll discuss the different strengths and lenses of identity women bring to this industry, share some of our own experiences telling stories about rural places and the pieces we’ve worked on recently, and talk broadly about how rural women show up in contemporary media—in the stories, telling the stories, adjacent to the stories, etc. Do you have favorite female journalists who’ve written about rural that you want to talk about? Thoughts about the way rural women interact with/appear in news and media? We welcome your questions, comments and any thoughts you’d like to add.

Tuesday Oct. 19
How to be a Good Ally
  • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
  • Rural Assembly

How to be a Good Ally

Join back up with our panel of rural LGBTQ+ leaders to continue the conversation about allyship in rural America.  LB Prevette and others will seed and field questions, encourage the swapping of stories, and dig into the steps and actions we should all be taking on behalf of our rural queer and BIPOC neighbors.

Happy Hours

Tuesday Oct. 19
Rural Bingo Happy Hour
  • 7 p.m. ET
  • The Daily Yonder

Rural Bingo Happy Hour

Join the Daily Yonder for rural bingo Happy Hour. Yes, rural bingo.

Day Two

Mainstage

All main stage sessions between 2-4 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Oct. 20
Interview with Diane Wilson
  • Interviewed by Tyler Owens, Rural Assembly

Interview with Diane Wilson

Diane Wilson (Dakota) is a writer, speaker, and editor, who has published two award-winning books, as well as essays in numerous publications. Her new novel, The Seed Keeper, was published by Milkweed Editions in March. The Seed Keeper follows a Dakota family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rural Assembly’s Tyler Owens will interview Diane about her journey into this story, what lessons and practices we glean from it, and how Indigenous women build power and legacy in rural America.

Edyael Casaperalta

    Edyael Casaperalta

    Hear from Senior Policy Advisor at the Rural Utilities Service Edyael Casaperalta. The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) provides much-needed infrastructure or infrastructure improvements to rural communities, including water and waste treatment, electric power and telecommunications services. She is an attorney who has supported indigenous and underrepresented communities in telecommunications matters. Most recently, she served as ACI Project Manager for AMERIND, the only 100-percent Tribally owned insurance provider in the United States, where she supported the company’s efforts to bring high-speed broadband to Tribal Nations, businesses, and communities. Prior to that, she was a fellow in the American Indian Law Program at the University of Colorado Law School. Casaperalta also served for more than seven years with the Center for Rural Strategies leading the Rural Broadband Policy Group, a national coalition of rural organizations advocating for high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband. She received a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College, a master’s from Ohio University, and a juris doctor from the University of Colorado Law School. She is proud to be from Elsa, Texas, a small border town in the Rio Grande Valley area. She lives in Colorado with her partner, Julia.

    Wednesday, Oct. 20
    Climate Resilience: Rural Women’s Voice on Hope and Meaning
    • Gabrielle McNalley, Executive Director of Women for the Land

    Climate Resilience: Rural Women’s Voice on Hope and Meaning

    Most of us are feeling the long impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whether we have lost love ones, lost employment, faced hard decisions about connecting with our friends and family, combatted challenges with health care or childcare, or even fallen sick ourselves and had to care for those we love, we can all reflect on how hard the last 1.5 years has been on our collective and personal psyches. Take the toll of the pandemic and couple that with climate disasters, in the form of wildlfires, catastrophic drought, deadly flooding, or strong storm surges, we are all feeling the push of climate disruption in our lives, our work, and on our land. While it may be hard to find hope in the darkness, we’ve invited rural women leaders in agriculture and food systems work to reflect on and respond via selfie video to these questions: What are you tending/caring for in these times? What gives you hope in the darkness? How are you building resilience where you are? Who inspires you to keep up the work? Join us for this roundtable led by Gabrielle McNalley, Executive Director of Women for the Land, as we source hope in the darkness.

    Wednesday, Oct. 20
    Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners
    • Throughout

    Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

    Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

    Wednesday, Oct. 20
    Keynote: Sec. Deb Haaland
    • U̵.̵S̵.̵ ̵S̵e̵c̵r̵e̵t̵a̵r̵y̵ ̵o̵f̵ ̵t̵h̵e̵ ̵I̵n̵t̵e̵r̵i̵o̵r̵ ̵D̵e̵b̵ ̵H̵a̵a̵l̵a̵n̵d̵

    Keynote: Sec. Deb Haaland

    Due to a scheduling issue, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will no longer be speaking at Rural Women Everywhere.

