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Harrisburg - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania will hold the Rural Policy Summit: Agriculture on January 14 at 9 a.m. via Zoom. This is the sixth and final summit in the series.

"From the ever-expanding organic foods market to the implementation of cutting-edge technology in farming, we know that Pennsylvania's agriculture industry has undergone significant changes over the years," says Dr. Kyle C. Kopko, Center executive director. "This session will feature a panel of policy experts who will discuss how they see the agriculture industry changing in the next five to 10 years and discuss policies that can help support our farmers and agricultural producers and processors."

The summit panelists are: Senator Elder Vogel, Chair, Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee; Senator Judy Schwank, Democratic Chair, Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee; Representative Dan Moul, Chair, House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, and Center Board Member; and Representative Eddie Day Pashinski, Democratic Chair, House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, and Center Board Vice Chairman.

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding will provide opening comments. Dr. Timothy Kelsey, professor of Agricultural Economics at The Pennsylvania State University and Center Board Member, and Mark Critz, Western Regional Director and Executive Director of the Rural Development Council with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, will moderate the session.

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Harrisburg - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania will hold the 2021 Rural Policy Summit: Economic Transitions on December 8 at 9 a.m. This is the fifth summit in the series.

"Many rural communities throughout Pennsylvania are in a period of economic transition. How people work and live are constantly evolving," said Dr. Kyle C. Kopko, Center director. "This Rural Policy Summit will be a virtual, roundtable discussion where panelists will share insights on the work their organizations are doing with rural communities to help them remain economically and socially vibrant. The panelists will discuss their successes and the challenges they face so that others can learn from their experiences."

The summit panelists are: Jen Giovannitti, President, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation; Ta Enos, Founder and CEO, PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship; David Kahley, President and CEO, The Progress Fund; and Rachel Hauser, Director of Regulatory Affairs & Economic Development, Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. The session will be moderated by Rick Vilello, Deputy Secretary for Community Affairs and Development, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and Nathaniel Borek, Outreach and Administrative Associate, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Closing remarks will be provided by Theresa Y. Singleton, Senior Vice President and Community Affairs Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia will send the first 100 registrants to this session a complimentary copy of the book, Investing in Rural Prosperity. The book is a joint publication of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and details a framework for advancing shared economic prosperity in rural communities across the U.S.

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Harrisburg - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania will hold the 2021 Rural Policy Summit: Local Services and Collaborative Efforts on November 10 at 9 a.m. This is the fourth summit in the series.

"Our local communities are the foundation of our great Commonwealth. Their success is everyone's success," said Dr. Kyle C. Kopko, Director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. "This Rural Policy Summit will be a virtual, roundtable discussion where panelists from local government and economic development agencies will talk about the work their communities are doing to remain economically and socially vibrant. They will share their successes and the challenges they face in implementing services and responding to the needs of their communities."

The summit panelists are: Jim Becker, Executive Director, Economic Progress Alliance of Crawford County; Amanda Settelmaier, Executive Director, Turtle Creek Valley Council of Governments in Allegheny County; and Alexis Eroh, Borough Council Member, Plymouth Borough, Luzerne County. The panel will be moderated by Julie Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, and Dr. Lawrence Feick, Interim Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration and Professor of Business Administration at the Katz Graduate School of Business/College of Business Administration, University of Pittsburgh.

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Harrisburg - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania will hold the 2021 Rural Policy Summit: Health Care on October 20 at 9 a.m. This is the third summit in the series.

"Health care access and availability in rural Pennsylvania are long-standing concerns among providers and consumers," said Dr. Kyle C. Kopko, Director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. "This Rural Policy Summit will be a virtual, roundtable discussion on the successes achieved and the challenges faced by rural health care facilities and programs over the years. Leaders and experts representing various rural populations and health care providers will share insights that can help inform policy and best practices on expanding access and availability."

The summit panelists are: Thomas Kurtz, President and CEO of Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber; Dr. Omrana Pasha-Razzak, Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences and Attending Physician, Division of Hospital Medicine at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine; Joanne Corte Grossi, AARP Pennsylvania State President; and Steven Ross, Special Assistant to the Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

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Harrisburg - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania will hold the 2021 Rural Policy Summit on Education on September 15 at 9 a.m. This is the second summit in the series.

"As a new school year begins, faculty, staff, students, and parents are no doubt envisioning a successful year ahead. Administrators are also focused on the bigger picture, considering the needs of our students and our communities for the future," said Dr. Kyle C. Kopko, Center director. "This Rural Policy Summit will be a virtual, roundtable discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing our rural educational institutions. Leaders and experts representing K-12 schools, higher education, and workforce development programs will share insights that can help inform policy and best practices within our rural schools and communities."

The summit panelists are: Dr. Michael Driscoll, President of Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Joanna Papada, Vice President of Government & External Relations, Manchester Bidwell Corporation; Robert Farinelli, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College; and Katharine Pude, Superintendent, Bradford Area School District.

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Harrisburg - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania announces its new virtual 2021 Rural Policy Summit series, the first of which will be held July 22, 2021 at 9 a.m.

"Our plan for the Rural Policy Summit is to bring together a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, nonprofit leaders, academic researchers, industry professionals, and others interested in rural, to learn about and discuss major policy issues that will affect rural Pennsylvania over the next 5 to 10 years," Center Director Dr. Kyle C. Kopko said.

"As we all know, there are many challenges and opportunities facing rural Pennsylvania. This summit will explore policy issues in an interdisciplinary way so that community leaders are better equipped to meet the needs of Pennsylvania's nearly 3.4 million rural residents."

The five topic areas for the summit are education, health care, local services, economic development, and agriculture.

The July 22 session will kick-off the series by providing a broad demographic overview of rural Pennsylvania, which will help set the stage for each monthly session that will begin in September and wrap up in January 2022.