Rural Community Transformation — with Julianna Dodson

Rural communities are a focus for us here at Verdunity. In this episode, AJ interviews Julianna Dodson, Deputy Executive Director, and Radically Rural Director for the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship. Prior to her work with Hannah Grimes, she was primarily in the financial services industry (which according to her is a lot more vibrant and dynamic than one might imagine!) but has also taught English overseas, and runs her own small business on the side. Together they chat about how to transform these places for the better. You might be surprised to hear that rural communities face some of the same issues that bigger cities do – housing shortages, inability to find affordable child care – but they also face issues like the hollowing out of medical support systems that historically have been a part of the rural fabric. Julianna highlights how rural communities have attempted to recover from one financial crisis after the next and how they do that differently than cities.-If you have a spare minute, please take part in our 2023 podcast survey!https://www.verdunity.com/2023survey Press Coverage:Radically Rural 2023 Summithttps://www.radicallyrural.org/2023-summit/Radically Rural PitchFork Challengehttps://www.radicallyrural.org/pitchfork-challenge/The News Project – ‘Radically Rural’https://gnat-tv.org/the-news-project-radically-rural/Tight knit: Connection is critical for progress in rural entrepreneurial ecosystemshttps://www.kauffman.org/currents/connection-is-critical-rural-entrepreneurial-ecosystems/Radically Rural: Turning the Silver Tsunami into Goldhttps://dailyyonder.com/radically-rural-turning-the-silver-tsunami-into-gold/2020/01/06/In Little Keene, NH, Boosting Rural Economies and Entrepreneurshiphttps://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2019/08/22/in-little-keene-nh-boosting-rural-economies-and-entrepreneurship/?sh=455daadd7e98 Resources:Federal Resources for Rural Americahttps://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/community-strategies-group/rural-in-the-american-rescue-plan/The Rural Business Show, Episode 42: Radically Ruralhttps://www.ruralbusiness.com/episode-42-radically-rural/E&P Reports Vodcast, Episode 101: Focusing on Small-Town Americahttps://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-jmbbi-fde3064?utm_campaign=w_share_ep&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=w_share2022 Radically Rural Summit Recaphttps://www.radicallyrural.org/2022-summit/Mentioned in This Episode:Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westoverhttps://bookshop.org/p/books/educated-a-memoir-tara-westover/15280731?ean=9780399590528