    Day 2 Breakouts

    Wednesday, Oct. 20
    The Rising Generation and Indigenous Women Lead the Way
    • 5 p.m. ET
    • 100 Rural Women

    The Rising Generation and Indigenous Women Lead the Way

    100 Rural Women is creating connections and inspiring leadership across the state. Join us for story-sharing with six amazing rural leaders. We will hear from Indigenous women, students, fellows and researchers who are working to affect positive change in rural Minnesota and their communities. They all approach their work with passion, creativity and strength. We will learn more about food justice & sovereignty, language revitalization, transformational education policy, equity, and the networks that connect rural women. This session will include interactive breakout groups and discussion with panelists.

    Wednesday, Oct. 20
    Courageous Mujer Podcast - Knowing Your Worth
    • 5 p.m. ET
    • Gladys Godinez, host, with Norma Flores López

    Courageous Mujer Podcast - Knowing Your Worth

    Rural Women Everywhere presents Courageous Mujer Podcast with host Gladys Godinez and special guest Norma Flores López. In this episode, we get to know Norma who grew up as a child of a migrant farmworker family from South Texas. She began working in the fields at the age of 12, where she continued working until she graduated from high school. She has long been an active advocate for migrant farmworker children’s rights and continues to raise awareness on issues affecting the farmworker community.

    Wednesday, Oct. 20
    Three Rural Women Who Inspire and Drive Rural Resilience
    • 5 p.m. ET
    • Our Towns Civic Foundation

    Three Rural Women Who Inspire and Drive Rural Resilience

    Join the conversation with a West Virginia judge who directs a juvenile drug court with an iron compassion; a journalist in remote Maine who informs and connects far-flung neighbors through a regional newspaper;  and a community visionary and organizer who built a cross-border collaboration among Native Americans, Mexicans, and Anglos in a desert town in southern Arizona.

    Wednesday Oct. 20
    Reflections on Calling & Action
    • 5 p.m. ET
    • On Being Project

    Reflections on Calling & Action

    We are living through continuous change, carrying grief, and experiencing dramatic shifts and emergence. As we’ve endured these growing pains, many of us have found deep practices to sustain us and heard new callings rising within us. Join Lillie Benowitz from The On Being Project for a reflective experience that will open up space to explore questions of: What is mine to do? Where is my heart being pulled? What can I do to align my actions with where I am called?

    Looking for full descriptions of our breakout sessions and happy hours? Click here. 

    Rural Women Everywhere logo

    Schedule

    Tuesday, Oct. 19
    Revitalizing the Promise of the Rural Agora
    • Hahrie Han and Featured Speakers

    Revitalizing the Promise of the Rural Agora

    A democracy is only as strong as its agora – the town halls, faith groups, parent-teacher organizations, and neighborhood associations that create opportunities for people to cultivate the capacities needed for self-governance. In many parts of rural America, however, the agora is eroding, and women are stepping up to rebuild. This panel looks at rural communities across the country where women are making decisions that build civic capacity and foster participation in democracy. The panel is moderated by Hahrie Han, inaugural director of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and featured speakers. Director Han will explore their particular challenges organizing in geographically dispersed rural communities, and the distinct methods they use to cultivate an active rural agora.

    Tuesday, Oct. 19
    Allyship with the Rural LGBTQ+ Community
    • LB Prevette, Mikah Carlos

    Allyship with the Rural LGBTQ+ Community

    We know it takes persistent work and participation to counteract that narrative of rural communities as inhospitable and non-inclusive. How do we support the flourishing of queer communities in rural America? This panel will offer stories and insights from rural lgbtq+ leaders, who will talk about their experiences building community in rural areas, what they most appreciate about their small towns, and how rural allies can continue to provide support. Moderated by advocate, organizer, and storyteller, LB Prevette, this roundtable will also include Mikah Carlos.

    Tuesday, Oct. 19
    Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners
    • Throughout

    Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

    Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists and we’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

    Day 1 Breakouts

    Tuesday, Oct. 19
    At the Frontlines of the Pandemic: Perspectives from Women in Business and Public Health
    • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
    • Health Action Alliance

    At the Frontlines of the Pandemic: Perspectives from Women in Business and Public Health

    The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the disparities in health care and vaccine access in rural communities across the country. This hour-long breakout session will discuss how women-led businesses in rural areas are vital to creating a healthier community, and a healthier community improves outcomes for businesses. During the session, we will hear how women business owners from rural Iowa and Mississippi have been on the frontlines during the pandemic. Joining them will be voices from rural health systems in Minnesota and Texas to share the impact of public health and the burden the pandemic has played on women in healthcare in rural communities.

    Tuesday, Oct. 19
    Who Does She Think She Is? Get Happy With Off The Clock!
    • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
    • Partners for Public Transformation & Voices for Rural Resilience

    Who Does She Think She Is? Get Happy With Off The Clock!

