Everyone knows we’re in the midst of an affordability crisis. We live it every day. The question is: What are we going to do about it?
This year’s Roadshow offers a few answers to that question from national, regional, and local leaders who are all focused on practical strategies for lowering bills and building a better energy system – including confronting the impact of AI on energy.
Speakers including Grayson Flood, Senior Fellow with Groundwork Collaborative and former legislative director for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Stacey Washington of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) will discuss what’s driving the crisis and suggest big-picture policy solutions – including the importance of public power.
Policy solutions take time, but we need action now. To share immediate impact, local faith leaders, including Rev. Jenny Phillips of Global Ministries and other regional faith leaders, will discuss “Distributed Energy as a Ministry of Resilience.” Their session also features case studies of replicable local programs in place today that are already delivering relief.
Local public power utilities can be powerful partners to move solutions from the neighborhood level across entire communities. Art Bishop of Energy Southeast in Alabama and Bob Atkins from West Memphis Utilities in Arkansas are just two of the public power leaders who’ll join us in Decatur, AL, to dig into how to accelerate Good Work through partnership.
Energy bills are tied with housing costs as a top concern for our neighbors across the county, and what to do about them is driving voters this November. I hope you’ll join us at the Roadshow for this timely conversation. I’m confident that you’ll leave Decatur with practical partnerships and new ideas you can implement where you live.
See you at the Roadshow,
Michelle Moore
Chief Executive Officer, Groundswell
2026 ENERGY TRACK
Powering Resilience, Affordability, and Local Opportunity
You don’t have to be an expert in the energy industry to know that power bills are rising; it’s a topic up for discussion at the dinner table across the nation. That’s why we’ve designed the 2026 Roadshow Program to tackle issues of Energy Affordability, Infrastructure, Local Control, and Conservation & Stewardship. Whether you are an energy expert ready to dig into the technical details of how to effectively modernize our grid amidst the data center boom, a local leader seeking solutions to high energy bills, or somewhere in between, there’s a session for you on the 2026 Energy Track. Learn more below!
AFFORDABILITY
Defining the Energy & Affordability Crisis
What is driving today’s energy affordability challenges—and what will it take to ensure families and communities aren’t left carrying a disproportionate share of the costs? This conversation will examine the realities shaping household energy burdens and the solutions needed for a more affordable energy future.
Featuring Stacey Washington
Clean Energy and Equity Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Stacey Washington leads clean energy and equity work at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, focusing on solar, electric transportation, and a just energy transition. A chemical engineer by training, she brings more than 25 years of environmental sustainability experience to advancing equitable clean energy solutions across communities.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Distributed Energy as a Ministry of Resilience: Faith Leaders in Conversation
Faith institutions are often among a community’s most trusted anchors—and increasingly, they can play a role in strengthening local energy resilience. This conversation will explore how distributed energy, community partnerships, and resilience infrastructure can help faith communities serve their neighbors before, during, and after disruptions.
Featuring Kristy Rachal
Executive Director of Community Resiliency, Georgia Power Company
Kristy Rachal leads Georgia Power’s Community Resilience Office, building a statewide initiative addressing energy affordability and resilience. She brings together community organizations, philanthropic capital, contractors, and government partners to connect home repair, weatherization, energy efficiency, and resilience infrastructure into coordinated solutions for low-to-moderate income households.
LOCAL CONTROL
Partnering with Local Utilities to Accelerate Resilience
Local utilities can be powerful partners in shaping a community’s energy future. This session will explore how utilities and communities can work together to strengthen infrastructure, improve affordability, expand resilience, and develop solutions grounded in local priorities.
Featuring Bob Atkins
General Manager, West Memphis Utilities
Bob Atkins is General Manager of West Memphis Utilities and brings more than 30 years of utility industry leadership. His experience spans investor-owned, cooperative, and municipal utilities, including leadership roles with Duke Energy, Lee County Electric Cooperative, and Colorado Springs Utilities. His work centers on innovation, organizational transformation, community service, and improving quality of life for utility customers.
