Part Two expands the conversation with a dynamic Indian Country roundtable featuring leaders from the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, the Native American Agriculture Fund, and Groundswell. Together, the panel explores what it actually takes to build trust, move beyond transactional partnerships, and support Indigenous-led solutions in energy, food systems, and community resilience.

AI data centers have become a kitchen table issue, especially in the small towns and rural counties where data center developers are locking up hundreds of acres of potential data center sites. Their impact on energy infrastructure and affordability is one part of a broader picture that encompasses land use, energy, water, and economic development in ways that will help – or hurt – our quality of life for generations to come.

In Part One of Moving at the Speed of Trust, we sit down with Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community for a powerful conversation about resilience rooted in ancestry, sovereignty, and responsibility to future generations. Recorded at the 2025 Rural Renaissance Roadshow, this episode explores how Indigenous leadership bridges ancient knowledge with modern innovation—from thousand-year-old irrigation systems to solar-over-canal projects that are redefining water conservation and clean energy in the Southwest.

Are you passionate about rural innovation and community impact? The latest episode of The Groundswell Way podcast is a must-listen!

As our team at Groundswell closes out this year, we’ve been taking time in community with one another to celebrate all the ways we’ve been able to keep serving our neighbors.

Join us for a keynote panel by speakers who have a resolute commitment to rebuild Rural America, which they explored together as the lunchtime keynote panel at the 2025 Rural Renaissance Roadshow.

Every other Thursday, our team here at Groundswell gathers for Thankful Thursdays. We all join in and share one thing we’re each grateful for that week. Sometimes people give thanks for each other or for our partners or for provision, and sometimes it’s for health and family. One of the things that has struck me about our Thankful Thursdays this year is that, even in the midst of the hardest weeks, we have been overflowing with gratitude.

Andrew Freear, Director of Rural Studio at Auburn University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, kicked off Groundswell’s 2025 Rural Renaissance Roadshow with an opening keynote address on resilience by design – the theme of this year’s Roadshow. Freear delivered expert insights on sustainable rural development and innovative design strategies for community resilience.

Tonight, at the opening celebration of the 2025 Rural Renaissance Roadshow, Groundswell proudly announced the winners of its Rural Power Awards. The 2025 awards honored three extraordinary leaders whose community-led work exemplifies tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and long-term resilience in rural America.