    Department of Public Transformation and Voices for Rural Resilience bring together seven RURAL ROCKSTAR women for "Who Does She Think She Is?" as a part of Rural Women Everywhere! We invite rural women to witness and support each other on our journeys to lead with ambition - to be audacious, bold, articulate and empowered - to reflect on our own experiences, while hearing from rural cultural workers Julie Garreau | Wičhaȟpi Epatȟaŋ Wiŋ (Eagle Butte, SD); ChristinaMaria Patiño Xochitlzihuatl Houle (Brownsville, TX); Salma Ahmed (Hibbing, MN); Dr. Yvette McDaniel (Orangeburn, SC); Jamie Horter (Lyons, NE); and Maria Sykes (Green River, UT), who will share challenges they have faced and the ways they keep moving forward with audacious ambition! We will also be joined by featured poet, Cassie Willams, sharing an original poem about women's ambition!

    Tuesday, Oct. 19
    Rural Women in Journalism
    • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
    • Journalists at the Daily Yonder: Caroline Carlson, Xandr Brown, Liz Carey, & Kristi Eaton

    Rural Women in Journalism

    Join women from the Daily Yonder (and some bonus friends!) for a conversation about women in rural journalism. We’ll discuss the different strengths and lenses of identity women bring to this industry, share some of our own experiences telling stories about rural places and the pieces we’ve worked on recently, and talk broadly about how rural women show up in contemporary media—in the stories, telling the stories, adjacent to the stories, etc. Do you have favorite female journalists who’ve written about rural that you want to talk about? Thoughts about the way rural women interact with/appear in news and media? We welcome your questions, comments and any thoughts you’d like to add.

    Tuesday Oct. 19
    How to be a Good Ally
    • 5-6:15 p.m. ET
    • Rural Assembly

    How to be a Good Ally

    Join back up with our panel of rural LGBTQ+ leaders to continue the conversation about allyship in rural America.  LB Prevette and others will seed and field questions, encourage the swapping of stories, and dig into the steps and actions we should all be taking on behalf of our rural queer and BIPOC neighbors.

    Happy Hours

    Tuesday Oct. 19
    Rural Bingo Happy Hour
    • 7 p.m. ET
    • The Daily Yonder

    Rural Bingo Happy Hour

    Join the Daily Yonder for rural bingo Happy Hour. Yes, rural bingo.

    Day Two

    Mainstage

    All main stage sessions between 2-4 p.m. ET

    Wednesday, Oct. 20
    Interview with Diane Wilson
    • Interviewed by Tyler Owens, Rural Assembly

    Interview with Diane Wilson

    Diane Wilson (Dakota) is a writer, speaker, and editor, who has published two award-winning books, as well as essays in numerous publications. Her new novel, The Seed Keeper, was published by Milkweed Editions in March. The Seed Keeper follows a Dakota family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rural Assembly’s Tyler Owens will interview Diane about her journey into this story, what lessons and practices we glean from it, and how Indigenous women build power and legacy in rural America.

    Edyael Casaperalta

      Edyael Casaperalta

      Hear from Senior Policy Advisor at the Rural Utilities Service Edyael Casaperalta. The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) provides much-needed infrastructure or infrastructure improvements to rural communities, including water and waste treatment, electric power and telecommunications services. She is an attorney who has supported indigenous and underrepresented communities in telecommunications matters. Most recently, she served as ACI Project Manager for AMERIND, the only 100-percent Tribally owned insurance provider in the United States, where she supported the company’s efforts to bring high-speed broadband to Tribal Nations, businesses, and communities. Prior to that, she was a fellow in the American Indian Law Program at the University of Colorado Law School. Casaperalta also served for more than seven years with the Center for Rural Strategies leading the Rural Broadband Policy Group, a national coalition of rural organizations advocating for high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband. She received a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College, a master’s from Ohio University, and a juris doctor from the University of Colorado Law School. She is proud to be from Elsa, Texas, a small border town in the Rio Grande Valley area. She lives in Colorado with her partner, Julia.

      Wednesday, Oct. 20
      Climate Resilience: Rural Women’s Voice on Hope and Meaning
      • Gabrielle McNalley, Executive Director of Women for the Land

      Climate Resilience: Rural Women’s Voice on Hope and Meaning

      Most of us are feeling the long impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whether we have lost love ones, lost employment, faced hard decisions about connecting with our friends and family, combatted challenges with health care or childcare, or even fallen sick ourselves and had to care for those we love, we can all reflect on how hard the last 1.5 years has been on our collective and personal psyches. Take the toll of the pandemic and couple that with climate disasters, in the form of wildlfires, catastrophic drought, deadly flooding, or strong storm surges, we are all feeling the push of climate disruption in our lives, our work, and on our land. While it may be hard to find hope in the darkness, we’ve invited rural women leaders in agriculture and food systems work to reflect on and respond via selfie video to these questions: What are you tending/caring for in these times? What gives you hope in the darkness? How are you building resilience where you are? Who inspires you to keep up the work? Join us for this roundtable led by Gabrielle McNalley, Executive Director of Women for the Land, as we source hope in the darkness.

