All TFH Coalition Members, strategic partners, supporters, and anyone interested in rural development are invited to attend! We look forward to bringing together a community committed to alleviating persistent rural poverty across America!

First Baptist Church of Decatur, Georgia

October 24th, 9:00am-9:00pm

October 25th, 9:00am-1:30pm

We're excited to announce the following speakers:

Evening Session Keynote Speakers:

The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America

Kathryn J. Edin & Timothy J. Nelson

Three of the nation’s top scholars – known for tackling key mysteries about poverty in America – turn their attention from the country’s poorest people to its poorest places. Based on a fresh, data-driven approach, they discover that America’s most disadvantaged communities are not the big cities that get the most notice. Instead, nearly all are rural. Little if any attention has been paid to these places or to the people who make their lives there.

This revelation set in motion a five-year journey across Appalachia, the Cotton and Tobacco Belts of the Deep South, and South Texas. Immersing themselves in these communities, poring over centuries of local history, and attending parades and festivals, the authors trace the legacies of the deepest poverty in America—including inequalities shaping people’s health, livelihoods, and upward social mobility for families. Wrung dry by powerful forces and corrupt government officials, the “internal colonies” in these regions were exploited for their resources and then left to collapse.

The unfolding revelation in The Injustice of Place is not about what sets these places apart but about what they have in common—a history of raw, intensive resource extraction and human exploitation. This history and its reverberations demand a reckoning and a commitment to wage a new War on Poverty, with an unrelenting focus on our nation’s places of deepest need.

Primary Morning Session:

"Propagating Progress: Nourishing Healthy Food Systems for Rural Southern Communities Through Policy Action"

Dr. Veronica Womack, Executive Director of the Rural Studies Institute at GA College & State University

A political scientist and rural researcher, Dr. Womack has spent nearly 20 years in higher education. She became the Rural Studies Institute at Georgia College's first executive director. She previously served as the university's chief diversity officer and professor of political science and public administration. She focuses her work on the underdeveloped rural South.

Primary Afternoon Session:

"Non-Profit Advocacy" with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)

Nonprofit leaders (including church leadership!) are some of the best advocates for transformational change because they are well-connected in their communities. Learn about how to impact policy that affects the under-resourced from some of the best advocates for healthcare justice: the staff of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network.

Break-out Educational Specialist:

"Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Schools: A Historical Perspective"

Dr. Stephen Owens, Director, Policy & Advocacy at Brown's Promise

Dr. Stephen Owens is an education finance and data expert with coalition-building experience for Brown's Promise, a new organization housed in the Southern Education Foundation working to advance school integration.

Prior to joining Brown’s Promise Stephen was the Education Director for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where he advocated for equitable and excellent public schools through research and data analysis. He started and led the statewide education funding coalition, Fund Georgia's Future, to center the voices of those traditionally left out of the education advocacy space. Stephen’s work shaped debates on topics ranging from private school vouchers to school bus funding.

Stephen graduated from the University of Georgia, where he holds a doctorate with a focus on education policy. He lives in the greatest city in the world, Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and children.

Break-out Housing & Social Enterprise Specialist:

Harold Tessendorf, Senior Advisor on Housing and Social Enterprise at Together for Hope

Harold is currently the facilitator of TFH's Housing and Social Enterprise Networks and an Adjunct Professor in Management at Stetson-Hatcher School of Business at Mercer University. He is also the Founder of Tessendorf Consulting, which provides training, facilitation, and strategic advising services to for-profit and non-profit businesses, organizations, and social enterprises. He has over three decades of senior executive and leadership experience leading housing and social enterprises in the USA, South Africa, Haiti, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone.

Other Presenters:

Rev., Dr. Jason Coker, TFH President

Deborah Garrard, Be Well, Serve Well

Additional events & offerings:

Rising Hope Film Screening

Affinity Group Networking

Daily Wellness Offerings

Community Meals (price includes three meals)

TFH Annual Meeting 2024 Registration

Join us as we connect, learn, and support one another, in our commitment to rural America!