Tackling Socioeconomic Needs in Rural America: The Importance of Federal Policy in Enabling Rural Prosperity in the 21 st Century

Anthony Pipa

Senior Fellow

Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-pipa-9953531/

Tony Pipa is a senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution. Tony launched and leads the Reimagining Rural Policy initative, which seeks to modernize and transform U.S. rural policy, and hosts the Reimagine Rural podcast, collecting the stories of rural towns across America that are experiencing positive change.

Tony has three decades of executive leadership experience in the philanthropic and public sectors addressing poverty and advancing inclusive economic development in the U.S. and globally. His career spans experiences from leading the U.S. at the U.N. to negotiate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to helping launch the Foundation for Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

He grew up in rural Elysburg, Pennsylvania, in the heart of anthracite coal country, and attended Stanford University, graduated from Duke University, and earned a Master of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Michelle Moore

CEO

Groundswell

Michelle Moore is the author of “Rural Renaissance” and CEO of Groundswell, a 501(c)(3) that builds community power with clean energy programs that cut energy burdens in half for low- and moderate-income families. Groundswell accomplishes this by cutting energy burdens in half and increasing economic opportunities with community solar, resilience centers, residential energy efficiency, and pioneering research. A social entrepreneur and former White House official with roots in rural Georgia, Michelle is a relentless agent for change. Her accomplishments range from cutting the government’s energy bill by $11 billion and deploying 3.2 Gigawatts of new renewable energy for President Obama to developing LEED into a globally recognized brand for USGBC.

Michelle also serves as a Senate-confirmed member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors and as Secretary of the Board for the Interdenominational Theological Center. Her work is rooted in her faith and the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.”