Welcome to the 2021 Rural LISC Seminar! We are thrilled to have you join us to gather, connect, and learn from this year’s dynamic slate of speakers. Our goal is to energize and inspire as we work to develop resilient and inclusive rural communities as great places to live, work, play and innovate. Not only do we have exciting content, but we’ve sprinkled in some ways to help you stay engaged virtually and walk away with some pretty cool swag! Thank you for choosing to spend these next few days with Rural LISC, and most importantly, for devoting your time, talent, and resources to growing rural America.
10:30 AM – 2:30 PM CST Sponsored by Ascendium, By Invitation Only
11:30 AM – 3:00 PM CST By Invitation Only
3:30 – 5:00 PM CST Sponsored by Tennessee Housing Development Agency
A celebratory launch of the 2021 Rural LISC Seminar, a welcome from Memphis leaders, and rich dialogue around rural housing needs, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent disasters, led by the Director of Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Ralph M. Perrey. Small group discussions to follow.
Caitlin Cain LISC VP and Rural LISC Director 
Kathy Cowan LISC Memphis Executive Director 
Ralph M. Perrey Executive Director of Tennessee Housing Development Agency 
Jim Strickland Memphis Mayor 9:30 – 10:00 AM CST Caitlin Cain 
Lisa Glover 
Jeffery Mills 10:00 – 11:00 AM CST Sustainable investment in Rural America is contingent on many factors including successful partnerships. Come hear the latest trends influencing rural investment and opportunities for local and national partnerships.
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Mark Kudlowitz 
Tony F. Pipa 
Chad Maisel 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST Sponsored by National Equity Fund
Housing and complex project finance in rural communities is complicated. Come learn about how to structure a more perfect housing, mixed-use and infrastructure deal – from understanding market conditions to tax credits.
Michael Carroll Lending Director, Rural LISC 
Michael Jacobs Senior Vice President, National Equity Fund (NEF)
Kevin Boes President & CEO, New Market Support Corp. (NMSC) 12:30 – 3:00 PM CST Sponsored by Walton Family Foundation
Come join an esteemed virtual panel of public and private leaders as they discuss what it will take to make a targeted investment and commitment to supporting Rural America – from proactive policy, to targeted economic support of traditional sectors, to emerging, innovative opportunities. Followed by a Fireside Chat.
Lisa Glover President and CEO, LISC 
Tom Vilsack U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Public Perspective 
Caryl M. Stern Walton Family Foundation CEO, Private Perspective 
Maurice Jones CEO, OneTen 
Marvin Ellison Chairman, President and CEO, Lowe’s Companies Inc. 
Justin Maxson Deputy Under-Secretary for USDA-Rural Development Caitlin Cain LISC VP and Director of Rural LISC 3:15 – 5:00 PM CST Join Rural LISC staff in roundtable discussions on the Rural LISC’s key program areas. Come meet the Rural LISC team, learn about key programs and tools, and engage with your peers in small group Q&A.
Beth Haskovec Access to Capital: KIVA & Small Business Lending Michael Carroll Access to Capital: LISC Lending 
Evelyn McKinney Access to Capital: Business Development Organizations (BDO)
Francesca Santos Workforce: FOCs & Bridges 
Justin Burch Workforce: Rural Works.jpg)
Liz Lima Broadband: Digital Navigators
Christa Vinson Broadband: Broadband
Bob Reeder Placemaking: Creative Placemaking
Tim Klont Placemaking: Affordable Housing
Kendra Pospychalla Disaster: Disaster Resilience
Tiffany Taylor-Minor Foundations: Communications/Story Telling
Murat Unal Foundations: Rural LISC Grants, Compliance and Technical Assistance
Emily Avery Director of Alignment & Rural FOCs as the Moderator. 9:45 – 10:00 AM CST Caitlin Cain LISC VP and Director of Rural LISC 
Lisa Glover President and CEO, LISC 
Marietta Rodriguez CEO of NeighborWorks America, Moderator 10:00 – 11:30 AM CST Sponsored by NeighborWorks America
Community design can be a challenging undertaking especially in culturally diverse regions. Come learn about community development and wealth-building efforts that recognize and incorporate cultural values in order to effectively reach and build communities for all.