      Wednesday, Oct. 20
      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners
      • Throughout

      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Wednesday, Oct. 20
      Keynote: Sec. Deb Haaland
      • U̵.̵S̵.̵ ̵S̵e̵c̵r̵e̵t̵a̵r̵y̵ ̵o̵f̵ ̵t̵h̵e̵ ̵I̵n̵t̵e̵r̵i̵o̵r̵ ̵D̵e̵b̵ ̵H̵a̵a̵l̵a̵n̵d̵

      Keynote: Sec. Deb Haaland

      Due to a scheduling issue, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will no longer be speaking at Rural Women Everywhere.

      Day 2 Breakouts

      Wednesday, Oct. 20
      The Rising Generation and Indigenous Women Lead the Way
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • 100 Rural Women

      The Rising Generation and Indigenous Women Lead the Way

      100 Rural Women is creating connections and inspiring leadership across the state. Join us for story-sharing with six amazing rural leaders. We will hear from Indigenous women, students, fellows and researchers who are working to affect positive change in rural Minnesota and their communities. They all approach their work with passion, creativity and strength. We will learn more about food justice & sovereignty, language revitalization, transformational education policy, equity, and the networks that connect rural women. This session will include interactive breakout groups and discussion with panelists.

      Wednesday, Oct. 20
      Courageous Mujer Podcast - Knowing Your Worth
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Gladys Godinez, host, with Norma Flores López

      Courageous Mujer Podcast - Knowing Your Worth

      Rural Women Everywhere presents Courageous Mujer Podcast with host Gladys Godinez and special guest Norma Flores López. In this episode, we get to know Norma who grew up as a child of a migrant farmworker family from South Texas. She began working in the fields at the age of 12, where she continued working until she graduated from high school. She has long been an active advocate for migrant farmworker children’s rights and continues to raise awareness on issues affecting the farmworker community.

      Wednesday, Oct. 20
      Three Rural Women Who Inspire and Drive Rural Resilience
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Our Towns Civic Foundation

      Three Rural Women Who Inspire and Drive Rural Resilience

      Join the conversation with a West Virginia judge who directs a juvenile drug court with an iron compassion; a journalist in remote Maine who informs and connects far-flung neighbors through a regional newspaper;  and a community visionary and organizer who built a cross-border collaboration among Native Americans, Mexicans, and Anglos in a desert town in southern Arizona.

      Wednesday Oct. 20
      Reflections on Calling & Action
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • On Being Project

      Reflections on Calling & Action

      We are living through continuous change, carrying grief, and experiencing dramatic shifts and emergence. As we’ve endured these growing pains, many of us have found deep practices to sustain us and heard new callings rising within us. Join Lillie Benowitz from The On Being Project for a reflective experience that will open up space to explore questions of: What is mine to do? Where is my heart being pulled? What can I do to align my actions with where I am called?

      Looking for full descriptions of our breakout sessions and happy hours? Click here. 

      Schedule

      Day One

      Tuesday, April 20
      Opening Poem

      Opening Poem

      Nikky Finney was born by the sea in South Carolina and raised during the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Arts Movements. She is the author of On Wings Made of Gauze; Rice; The World Is Round; and Head Off & Split, which won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2011. Her new collection of poems, Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry, was released from TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press in 2020.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Conversation with Margaret Renkl

      Conversation with Margaret Renkl

      Join Whitney Kimball Coe in conversation with Margaret Renkl, author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss. She is also a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, where her essays appear each Monday. Her work has also appeared in Guernica, Literary Hub, Oxford American, River Teeth, and The Sewanee Review, among others. A graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Carolina, she lives in Nashville.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Susan Rice, Director of White House Domestic Policy Council

      Susan Rice, Director of White House Domestic Policy Council

      We are pleased to present remarks from Susan Rice, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Join us for this special session to hear about the Biden Administration’s priorities for building equity and opportunity with rural and Native communities.

      Tuesday, April 20
      “Disinformation in Rural America” - Roundtable

      “Disinformation in Rural America” – Roundtable

      Join the Pinkerton Foundation’s Erickson “EB” Blakney, an award-winning writer and reporter who has worked for WOR Radio, Bloomberg and CBS News, for a conversation with leading rural organizers, election analysts, and media specialists about disinformation campaigns in rural America.

