We celebrate our rural culture while working on national issues that impact all rural citizens. We live and work rural.
Policy Associate
Rural Nebraska has provided opportunities for the things I enjoy most in life, including spending time with family, exploring the beautiful landscape by kayaking rivers, boating on lakes, and relaxing on sandbars. It has been easy to develop a true appreciation for everything this state has to offer.
Senior Project Associate
When I was little we lived in Brainard, Nebraska, but our family farm was only two blocks away. Since then it has always been a large part of our family's life. We now live on the farm, four...
Development Director
I’m proud to play a small part in keeping communities vibrant places for the diverse people who call rural America home. Prior to joining the Center, I spent a decade as a newspaper reporter, then...
Senior Business Development Specialist
I was born and raised in a small town called Bucerias, Mexico. When I arrived in Grand Island, Nebraska, I found a friendly and inclusive community—a place that not only welcomes students, workers...
Policy Associate
My roots run deep in Maquoketa, Iowa. Six generations of Bowmans have called the place home, and I grew up learning the value of hard work. My dad, Hugh, owned and operated Bowman Oil for 53 years. He...
Chief Financial Officer
I grew up in small towns and have lived half of my adult life in the smaller communities that the Center has a real passion for. I spent almost 20 years in banking, including working in my family's...
Loan Specialist
During the first 30 years of my life, I lived in Puerto Rico and never experienced living in a rural area. Since relocating to Nebraska in 2019, rural America has come to hold significant importance...
Women’s Business Center Director
When I was 5 years old, I moved to Grand Island, Nebraska, from Houston, Texas, and have known Nebraska to be my home ever since. Rural America holds a special place in my heart because I have had the...
Senior Beginning Farmer and Market Associate
For about 10 years, I have farmed in various forms including both urban and rural operations, developed farm to school curricula and programs, trained farm staff and interns, started my own farm...
Office & Technology Manager
My main priority is to help the Center run smoothly, and my main goal is to help everyone else achieve their goals. I started my job with the Center in 1998, and have enjoyed my position every day...
Policy Associate
I was born in Lafayette Indiana, and grew up across the river in West Lafayette for the next 22 years. I graduated from Purdue University in 2020 with a degree in agricultural economics. Soon after, I...
Executive Director
At an early age, I learned to care about my community and the world around me from my parents. It was only a matter of time before I became active in my community, engaging in local debates over...
Data & Evaluation Manager
My work involves making data more accessible to those who need it and continually evaluating systems for usefulness and improvement opportunities. Over the years, I've worked with many nonprofit...
Solar for All Compliance and Contract Manager
As contract and compliance manager for Nebraska Solar for All, I help develop different components of the program and monitor our grant to ensure we are in compliance with all federal, state, and...
Policy Associate
Growing up on my family's third-generation cattle ranch, I developed a profound appreciation for the resilience and spirit of rural communities—a passion that continues to drive me today.
Senior Policy Associate
Growing up on my family’s 60-cow dairy farm in northeast Iowa shaped me into the person I am today. When I have the chance, I enjoy traveling back to the farm to feed calves, milk cows, and help with...
Native Communities Manager
I grew up on a farm near Crofton, Nebraska, and have always lived in rural America—this is where my family comes from. I want to raise my boys here, as I believe being raised in the area comes with...
Farm & Community Assistant Director
I am a lifelong student of the outdoors. I’ve lived in many different landscapes, learning land management on the high, dry plains of Wyoming and New Mexico; the tallgrass prairie of Colorado; and the...
Senior Loan Specialist
My job gives me the opportunity to make a real difference in our community while also getting to know people from different backgrounds who are willing to learn about how to start/expand their...
Human Resources Manager
The idea of working in human resources captured my interest when I realized I could help people. Every day, I strive to be able to guide people through their employment, be a listening ear when needed...
Policy Associate
Growing up in rural Northfield, Minnesota, and helping my dad on my grandparent’s farm in Webster, Minnesota, I developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and small farms. From a young age, I...
Farm and Community Director
Rural communities have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My grandparents lived in Rock Port, Missouri, most of my youth, and almost all of my aunts and uncles settled in small...
Local Foods Associate
Though I was born and raised in rural Oregon, my parents moved our family to rural Nebraska, where we lived next to a fourth-generation Nebraska farm surrounded by corn and soybean fields. Growing up...
Food Systems Loan Specialist
Lincoln, Nebraska, is where I currently live, but I’ll always consider the rural Sandhills my home. I grew up on cattle ranches near Bassett, attended a two-room country schoolhouse until third grade...
Loan Operations Associate
I currently work out of the Lyons office as a loan operations associate, and before that, I was a loan administrative coordinator with Two Rivers Bank in Blair, Nebraska. Most of my previous job...
Farm and Community Manager
I have worked out of our Nevada, Iowa, office since 2016. After several years of managing our federal agricultural policy work, I now handle several projects related to the Center's work in Diversity...
Policy Associate
I grew up in Wahoo, Nebraska where I spent many days running around my uncle’s farm with my cousins and jumping along hog slats at Wahoo Concrete, the business my mom’s family has operated for more...
Senior Communications Associate
Project management and graphic design are my top priorities at the Center. Staff send me important research and rely on me to bring it to life for public consumption. I also work with the development...
Policy Assistant
I was born in Mexico and at the age of 5 moved to the U.S. West Point, Nebraska, has been my home for many years and I am raising my family there. I greatly enjoy the sense of community and peace...
Assistant Policy Director
I'm a fifth generation South Dakotan with deep roots in the McCook/Lake county area. Growing up in the countryside gave me a deep appreciation for the rural landscape and the people who live there...
