Kevin Smith, president and CEO, Community Ventures

Brent Ekstrom, Executive Director, CommunityWorks North Dakota

Margarita de Escontrias, CEO, Cabrillo Economic Development Corp.

Tom Collishaw, CEO, Self-Help Enterprises

Challenge: Many residents in the farmworker community of Goshen, CA, lived in substandard conditions. Their homes had no insulation, no indoor toilet, no city water.

Rebecca Reynolds, Executive Director
Little Dixie Community Action Agency, Inc.

Business owners Sarah Morneault and Lindsey Levesque, co-owners of Tiller & Rye, are passionate about increasing the demand for local food. They believe in offering high-quality products and building relationship with the producers, farmers and craftsmen who make them.

Don Patrick, President and CEO, North East Community Action Corporation

Sherry Farley, President and CEO, Frontier Housing
Stacey Epperson, President and Founder, Next Step Network

Jenna Johnson, Marketing & Development Director, Origin SC
Kristin Bastian, Financial Education Manager, Origin SC

Debe Mahoney, Executive Director, NeighborWorks Alaska

Challenge: Alaska's native cultures span tens of thousands of years with a rich history of subsistence and affinity for community. However, the state's economy is changing, and both urban and rural areas are reassessing their models for economic and community sustainability.