      Tuesday April 20
      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Breakouts

      Tuesday, April 20
      Art Justice in Response to Covid19

      Art Justice in Response to Covid19

      Over the near 40 years of Double Edge Theatre’s existance, they have been advancing equity, justice, and imagination through performance, cultural exchange, and in their rural region of Ashfield, MA. Associate Producer Cariel Klein and Associate Artistic Director Travis Coe will discuss the Theatre’s ethos of Art Justice. They will detail how that concept was conceptualized at Double Edge and how Art Justice helped the long-term ensemble respond to drastic changes due to Covid-19. This will include an open discussion about how Art Justice can be put into practice in every situation as we continually search for light and uplift.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Design to Reclaim Rural America: What design visioning can do for your small town

      Design to Reclaim Rural America: What design visioning can do for your small town

      Join Housing Assistance Council and Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design leader, Evelyn Immonen, in a session that breaks down the built environment around us and how artists, planners, and citizens can team up to reclaim a place. Listeners will first get a basic understanding of what it is that architects and designers do, and a chance to demystify concepts like “design charette.” We’ll also hear a case study from a historically black church in Appalachian Ohio, and further discuss how to vision for public spaces as centers of history, healing, and community.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs to Make a Difference

      Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs to Make a Difference

      New national organization Rural America Chamber of Commerce will host this session about rural entrepreneurship and how we empower our local businesses to positively impact rural economies, rural communities, and rural livelihoods via public policy and social policy engagement and advocacy.

      Tuesday April 20
      Belonging Begins with Us

      Belonging Begins with Us

      Led by the Center for Inclusion and Belonging, this session focuses on a new national air and ground campaign to advance belonging in American communities called Belonging Begins with Us.

      Happy Hours

      Tuesday April 20
      Pop Culture Happy Hour

      Pop Culture Happy Hour

      Join the Daily Yonder for a rural pop culture happy hour.

      Day Two

      Wednesday April 21
      Opening song

      Opening song

      Senora May is an engaging singer-songwriter and compelling onstage performer. She’s an artist whose talent will only grow because she knows so well who she is. Like the best songs, hers become more intricate and remarkable once they’re listened to more often and more closely. She’s like the countryside itself: not easy to define, impossible to tame, and always interesting.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Keynote

      Keynote

      Kiran Singh Sirah is President of the International Storytelling Center (ISC).
      Prior to his appointment at ISC, Kiran developed a number of award-winning arts, cultural and human rights programs in cultural centers across the UK and Ireland. Widely recognized for advancing storytelling as a tool for building social empathy and intercultural understanding, he has spoken and led programming at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the US Senate of foreign relations, US state department, and the Pentagon.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      EITC: All the Social Math in the World with Rep. Terri Sewell and Ellen Nissenbaum

      EITC: All the Social Math in the World with Rep. Terri Sewell and Ellen Nissenbaum

      The recent expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) will benefit populations who need it most, especially rural and Native communities. Analysts tell us these expansions will benefit around 10.4 million rural residents across the country, delivering well-timed, high bang-for-the-buck stimulus when people file their taxes next year. Tune into this session to hear remarks from the Honorable Terri Sewell, co-chair of the Congressional Rural Caucus on the importance of these credits and how we make the recent expansions permanent for future generations. Following Rep. Sewell, we will welcome Ellen Nissenbaum, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who will provide an in-depth analysis of EITC & CTC benefits in rural America.

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Indian Country Response to Covid - Roundtable

      Indian Country Response to Covid – Roundtable

      Throughout the pandemic, communities looked to the local and federal government for support in meeting their everyday needs. Although disproportionately affected, many Tribal Nations across the country took the response upon themselves, successfully staving off and addressing the pandemic, providing food, words of support and other necessities for those living in remote areas, often with limited supplies at their local grocery stores or gas stations. Learn about Tribal successes in protecting, providing and paving a path forward for their people in this challenging
      time.

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Breakouts

      Wednesday, April 21
      Rural Youth Catalyst Project

      Rural Youth Catalyst Project

      Borders are present across race, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity and sexuality, class, or any other identity. Living in the borderlands can bring feelings of being an outsider, fear of isolation, discrimination, and hatred as we carry identities and try to navigate those borders. When we are able to diminish those differences in our communities everyone is better for it. With our guests, we will explore how intentional and inadvertent borders get created and how young people are affected. We will also find out how personal experience has shaped their thinking and practice helping young people navigate those borders.

