Program

2011 National Rural Assembly Agenda

Crowne Plaza Hotel--St. Paul Riverfront
St. Paul, Minnesota
June 28-30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28

9:30am - Registration Opens
Participants may register and collect conference materials in the Lower Level Coat Check area.  

***Press Table will also be located in the Lower Coat Check area

9:30am -3:45pm  Let's Organize!
Groups representing a variety of regions and sectors will meet pre-conference to build out their workplans, participation, and opportunities for further policy engagement.  These include:

  • Rural Broadband Policy Group (2:00pm-3:45pm, Room: Governors II)
  • Midwest Rural Assembly (12:00pm-3:00pm, Room: Governors IV)
  • Great Plains Policy Network (9:30am-noon, 2:30pm-3:30pm, Room: Governors I)
  • Central Appalachian Regional Network (12:00pm-3:45pm, Room: Governors III)
  • Rural Development Philanthropy Collaborative & partners (2:30pm-3:45p, Room: State I)
  • Rural Transportation Policy Group (2:30pm-3:45pm, Room: State II)
  • Mid South Regional Policy Network (2:30pm-3:45pm, Room: Governors V)

Organizer: Center for Rural Strategies, Whitesburg, Kentucky

4:00pm - Opening Plenary: Welcome to the National Rural Assembly, 2011 Gathering: Building an Inclusive Nation (Minnesota Ballroom)
The Rural Assembly Steering Committee welcomes participants to the 2011 National Rural Assembly.  Speakers provide the frame for this year's gathering and introduce local sponsors and the Host Committee.

Dee Davis, President of The Center for Rural Strategies and Chairperson of the Rural Assembly Steering Committee
Niel Ritchie, President of League of Rural Voters and member of local Host Committee

4:30pm - Speaking Rural Truth to Power (Minnesota Ballroom)
Rural leaders will share stories and examples of the diverse spirit of rural America.    
Presenters will include multi-generational leaders representing areas of youth policy, natural resource management, broadband, tribal affairs, healthcare, education, philanthropy, housing, and transportation.

Moderator: Carol Blackmon, Quitman County Development Organization

  • Olga Cardoso, Llano Grande Center, Edcouch, Texas
  • Billy Altom, Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Al White, Action Communication and Education Reform, Duck Hill, Mississippi
  • Carolyn Ford, North Florida Educational Development Corporation, Gretna, Florida
  • Dylan Kruse, Sustainable Northwest, Portland, Oregon
  • Richard Oswald, farmer and contributor to The Daily Yonder, Langdon, Missouri
  • Traci Morris, Native Public Media, Flagstaff, Arizona
  • Nancy Straw, West Central Initiative, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
  • Peggy Flanagan, Wellstone Action, St. Paul, Minnesota

Organizer: The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire

5:30pm - Host Committee Reception (Garden Court East)
Participants are invited to join the Assembly Host Committee for food and drink in Garden Court East.

7:00pm - Dinner and Keynote Speaker: A National Strategic Narrative (Minnesota Ballroom)

Speakers: Captain Wayne Porter, United States Navy and Colonel Mark Mykleby, United States Marine Corps

 

Wednesday, June 29

7:30am - Breakfast (Minnesota Ballroom)
Participants are invited to enjoy breakfast and conversation around rural topics of interest.
 
8:30am - The Future of Rural America and the Rural Assembly (Minnesota Ballroom)

Agenda Segment

Moderator:  Brian Dabson, RUPRI Rural Futures Lab

Panel:
Kenneth Johnson, Carsey Institute – demographic trends in rural America
Peter Morris, National Congress of American Indians 
Kim Phinney, YouthBuild USA - the opportunities for the Rural Assembly 
Delia Perez, Llano Grande Center  
Charles Fluharty, Rural Policy Research Institute – the policy opportunities for rural America and the Rural Assembly

9:30am - Ready, Set, Breakout! (Minnesota Ballroom)
Participants are encouraged to select morning and afternoon work sessions that relate to their work in the rural policy arena.  The recommendations developed within these sessions will inform the action items of the Rural Assembly going forward.
Organizer: Brushy Fork Institute, Berea, Kentucky

9:45am - Break

10: 15am - Breakout Sessions Round 1
First round of policy work sessions.  Participants may select the session they wish to attend.
Participants may choose from the following breakouts:

