The Rural Impact

In this Rural Impact Extra Episodes series, "Women Who Impact," Michelle highlights inspirational leaders making extraordinary impacts in rural health in recognition of National Rural Health Day (NRHD). In the first episode, Michelle talks with the Director for the Center for Health Care Policy and Resource Development and the Director of the Charles D. Cook Office of Rural Health in the New York...

In this extra episode in our series "Rural Health on Life Support,” Michelle talks with Megan Meacham, Director of the Rural Strategic Initiatives Division and Sarah O’Donell Team Lead for Program Development with HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Megan, Sarah, and their colleague Allison Hutchings were awarded the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals 2023 People’s Choice Award,...

In this third episode of our series "Do the Math-Calculating the Future of Rural Education," Michelle talks with national communications consultant and rural education policy expert John White. John served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach at the U.S. Department of Education (2009-2013), represented U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the White House Rural Council,...

In this second episode of our series "Do the Math-Calculating the Future of Rural Education," Michelle talks with Taylor McCabe-Juhnke, Executive Director of the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC). Taylor proudly hails from a long line of rural educators. As an early supporter of the RSC, Taylor was largely responsible for planning and coordinating the Rural Teacher Corps Stakeholder's Summit Visio...

In this first episode of our series "Do the Math-Calculating the Future of Rural Education," Michelle talks with Dr. Allen Pratt, Executive Director of the National Rural Education Association (NREA). Dr. Pratt's work focuses on providing a unified voice for rural schools and communities. He has served as a high school science teacher and coach, a high school principal, assistant superintendent/cu...

In this third episode of our series "Food for Thought-Facing the Facts About Food Insecurity," Michelle talks with Erica Blair, Extension Specialist with Kansas State Research and Extension and a Program Manager for both the Rural Grocery Initiative (RGI) and Kansas Healthy Food Initiative. Erica provides technical assistance on grocery-related topics and coordinates RGI's educational programming...

In this Impact Extra Episode, Michelle brings issues discussed in our three-part series, "Rural Health on Life Support," back to the table with special guest Farah Ahmad, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).   During this conversation, Deputy Under Secretary Ahmad shares how USDA Rural Development (RD) invests in rural communities and adva...

In the second episode in our second series "Food for Thought-Facing the Facts About Food Insecurity,” Michelle talks with Alana Rhone, Agricultural Economist and Matthew Rabbitt, Economist with the Food Assistance Branch in the Food Economic Division at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Alana’s research focuses on food access in the U.S., and Matthew’s research primarily focuses...

In the first episode in our second series "Food for Thought-Facing the Facts About Food Insecurity,” Michelle talks with Gina Plata-Nino, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Deputy Director, and Crystal FitzSimons, Director of School and Out-of-School Time Programs, at the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). Gina works with the SNAP team to seek ways to improve SNAP’s reach and...

In this third episode in our "Rural Health on Life Support" series, Michelle talks with Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Center for Children and Families (CCF) and Research Professor at Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy. Joan is a nationally recognized expert on the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid, the lead author of CCF's annual report on children's healthcar...

In this second episode in our “Rural Health on Life Support” series, Michelle talks with Julia D. Interrante, PhD, MPH, a Research Fellow and Statistical Lead at the University of Minnesota’s Rural Health Research Center. Dr. Interrante’s research examines the effects of policy on maternal health outcomes and access to maternity care services with a specific focus on geographic and racial equity....

In this first episode of The Rural Impact, the show’s debut series titled “Rural Health on Life Support,” Michelle talks with Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. It’s estimated that nearly 61 million people live in designated rural areas across the United States. In at least ten states, elected officials have yet to adopt the expansion of Medicaid, which, according to the Ce...

Michelle Rathman, a rural health, community, and communications expert, is excited to announce a new project called "The Rural Impact – A Podcast Connecting the Dots between Policy and Rural Everything!" The Rural Impact aims to address critical issues affecting rural communities, such as food insecurity, housing, transportation, healthcare, climate change, broadband, and economic opportunities, b...