      Wednesday, April 21
      The challenges and opportunities of pandemic response among women farmers and ranchers in rural America

      The challenges and opportunities of pandemic response among women farmers and ranchers in rural America

      We know the pandemic continues to take a toll on all aspects of global life. The food supply chain has been particularly hard hit, with record Covid-19 infection rates in meat packing plants to the culling of hogs and the willful destruction of commodity crops as markets have collapsed demand and existing supply chains. Small and mid-sized farmers, however, in many cases have pivoted to respond to the food demands of their local and regional communities in ways that have allowed them to survive and, in some cases, thrive. We have seen that women farmers and farmers of color are at the forefront of feeding their communities and meeting rising food security needs as the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact society, globally and here in the U.S. As we emerge from the pandemic, what lessons have we learned that will guide our community as well as policy response to supporting these farmers in building more resilient food systems that center farmers and ranchers in ways that support their long-term success. Join our vibrant women-led and organized panel of farmers, ranchers, food system leaders and researchers engage in a moderated discussion to explore these themes and ask them some of your own questions.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Caring for Communities

      Caring for Communities

      During harsh winters and throughout a pandemic, those experiencing homelessness or displacement in rural places are often invisible and without resources. Learn ways that you can make an impact in your communities by listening to Indigenous women that are dedicating their life’s work to supporting people from their communities.

      Wednesday April 21
       Bridge to Somewhere: A United States Is Possible

      Bridge to Somewhere: A United States Is Possible

      Can we bridge our divisions? Join us for an interactive 90 minute session about how you can play an integral part in bridging what divides us. Harry Nathan Gottlieb, founder of Jackbox Games and Unify America, will be joined by Andrew Hanauer of One America Movement, Kira Hamman of Urban Rural Action, and Anna Claussen of Voices of Rural Resilience to talk about how these organizations are all using different tactics to achieve the same goals: reducing contempt, providing opportunities for civil conversation, and showing us that we are more united than we think. Be prepared to laugh, have fun and learn while we come together to build bridges.

      Happy Hours

      Rural Youth Poetry Slam

      Rural Youth Poetry Slam

      The Rural Youth Catalyst Project is leading a virtual youth poetry session as part of the Rural Assembly Everywhere and we invite you to read your poem. Join other rural young people from across the country as they share their work or just join to listen and enjoy. This is a safe and supportive environment to read your work. Don’t worry if you’ve never written a poem before, we welcome new and seasoned poets. Any style or length.
      We are honored to have this evening is hosted by accomplished poet and educator, Verandah Porche.

      The Currency of Joy: An Informal & Intentional Happy Hour with Rural Cultural Workers

      The Currency of Joy: An Informal & Intentional Happy Hour with Rural Cultural Workers

      Join ON and OFF The Clock Happy Hour guests at our digital watering hole for a look back on a year marked by isolation, fear, and uncertainty with a whole-hearted conversation about joy! Where do we find it, how do we claim it, spend it and receive it, and how do we collectively ensure that joy is accepted and celebrated, even amidst times of scarcity?
      ON and OFF The Clock, hosted by Ash Hanson from the Department of Public Transformation and Anna Claussen from Voices for Rural Resilience, has been bringing together rural, place-based cultural workers and artists monthly for the past two years to build connection, give sustenance, and share in informal space to express the challenges and joys of working for and within our communities. In this Happy Hour, we invite you to engage in joyful acts, while hearing rural cultural workers Jaclyn Roessel (Santa Ana Pueblo), Kelle Jolly (Tennessee), Kiran Singh Sirah (Tennessee), Brandi Turner (Mississippi), and Nikiko Masumoto (California) share how they continue to cultivate and spread compassionate joy during challenging times in their community work.


      REGISTER

      Looking for full descriptions of our breakout sessions and happy hours? Click here. 

      Schedule

      Day One

      Tuesday, April 20
      Opening Poem
      • 2 p.m. ET
      • Nikky Finney

      Opening Poem

      Nikky Finney was born by the sea in South Carolina and raised during the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Arts Movements. She is the author of On Wings Made of Gauze; Rice; The World Is Round; and Head Off & Split, which won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2011. Her new collection of poems, Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry, was released from TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press in 2020.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Conversation with Margaret Renkl
      • 2:03 p.m. ET
      • Margaret Renkl

      Conversation with Margaret Renkl

      Join Whitney Kimball Coe in conversation with Margaret Renkl, author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss. She is also a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, where her essays appear each Monday. Her work has also appeared in Guernica, Literary Hub, Oxford American, River Teeth, and The Sewanee Review, among others. A graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Carolina, she lives in Nashville.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners
      • 2:45 p.m. ET

      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Susan Rice, Director of White House Domestic Policy Council
      • 3:00 p.m. ET
      • Susan Rice

      Susan Rice, Director of White House Domestic Policy Council

      We are pleased to present remarks from Susan Rice, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Join us for this special session to hear about the Biden Administration’s priorities for building equity and opportunity with rural and Native communities.

