Looking Back and Forward - Preparing for 2025

In our first episode of 2025, Michelle offers a recap of several of our 2024 series and special episodes, including conversations with authors Elizabeth Carpenter-Song and Sarah Smarsh, researchers from New American, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, as well as conversations with leaders from several federal agencies, including the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services.

In addition to a review of episodes past, Michelle gives listeners a sense of what can be expected of The Rural Impact's future, including more road trips starting in Washington, D.C., for the National Rural Health Association Policy Institute in February 2025. 

Recognizing that the Biden-Harris Administration was responsible for over $460 billion in worth and opportunities for economic growth and capacity building for rural, we'll be closely following the impact of the Trump administration on rural on the topics of tariffs, immigration, climate, housing, health care policy, and education, noting that Project 2025, written by many in the first Trump Administration, calls for terms such as equity and climate change to be removed from policy considerations.

Lastly, Michelle shares that we will cover rural transportation and mobility challenges, aging in place, childcare, and a special series focused on the intersections of philanthropy and policy with an outstanding line-up of experts, researchers, authors, leaders, and policymakers, each of them helping us to connect the dots between policy and rural quality of life.