CONSERVATION & STEWARDSHIP
Growing Food and Clean Power: How Farm-Friendly Solar Helps Farmers, Neighbors, and Energy Systems
What if agricultural production and clean energy development didn’t have to compete for the same land? This conversation will explore farm-friendly solar approaches that can support farmers, strengthen local energy systems, preserve productive land, and create shared value for surrounding communities.
Moderated by Ken Neal
Vice President of Project Implementation, Groundswell
Ken Neal leads project implementation at Groundswell, helping move community solar and resilience hub projects from development through operation. He brings more than a decade of clean energy experience spanning wind operations, utility-scale and distribution-connected solar, grid reliability, and resilience, with previous leadership roles in wind energy and at solar developer Origis Energy.
Four Themes. Four Conversations. One Energy Future.
From the bills families pay to the infrastructure communities depend on, the Energy Track will bring together leaders working across the energy system to examine what resilience, affordability, local leadership, and responsible development can look like in practice.
Join the conversation at the 2026 Rural Renaissance Roadshow.
November 4–6, 2026 | Decatur, Alabama
Early Bird Registration is open — Register Today
GET TO KNOW KEYNOTE SPEAKER SHERRY STOUT
Before she takes the stage at the Rural Renaissance Roadshow, we asked keynote speaker Sherry Stout of National Laboratory of the Rockies a few questions that have nothing—and everything—to do with data centers, rural communities, and what inspires her. From hometown pride and road-trip listening to gardening and her hopes for Rural America, get to know the person behind the perspective before Sherry leads:
The Data Center Next Door?
Mapping Land, Water, and Energy
Here’s a sneak peek at the voice and perspective Sherry is bringing to Decatur this November.
Sherry Stout Q&A
What do you love about your hometown?
“What I love most about my home county is its history and grit played out over centuries of resilience, ingenuity, and reinvention. Long before it became known for pinto beans or ranching, the Estancia Valley was home to Indigenous peoples and later a frontier shaped by Spanish explorers, settlers, and trade. From helping feed families during the Great Depression to supporting the birth of the nuclear age, our community has quietly played a role in some of America’s defining chapters. Through every era, the people here have adapted, persevered, and carried forward with tenacity that still defines the valley today.”
What’s #1 on your road trip playlist?
“I love audiobooks and podcasts – always at 2x speed. My go-to podcasts are Project Upland and Anchored with April Vokey. Both are nerdy outdoors podcasts about nature and the stewardship of land, water, and wildlife.”
What’s in your kitchen garden?
“I grow most of the usual garden things like tomatoes, beans, peas, and carrots but also have some fun with things not commonly seen in Zone 6 like saffron and ground cherries.”
What three words describe your hopes for Rural America?
“Lead – take the lead on shaping the future of the country.
Restore – restore pride in our communities, strengths, initiative, and character.
Expect – develop a sense of expectancy, showing up with anticipation that good things can and will happen.”
HEAR MORE FROM SHERRY IN DECATUR
Sherry will bring her experience working with communities, governments, and Tribal Nations to kick off Day 2 of the Roadshow with a keynote that grounds attendees in the evolving landscape we’re operating in, featuring national-scale maps on data center infrastructure and energy demand, alongside technical insights for local communities developed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies.
Catch Sherry live at the 2026 Rural Renaissance Roadshow.
November 4–6, 2026 | Decatur, Alabama
Stay Where the Conversation Happens
Reserve accommodations through the official Roadshow hotel block.
DoubleTree by Hilton Decatur Riverfront
Special conference rate: $130 per night
Help Shape the Future
The Rural Renaissance Roadshow is more than a conference. It is Groundswell’s flagship national convening for leaders working to strengthen rural communities through practical, community-centered solutions.
Organizations committed to resilience, affordability, local leadership, stewardship, and shared prosperity are invited to become sponsors of the 2026 Roadshow.
View The 2026 Sponsorship Prospectus
Register Today
Five Breakout Tracks.
Four interconnected themes.
Twenty community-focused conversations.
One defining moment for the future of rural communities.
November 4–6, 2026
Decatur, Alabama