      Tuesday, April 20
      “Disinformation in Rural America” - Roundtable
      • 3:10 p.m. ET

      “Disinformation in Rural America” - Roundtable

      Join the Pinkerton Foundation's Erickson “EB” Blakney, an award-winning writer and reporter who has worked for WOR Radio, Bloomberg and CBS News, for a conversation with leading rural organizers, election analysts, and media specialists about disinformation campaigns in rural America.

      Tuesday April 20
      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners
      • 3:45 p.m. ET

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Breakouts

      Tuesday, April 20
      Art Justice in Response to Covid19
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Double Edge Theatre

      Art Justice in Response to Covid19

      Over the near 40 years of Double Edge Theatre’s existance, they have been advancing equity, justice, and imagination through performance, cultural exchange, and in their rural region of Ashfield, MA. Associate Producer Cariel Klein and Associate Artistic Director Travis Coe will discuss the Theatre’s ethos of Art Justice. They will detail how that concept was conceptualized at Double Edge and how Art Justice helped the long-term ensemble respond to drastic changes due to Covid-19. This will include an open discussion about how Art Justice can be put into practice in every situation as we continually search for light and uplift.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Design to Reclaim Rural America: What design visioning can do for your small town
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Housing Assistance Council

      Design to Reclaim Rural America: What design visioning can do for your small town

      Join Housing Assistance Council and Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design leader, Evelyn Immonen, in a session that breaks down the built environment around us and how artists, planners, and citizens can team up to reclaim a place. Listeners will first get a basic understanding of what it is that architects and designers do, and a chance to demystify concepts like “design charette.” We’ll also hear a case study from a historically black church in Appalachian Ohio, and further discuss how to vision for public spaces as centers of history, healing, and community.

      Tuesday, April 20
      Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs to Make a Difference
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Rural America Chamber of Commerce

      Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs to Make a Difference

      New national organization Rural America Chamber of Commerce will host this session about rural entrepreneurship and how we empower our local businesses to positively impact rural economies, rural communities, and rural livelihoods via public policy and social policy engagement and advocacy.

      Tuesday April 20
      Belonging Begins with Us
      • 5 p.m. ET

      Belonging Begins with Us

      Led by the Center for Inclusion and Belonging, this session focuses on a new national air and ground campaign to advance belonging in American communities called Belonging Begins with Us.

      Happy Hours

      Tuesday April 20
      Pop Culture Happy Hour
      • 7 p.m. ET
      • The Daily Yonder

      Pop Culture Happy Hour

      Join the Daily Yonder for a rural pop culture happy hour.

      Day Two

      Wednesday April 21
      Opening song
      • 2 p.m. ET

      Opening song

      Senora May is an engaging singer-songwriter and compelling onstage performer. She’s an artist whose talent will only grow because she knows so well who she is. Like the best songs, hers become more intricate and remarkable once they’re listened to more often and more closely. She’s like the countryside itself: not easy to define, impossible to tame, and always interesting.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Keynote
      • 2:05p.m. ET
      • Kiran Singh Sirah

      Keynote

      Kiran Singh Sirah is President of the International Storytelling Center (ISC). Prior to his appointment at ISC, Kiran developed a number of award-winning arts, cultural and human rights programs in cultural centers across the UK and Ireland. Widely recognized for advancing storytelling as a tool for building social empathy and intercultural understanding, he has spoken and led programming at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the US Senate of foreign relations, US state department, and the Pentagon.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners
      • 2:25 p.m. ET

      Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      EITC: All the Social Math in the World with Rep. Terri Sewell and Ellen Nissenbaum
      • 2:35 PM ET

      EITC: All the Social Math in the World with Rep. Terri Sewell and Ellen Nissenbaum

      The recent expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) will benefit populations who need it most, especially rural and Native communities. Analysts tell us these expansions will benefit around 10.4 million rural residents across the country, delivering well-timed, high bang-for-the-buck stimulus when people file their taxes next year. Tune into this session to hear remarks from the Honorable Terri Sewell, co-chair of the Congressional Rural Caucus on the importance of these credits and how we make the recent expansions permanent for future generations. Following Rep. Sewell, we will welcome Ellen Nissenbaum, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who will provide an in-depth analysis of EITC & CTC benefits in rural America.

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners
      • 2:50 p.m. ET

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Indian Country Response to Covid - Roundtable
      • 3 p.m. ET

      Indian Country Response to Covid - Roundtable

      Throughout the pandemic, communities looked to the local and federal government for support in meeting their everyday needs. Although disproportionately affected, many Tribal Nations across the country took the response upon themselves, successfully staving off and addressing the pandemic, providing food, words of support and other necessities for those living in remote areas, often with limited supplies at their local grocery stores or gas stations. Learn about Tribal successes in protecting, providing and paving a path forward for their people in this challenging time.

