Rural Action Roundtable on Equity

The Rural Action Roundtable on Equity (RARE) serves as Aspen CSG’s equity partner, providing strategic direction, setting priorities, building relationships, and ensuring critical analysis to guide Aspen CSG’s work.

RARE to composed of leading rural practitioners and thought leaders. Their leadership has been instrumental in guiding and grounding the ongoing development and implementation of the Thrive Rural Framework.

Together, Aspen CSG and RARE focus on building and connecting the field of equitable rural development and content using a race, place, and class equity lens to ground and proof our analysis, content, and strategies.

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Lakota Vogel

Executive Director, Four Bands Community Fund

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Stephanie Tyree

Executive Director, WV Community Development Hub

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Jessica Stago

Director of Business Incubator, Change Labs

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Ines Polonius

CEO, Communities Unlimited, Inc.

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Felecia Lucky

President, Black Belt Community Foundation

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Janice Ikeda

Executive Director, Vibrant Hawaiʻi

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Zoraima Diaz-Pineda

Director of Policy, Impact and Innovation, cdcb | come dream. come build.

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Ernestor De La Rosa

Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer, Topeka, Kansas

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Nils Christoffersen

Executive Director, Wallowa Resources

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Justin Burch

Program Director, Workforce Development, Rural LISC

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Calvin Allen

Vice President of Programs and Partnerships, MDC

Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group