Joseph Kunkel Director of MASS Design Group Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab 
Vanessa Roanhorse Roanhorse Consulting 
Jeff Gilbreath Executive Director, Hawaiian Community Assets 
Suzanne Anarde CEO, Rural Community Assistance Corporation 10:30 – 12:00 PM CST Building power and capacity within groups on the economic and social margins is a crucial component for strong, healthy, and economically diverse rural communities. Come hear stories of power and capacity building at the community level and take away lessons on how rural places have united to become more inclusive and economically vibrant.
Justin Fernando Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at LISC
Bonita Robertson-Hardy Associate Director, Aspen CSG
Bina Patel Shrimali Research Manager for Community Development, San Francisco Federal Reserve
Calvin Allen Executive Director, Rural Forward NC 
Chester B. Williams Chief Executive Officer, A Better Chance, A Better Community 
Gisela Salgado Director of Leadership Development Programs, California Coalition for Rural Housing 11:30 – 1:00 PM CST Rural LISC Small Business and our dynamic partners are connecting the dots to support the small business ecosystem. In this workshop you will learn about:
Capital and funding incentives for investment in rural areas, The Rural LISC BDO Network –a community of practice for entrepreneurial support organizations, Local and Regional Connectivity and Stakeholder Engagement, Maximization of Market through Ecosystem Mapping, Agri-Tech Innovation & Incubation, The Power of a Rural Marketing Campaign
Beth Haskovec Rural LISC, Moderators Evelyn McKinney Rural LISC, Moderators
Heather Fleming Change Labs 
Matthew Weaver Association of Central Oklahoma Governments 
Tiffany Henry Center on Rural Innovation 
Rebecca Kaufman AgLaunch 
Jade Clark AgLaunch
Jerry Mitchell Alabama Black Chamber of Commerce Join us to hear from leading national broadband planners about designing successful broadband predevelopment initiatives that lead to project funding and inclusive community impact.
Christa Vinson Rural LISC, Moderator
Ziggy Rivkin-Fish Vice President of Broadband Strategy, Columbia Telecommunications Corp.
Alex Kelley Head of Broadband Consulting, Center on Rural Innovation Workforce development has become essential to every community's success and growth. Join us as we launch our new Rural LISC sectoral strategy along with strategic partners from Walton Family Foundation and Markle Foundation’s Rework America Alliance. Learn new strategies to deploy workforce development and where key funder’s are elevating best practices in the field to up-skill job seekers to livable wage employment and grow a diverse labor pool for rural employers.
Justin Burch Rural LISC, Moderator 
Kim Davis Walton Family Foundation 
Joy Coates Markle Foundation – Rework America Alliance A new white paper from LISC's Research and Evaluation team offers quantitative and qualitative evidence of how intensive and collaborative community development in rural America raises standards of living and civic engagement in concrete and enduring ways. The report offers strategy and policy recommendations that can serve as guides to community stakeholders, practitioners and legislators across the rest of rural America.
Tim Klont Rural LISC, Moderator 
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Tom Collishaw Self Help Enterprises
Nadia Villagran Rural LISC Join us to hear from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy on funding disaster trends and tips post-disaster. We will also discuss disaster resiliency (including COVID-19) through the lens of mental health and wellness.
Kendra Pospychalla Rural LISC 
Cari Cullen Center for Disaster Philanthropy 
Maria Sirois Psy.D., Psychologist, Consultant, Inspirational Speaker Shared equity housing models are gaining momentum as a transformative strategy to advance an equitable housing recovery in the wake of COVID. Join the LISC Institute and Rural LISC for a conversation with shared equity housing practitioners focused on expanding access to permanently affordable housing and community wealth building in rural areas, and promoting community resilience and racial equity.
Julia Duranti-Martinez LISC, Moderator 
Paul Bradley ROC USA 
Lisa Byers OPAL Community Land Trust 
Shanti Abedin NeighborWorks America 1:15 – 2:15 PM CST Sponsored by Wells Fargo Foundation
Tim Rios Wells Fargo Foundation, Closing Address Justin Burch Rural LISC, Clarksdale, Mississippi Virtual Tour Video Introduction Caitlin Cain LISC VP and Director of Rural LISC 
Kim Davis Senior Advisor, Walton Family Foundation 
Changemaker Sponsor 
Trailblazer Sponsor 
Champion Sponsor
Pioneer Sponsor 
Groundbreaker Sponsor 
Innovator Sponsor 
Patron Sponsor
Explorer Sponsor 
Ally Sponsor 
Ally Sponsor