Communications Manager
I grew up in the small town of Lyons, Nebraska, the hometown of the Center, and had a lot of unique opportunities during my childhood—riding my bike until it got dark, selling Girl Scout cookies to...
Senior Community Organizing Associate
Until I moved to Schuyler, Nebraska, over a decade ago, I had always lived in big cities. At this point in my life, I don’t think I will ever move back to an urban area. Rural America offers a sense...
Grant Writer Associate
As the grant writer associate for the Center, I get to work with the wonderful programs the staff provide by helping them put their ideas together in grant applications. I retired in 2021 after 39...
Policy Director
I grew up in a small town, but the day I got my driver’s license I began my first job on a local dairy farm that belonged to family friends. There I learned lifelong lessons about the hard work...
Native Community Associate
I was raised in Winnebago, Nebraska, until I was about 12 years old. Throughout my childhood, my family almost always had a garden, or we harvested what grew wild in and around Winnebago, like...
Lending Services Assistant Director
I grew up in a small town in the southwest part of the state, and I have always had rural Nebraska in my heart. Before joining the Center team, I had a strong working relationship with some Center...
Communications Associate
From managing the Center's social media pages to creating videos showcasing the work of the Center and our clients, I work to help promote events for small business owners or startups, beginning...
Policy Manager
Lu Nelsen re-joined our team on April 8, 2024, in the role of Policy Manager with a focus on clean energy. Lu previously worked at the Center from 2012-2021. We are excited to have him with us again.
Policy Manager
I was born in rural Nebraska in the mid-1980s during a farm crisis. I would learn later in life that my family was fortunate enough to make ends meet with a combination of corn, soybeans, and 60 head...
Nebraska's Solar for All Director
As the director of Nebraska Solar for All, I provide technical and financial assistance to support community, rooftop, and multifamily affordable housing solar projects. I hope to help make a positive...
Senior Executive and Development Associate
In three words, I would describe myself as, "driven, resilient, and observant." I’m proud to assist the executive and development directors, as well as work on development and marketing. I am a native...
Loan Operations & Accounting Associate
Rural America presents so many great experiences that cannot be offered in a city setting. I grew up in Bancroft, Nebraska, and could not imagine growing up anywhere other than a rural community. I’ve...
Lending Services Director
My purpose in life has always been to help someone when needed, and I get to do that by working directly with our lenders and business coaches as they assist small business owners in Nebraska. Serving...
Solar for All Associate
While I live in a city, a large one at that, I was raised by a very rural dad and a city mom. My dad helped grow my love for all things rural Nebraska I most likely wouldn't have had otherwise. Rural...
Chief People Officer
Rural America, particularly northeast Nebraska, has given me so much that I often took it for granted as a young person. As I ventured out into the world, I wanted to explore all things urban, as well...
Loan Specialist
I started my own business four years ago, and I have learned a lot since then. Being a small business owner offers me a unique perspective when working with individuals, especially those starting a...
Community Foods Associate
Growing up in a small, rural town meant a lot to me, and I continue to live and raise my family in the small, rural area of Niobrara, Nebraska. As a working mom with three children, and three bonus...
Development Manager
I build and strengthen relationships with the Center’s supporters. This includes fundraising, but even more than that, it’s all about showing folks the difference they are making across rural America...
Senior Loan Specialist
My role offers me the opportunity to work one-on-one with clients. I assist new and existing business owners with lending options, one-on-one counseling, grants, and more. I also offer guidance to...
Community Organizing Associate
I grew up as a migrant worker, traveling every summer to different parts of the nation. This experience helped me connect with farmers, especially the shared love of the soil. Throughout my travels, I...
Project Associate
Rural America reflects my life, my family, my values, and my belief in the power of community. My father farmed in Nemaha County, Nebraska, where he met my mom in her hometown, Brownville. After they...
Accounting Associate
I grew up near Oakland, Nebraska, on an acreage just outside of town. I spent my childhood helping my dad with cattle, playing in the creeks with my brothers, and running around town with friends...
Loan Specialist
As a loan specialist, I am the main point of contact for clients looking to get a small business or mortgage loan. I also help them with one-on-one business training. I work with clients in central...
Local Foods Associate
Keeping rural communities strong is incredibly important to me. So, when I first learned of the Center for Rural Affairs I was excited to see that the organization stands up for the family farmer and...
Accounting and Office Assistant
I grew up in Bancroft, Nebraska, and have stayed in rural America all my life. My husband and I live on a farm between Bancroft and West Point, and over the years, I have learned much more than I ever...
Senior Grants Manager Associate
I help secure the grant funds that make it possible for Center staff to continue improving and expanding services to help our rural communities thrive and grow. The Center applies for funding from...
Policy Associate
While attending high school in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, I worked weekends and summers at a farrow-to-finish hog farm. The experience taught me the value of hard work and gave me an appreciation for...
Policy Associate
I grew up next to the sprawling Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa. Spending most of my time outside participating in river cleanup projects, Girl Scouts, and conservation advocacy, I developed an...
Loan Operations Assistant
I grew up south of Fremont, Nebraska, in Inglewood, which at the time was like acreage living. I have great memories of walking beans for several summers on my uncle’s farm. When we weren’t working...
Local Foods Associate
Growing up in northern California, I had a very different take on what rural means. Living in the Midwest has raised my awareness of the importance of rural people and communities. My family owned a...
Accounting Manager
Though I’m originally from China, I earned my MBA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in finance in August 2015. I started out at the Center as an accounting intern. I've learned a lot during my...
Policy Associate
My childhood was spent exploring and enjoying the outdoors in central Iowa. I grew up in an old farmhouse, surrounded by corn and soybean fields. From a young age, I learned the importance of taking...
