The Rural Impact

As artificial intelligence expands and the demand for digital infrastructure accelerates, rural America is increasingly at the center of conversations and controversies over energy production, data centers, land use, and economic development. But who benefits from these projects, who bears the costs, and how can rural communities ensure they have a meaningful voice in decisions that will shape the...

In this power-hour conversation, Michelle begins by welcoming returning guest expert Joan Alker, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Center for Children and Families.  Joan shares recent research focused on understanding the impact of the increasing uninsured rate for young children and the two explore the significance of health insurance for children under six, including regular checkups and...

In this episode of The Rural Impact, Views from the Field: Farm Bill 2026, host Michelle Rathman speaks with Senior Legislative Director of the National Association of Counties Blaire  Bryant and Commissioner Dakkia Bradshaw, from Telfair County Georgia, about the growing challenges facing rural communities as federal policies reshape healthcare and nutrition programs. Bryant outlines the rea...

In this solo Memorial Day and early summer episode of The Rural Impact, host Michelle Rathman shares reflections from the road while attending the National Rural Health Association Annual Meeting and previews several major policy conversations the podcast will continue exploring throughout 2026 and into 2027. Michelle discusses the expansion of the podcast’s “Tracking Transformation” series, exami...

In this episode of The Rural Impact, host Michelle Rathman continues the "Tracking Transformation" series with a closer look at how states are using Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding to modernize rural healthcare through technology.   In part one, Michelle is joined by Maya Sandalow, Associate Director of the Bipartisan Policy Center, who discusses how investments in teleheal...

In part one of this episode, The Precarious State of Public Education, host Michelle Rathman continues the series on the state of rural education with policy expert Paige Shoemaker DeMio. Paige is a Senior Policy Analyst for K-12 Education Policy at the Center for American Progress (CAP). Before joining CAP, she served as a secondary social studies teacher in Cleveland. As a former educator, she h...

In part one of this episode of The Rural Impact, “Rural Counties Responding to Policy Shifts: The Impact of Civic Engagement,” Michelle speaks with two rural leaders navigating complex policy challenges: Commissioners Hope Harmon and Paul W. Heimel. Harmon, a County Commissioner in Ben Hill County, Georgia, champions education, healthcare, economic development, and public safety. Heimel, in his 19...

In part one of this episode,  USPS Under Threat and the Impact on Rural America , Elena Patel, Co-Director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, joins Michelle to break down the growing financial crisis facing the United States Postal Service. Elena shares insights from her recent research on the USPS funding model, explaining how the shift from letter mail to digital communicat...

In part one of this episode, Rural Education: Public Funds for Private Schools, Dr. Melissa Sadorf, Executive Director of the National Rural Education Association (NREA), joins Michelle to discuss the evolving landscape of rural education. Dr. Sadorf shares insights from the 2022-2027 NREA research agenda, highlighting the importance of spatial and educational equity and how policy decisions shape...

In part one of this episode, Tracking Transformation: Opportunity for Some, for Others Pain, Michelle sits down with Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Children and Families at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, Joan Alker, as well as Dr. Shannon Dowler, who is a family medicine physician, serves on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Family...

In part one of this episode, The Inescapable Impact of Immigration Policies on Small Towns and Rural Communities, Michelle sits down with Emmy and Murrow Award–winning video storyteller, content strategist, and co-founder of 515 Productions, Lynn Melling, to examine how immigration policies and ICE operations are shaping life in small rural communities like Melrose, Minnesota. Lynn shares insights...

In part one of the episode, Tracking Transformation: Great Healthcare Plan & Threats to Food Security, Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy at KFF, joins host Michelle Rathman. Larry oversees KFF's policy work on Medicare, Medicaid, the health care marketplace, the Affordable Care Act, racial equity, women's health, and global health.     In this conversation...

In part one of the episode, Tracking Transformation: Funding Awarded. Now What? Michelle Rathman invites Grace Creek Advisors' Bob Atlas to discuss his analysis of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). Bob is an executive consultant in health policy and strategy, serving public - and private - sector clients nationwide on health care delivery and financing. The health care safety net is...

Every year, National Rural Health Day is a chance to recognize and celebrate the dedicated efforts of rural health advocates and partners working to improve rural life. On November 20, 2025, The Rural Impact celebrated with something special, a live, story-driven event that lifted the voices behind  The Rural Effect.       Over the past two years, over a dozen Community-Based Organi...

In part one of the last episode of 2025, 'Uncertain Times for Community Health Centers,' Michelle invites Feygele Jacobs, DrPH, MS, MPH to The Rural Impact. Dr. Jacobs is the Director of the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University. Previously, she was President and CEO of t...

I n this episode, 'A Conversation About the Intersections of Policy and Philanthropy,' Cara V. James, PhD, President and CEO of Grantmakers in Health (GIH), joins Michelle to explore key topics like rural health funding challenges and the critical conversations shaping health policy.     Before joining GIH in 2020, James served as Director of the Office of Minority Health at the Cen...

In this episode, "A Conversation About the State of America's Family Farms," Hannah Tremblay and Caitlin Arnold Stephano, both from Farm Aid, discuss issues impacting America's small and family farms.    Hannah Tremblay is Policy and Advocacy Manager, where they manage Farm Aid's advocacy program and engage a broad coalition in support of policies that strengthen family farmers and famil...

In this episode, "Finding Common Ground in Community Engagement," Michelle welcomes Meredith Dean, the National Director of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative's Community Works program, to discuss how rural communities are finding common ground and bringing people together, regardless of political differences, to address local needs. Meredith brings 40 years of experience in community organizing, D...

In this episode, "Ready. Set. No. The State of Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements Readiness," Michelle welcomes Research Professors Tricia Brooks and Leonardo Cuello, as well as State Health Policy Analyst Hannah Green, all joining us from Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families, to discuss their report published on September 4, 2025 titled "Are Sta...

In this episode, "A Conversation About What Undermines Local Government and Public Service," Michelle welcomes Brooks Williams to discuss how anger and rage are impacting local governments. Brooks is a city manager whose two decades span public and private leadership. He is known for turning strategy into results, such as stronger finances, healthier cultures, and clear metrics that track real per...

In this episode, "HRSA's Dwindling Rural Health Commitments," we kick off with a conversation between Michelle and Alexa McKinley Abel, Director of Government Affairs at the National Rural Health Association. They delve into recent developments from the House Appropriations Committee related to the FY2026 Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which proposes significant investments and increases in rural...

In this episode, Education, Workforce & Tariffs: Rough Roads for Rural Ahead, the episode begins with Alexa McKinley Abel, Director of Government Affairs at the National Rural Health Association, who provides a rundown of the Senate Appropriations Committee's markup of the 2026 Labor Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Bill. Alexa detailed what the markup means for rural...

In this Rural Impact Extra Episode: A Conversation about Rural Prosperity and its Connection to Policies, Past, Present & Future, Michelle leads the episode with a discussion with two esteemed experts in the field. Tony Pipa, a Senior Fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution, and Brent Orrell, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute(AEI), bring...

In this extra episode of the Rural Impact Michelle welcomes Cynthia Wallace, Executive Director of the non-profit, New Rural Project, which she co-founded in April 2021 to discuss the impacts of H.R.1, as well as the how Cynthia and The New Rural Project are amplifying the voices of rural young people and marginalized residents in North Carolina so that they are heard and seen, and they get electo...

Michelle kicks off this episode with Edwin Park, Research Professor at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, within the McCourt School of Public Policy. His work primarily focuses on Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Affordable Care Act. Previously, he worked for 17 years at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, most recently as Vice President f...