  • Federal education competitive grants:  How’s it working for rural schools? (Room: State I)
  • Rural Broadband Innovative Strategies and Policy Issues (Room: Governors V)
  • Rural Healthcare: Answers and Opportunities (Room: State II)
  • Rural Philanthropy Part I: The Rural Development Philanthropy Approach to Growing Locally-Controlled Philanthropic Assets (Room: Capitol Ballroom)
  • Changing the Climate – Understanding rural perspectives, opportunities and solutions to address climate change (Room: Governors I) 
  • A Seat at the Table: The Youth Voice in Rural Community Visioning (Room: Governors III)
  • Small Business and Entrepreneurship Policy for Rural Prosperity (Room: Governors IV)
  • “No Man’s Land” – South Texas Working Groups Fighting to Improve and Empower the Quality of Life in Colonias (Room: State III)
  • Revitalizing the Rural Economy Through Infrastructure Developments (Room: Governors II)


12:00pm - Lunch and Rural Innovations Panel: New Ways of Thinking (Minnesota Ballroom)

Keynote speaker: FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn

Panel
A panel of rural leaders will share examples of rural innovation and strategies within the four pillars of The Rural Compact. Panelists will address issues such as environmental justice, tribal affairs, education, and investment.
Moderator: Anita Brown-Graham, Institute for Emerging Issues

Panelists:

  • Rural America and Indian Country: Tanya Fiddler, Four Bands Community Fund, Eagle Butte, South Dakota
  • Rural Education: Doris Williams, Rural School and Community Trust, Washington, D.C.
  • Rural Investment: Ronald Phillips, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. Wiscasset, Maine
  • Environment: Michael F. Masterman, Extreme Endeavors and Consulting, Phillipi, West Virginia 


2 p.m. Break

2:30pm—Breakout Sessions: Round 2
Continuation of policy work sessions.  Participants may select a different session this round from the following options:

  • Transitions to Adulthood: Policy Issues Impacting Rural Youth Ages 16-25 (Room: State I)
  • Immigration Reform – The Right Message (Room: Governors I)
  • eCARE & Technology to the Rural Health Rescue – If Key Policy Barriers Can Be Addressed! (Room: Governors II)
  • Rural Wealth Creation: the Approach, the Reality, and the Policies (Room: Governors V)
  • Growing Rural America’s Green Economy (Room: Capitol Ballroom)
  • Rural Philanthropy Part II: Policy Catalysts to Leverage Growth of Rural Philanthropy (Room: Governors IV)
  • Rural America and Social Security (Room: State II)
  • It's a New Day for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities, A Day of Significant Challenges (Room: Governors III)
  • Getting There: Rural Communities and Transportation Policy (Room: State III)

4:00pm—Break

4:30pm— "Where Soldiers Come From" (Minnesota Ballroom)
See excerpts from a new documentary from Director Heather Courtney and hear from a panel of the young men whose four-year journey takes them from a small town in northern Michigan to Afghanistan and back home again.  

Moderator: Emily White Hat, National Congress of American Indians

6:00pm—Adjourn for the day

7:00pm—A Minnesota Offering (Minnesota Ballroom)

Keynote from Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie

 

Thursday, June 30

7:30am—Breakfast and Rural Youth Roundtable (Minnesota Ballroom)
Participants are invited to engage with young policy leaders from a variety of regions and sectors.
Organizer:  YouthBuild USA, Somerville, Massachusetts & Llano Grande Center, Edcouch, Texas

8:30am— The Call to Action: Reports from the Field  (Minnesota Ballroom)
Hear recommendations from yesterday’s breakout sessions and determine next steps for the Assembly.
Organizer: Brushy Fork Institute, Berea, Kentucky, MDC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Center for Rural Strategies, Whitesburg, Kentucky

10:00am--Tools and Skills for Our Work
Sessions are offered around skills and competencies for policy work and network sustainability.
Available sessions:

  • Farm Bill: Winning Building Blocks to a Better Food and Farming System (Room: Governors IV)
  • Digital Stories and Reflecting on Policy Change Work (Room: Capitol Ballroom)
  • Cultural Organizing and Collaborating Across Sectors (Room: Governors I)
  • Rural Policy 101 (Governors III)
  • Introduction to Intentional Social Media (Room: Governors II)
  • How to Build a Local Broadband Network (Room: Governors V)

11:00m—Break

11:15am— Building an Inclusive Nation (Minnesota Ballroom)
Assembly Chairperson Dee Davis reflects on the work of participants and how we move forward together in the coming year.
Organizer: Center for Rural Strategies, Whitesburg, Kentucky

12:30pm—Adjourn*

 

*Box Lunches collected at Ballroom entry