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners
      • 3:50 p.m. ET

      Videos from Performers, Artists, and Rural Partners

      Each day we will share performances, readings, and more from artists including Senora May, Kelle Jolly, Robert Gipe, Joy Priest, Shuly Cawood, and Eliza Blue. We’ll share videos and photos from other rural organizations, from rural youth, and from those of you responded to our calls for participation.

      Breakouts

      Wednesday, April 21
      Rural Youth Catalyst Project
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Rural Youth Catalyst Project

      Rural Youth Catalyst Project

      Borders are present across race, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity and sexuality, class, or any other identity. Living in the borderlands can bring feelings of being an outsider, fear of isolation, discrimination, and hatred as we carry identities and try to navigate those borders. When we are able to diminish those differences in our communities everyone is better for it. With our guests, we will explore how intentional and inadvertent borders get created and how young people are affected. We will also find out how personal experience has shaped their thinking and practice helping young people navigate those borders.

      Wednesday, April 21
      The challenges and opportunities of pandemic response among women farmers and ranchers in rural America
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • American Farmland Trust

      The challenges and opportunities of pandemic response among women farmers and ranchers in rural America

      We know the pandemic continues to take a toll on all aspects of global life. The food supply chain has been particularly hard hit, with record Covid-19 infection rates in meat packing plants to the culling of hogs and the willful destruction of commodity crops as markets have collapsed demand and existing supply chains. Small and mid-sized farmers, however, in many cases have pivoted to respond to the food demands of their local and regional communities in ways that have allowed them to survive and, in some cases, thrive. We have seen that women farmers and farmers of color are at the forefront of feeding their communities and meeting rising food security needs as the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact society, globally and here in the U.S. As we emerge from the pandemic, what lessons have we learned that will guide our community as well as policy response to supporting these farmers in building more resilient food systems that center farmers and ranchers in ways that support their long-term success. Join our vibrant women-led and organized panel of farmers, ranchers, food system leaders and researchers engage in a moderated discussion to explore these themes and ask them some of your own questions.

      Wednesday, April 21
      Caring for Communities
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Center for Rural Strategies

      Caring for Communities

      During harsh winters and throughout a pandemic, those experiencing homelessness or displacement in rural places are often invisible and without resources. Learn ways that you can make an impact in your communities by listening to Indigenous women that are dedicating their life’s work to supporting people from their communities.

      Wednesday April 21
       Bridge to Somewhere: A United States Is Possible
      • 5 p.m. ET
      • Unify America

      Bridge to Somewhere: A United States Is Possible

      Can we bridge our divisions? Join us for an interactive 90 minute session about how you can play an integral part in bridging what divides us. Harry Nathan Gottlieb, founder of Jackbox Games and Unify America, will be joined by Andrew Hanauer of One America Movement, Kira Hamman of Urban Rural Action, and Anna Claussen of Voices of Rural Resilience to talk about how these organizations are all using different tactics to achieve the same goals: reducing contempt, providing opportunities for civil conversation, and showing us that we are more united than we think. Be prepared to laugh, have fun and learn while we come together to build bridges.

      Happy Hours

      Rural Youth Poetry Slam
      • 7 p.m. ET

      Rural Youth Poetry Slam

      The Rural Youth Catalyst Project is leading a virtual youth poetry session as part of the Rural Assembly Everywhere and we invite you to read your poem. Join other rural young people from across the country as they share their work or just join to listen and enjoy. This is a safe and supportive environment to read your work. Don’t worry if you’ve never written a poem before, we welcome new and seasoned poets. Any style or length. We are honored to have this evening is hosted by accomplished poet and educator, Verandah Porche.

      The Currency of Joy: An Informal & Intentional Happy Hour with Rural Cultural Workers
      • 7 p.m.

      The Currency of Joy: An Informal & Intentional Happy Hour with Rural Cultural Workers

      Join ON and OFF The Clock Happy Hour guests at our digital watering hole for a look back on a year marked by isolation, fear, and uncertainty with a whole-hearted conversation about joy! Where do we find it, how do we claim it, spend it and receive it, and how do we collectively ensure that joy is accepted and celebrated, even amidst times of scarcity? ON and OFF The Clock, hosted by Ash Hanson from the Department of Public Transformation and Anna Claussen from Voices for Rural Resilience, has been bringing together rural, place-based cultural workers and artists monthly for the past two years to build connection, give sustenance, and share in informal space to express the challenges and joys of working for and within our communities. In this Happy Hour, we invite you to engage in joyful acts, while hearing rural cultural workers Jaclyn Roessel (Santa Ana Pueblo), Kelle Jolly (Tennessee), Kiran Singh Sirah (Tennessee), Brandi Turner (Mississippi), and Nikiko Masumoto (California) share how they continue to cultivate and spread compassionate joy during challenging times in their community work.