Cancelled: Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Texas Rural Leadership Program team has decided to cancel the 2020 Engaging Rural Communities Conference! For more information click Here.
Howdy, we are excited to share this year’s Engaging Rural Communities Conference theme:
“Health, Wealth, and Wisdom: Greater Prosperity in Rural Texas”
Our conference sessions will center around a better life for rural citizens and a greater existence in the rural places we love!
Our Conference Sessions
- A Brief Welcome from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
- Jeff Hyde, Director – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
- Rural Success Stories: Starr County Industrial Foundation
- Rose Benavidez, President
- My Rural Business: SBDCs, Lenders, and Downtown Revitalizations
- Expert Panel
- Rural Disaster Preparation in Texas: What Do I Need to Know?
- John T. Cooper, Jr., Ph.D, TRLP Board President and Assistant Vice President, Public Partnership & Outreach – Texas A&M University
- Clarence Bunch, Ph.D., Program Leader, Agriculture and Natural Resources – Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program
- Rural Education: Youth Entrepreneurism and a Brighter Future for Rural Schools
- Kim Alexander, Ed.D, Chancellor – Collegiate Edu-Nation
- Matthew B. Fuller, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Higher Education Leadership – Sam Houston State University
- Broadband: What This REALLY means for Rural Texas
- Jennifer Harris, Texas Program Director – Connected Nation
- Rural Woods: Sustainable Forestry in Texas
- Expert Panel
- Texas Rural Funders Collaborative: Serving Rural Texas
- Rick Rhodes, Rural Engagement Coordinator – Texas Rural Funders Collaborative
- An Update on USDA Programs
- Ruby S. De La Garza, USDA Liaison, Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement
- Why Return Home? Perspectives from Young Rural Leaders
- A Panel of Four Young Leaders in Their 20’s
- Health’s Future in Rural Texas: Does Not Have to be Bleak and Weak
- Expert Panel
Included in your registration are three full meals: Dinner on Thursday, Breakfast and Lunch on Friday
Rural service providers will be exhibiting and participating in the conference.
Relationship building is built into our schedule, which will be released soon.
Thursday evening will include time to socialize, either in the beautiful hotel backyard on the Guadalupe River or collective free time for an evening of live music in nearby historic Gruene.
- Conference registration is $200/participant through March 13th.
- Hotel stay at the beautiful Courtyard by Marriott River Village is $109/night through March 16, 2020.
Click here to Register.
Reserve Hotel.