Washington, D.C. – The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) today announced a new initiative to better equip states to support thriving rural communities. The project will incubate a new national organization to provide resources and a centralized space for state rural prosperity offices across the United States to share information and grow collaboratively. It will also support partners, including governors and state legislators, in exploring and developing rural prosperity offices where they do not currently exist. 

The National Rural Prosperity project will be built in partnership with Kelliann Blazek, who will lead this initiative. Blazek served as the Special Assistant to the President for Agriculture and Rural Policy at the White House Domestic Policy Council from 2021 to 2025. Blazek was the first Director of the Wisconsin Office of Rural Prosperity in 2020.

“We are pleased to establish a first-of-its-kind organization to unify state rural prosperity offices and foster the development of new offices,” said IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle.

“Rural communities often face significant economic challenges, from limited workforce pipelines to declining infrastructure. This work will provide a direct voice for rural communities at the state level, driving economic prosperity in rural places across the country.”

Funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, this national endeavor will provide state and federal leaders, businesses, philanthropic groups, and other partners with a single entry point to engage with states on rural issues. Additionally, the initiative will:

• Research how states currently advance rural prosperity and identify opportunities to augment those efforts
• Host a convening of state rural leaders for peer learning and partnership building, especially with local, federal, and Tribal governments; businesses; philanthropy; and nonprofits, and
• Produce a toolkit for creating state rural prosperity offices and strengthening existing offices.

The way state governments currently structure rural community and economic development work varies across the country. Some states, such as Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, have stood up state rural prosperity offices within their economic development agencies to serve as a front door for rural issues and work across government to support rural communities. Unlike other state offices and agencies, state rural prosperity offices do not have a national organization to convene, coordinate, and represent them.

IEDC is well-positioned to house this effort. A deep bench of rural practitioners engage in IEDC and represent the largest growth in membership over the past two years. Last year, IEDC hosted its first Rural Retreat, a cross-sector exchange of rural economic development leaders who explored strategies, shared best practices, and examined innovative solutions. This year, IEDC launched a new rural affinity group for members.

Further, IEDC launched a breakthrough program, the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC), in 2024, embedding mid-career leaders into economically distressed communities for 30 months, with a focus on building capacity in these places with long-term, sustainable approaches. More than 60 percent of these professionals are located in rural areas, with another nine percent in indigenous communities. 

“I am honored to join IEDC as we blaze a new trail in rural economic development,” said Blazek. “States play an instrumental role in partnering with rural communities to advance locally led projects and expand opportunity. We look forward to supporting states, strengthening partnerships, and introducing new tools to catalyze rural prosperity.”

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About the International Economic Development Council (IEDC): Based in Washington, D.C., IEDC is the world’s largest association for economic developers. Originating a century ago, IEDC is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization that represents the entire economic development profession. Members include practitioners in economic development through local, state, provincial, and federal governments, non-profits, public-private partnerships, entrepreneurial support organizations, chambers of commerce, utilities, universities, and a variety of other organizations.

IEDC is the leading voice in driving the future of the field. IEDC provides professional development through courses and certifications, networking, conferences, research, policy advocacy, partnerships, and other valuable offerings to economic development professionals across the globe. For more information, please visit www.IEDC.org.

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF): WKKF, founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New

Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org. 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Brian Namey
[email protected] 

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING CONTACT:

Kelliann Blazek
[email protected]