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Redefining Rural Opportunity: Michael Aikens on the Power of Education and Innovation

Essential Leadership to End Poverty

Release Date: 09/09/2025

Redefining Rural Opportunity: Michael Aikens on the Power of Education and Innovation show art Redefining Rural Opportunity: Michael Aikens on the Power of Education and Innovation

Essential Leadership to End Poverty

In this episode of Essential Leadership to End Poverty, host Scott Miller sits down with Michael Aikens, Assistant Vice President for Economic Development at Tennessee Tech, to explore the driving force behind Empower Upper Cumberland. More than just a program, Empower UC is a comprehensive initiative that unites innovation, education, and grassroots leadership to spark long-term economic growth in rural Tennessee. Michael shares how strategic partnerships—across government, education, and community organizations—are transforming not only economies, but the mindsets and futures of those...

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Essential Leadership to End Poverty

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In this episode of Essential Leadership to End Poverty, host Scott Miller is joined by Ryan Barnhart, Director of the Highlands Training Center—one of Empower Upper Cumberland’s pioneering partner programs. Together, they unpack what it truly takes to disrupt cycles of generational poverty through leadership that’s grounded in trust, accountability, and action. Key topics include: – Building soft skills and personal trust as workforce essentials – Creating meaningful employer partnerships – Confronting the “benefits cliff” and why it holds families back – Designing systems...

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In this high-impact episode of Essential Leadership to End Poverty, host and founder Scott C. Miller sits down with Megan Spurgeon, Director of Empower in Cookeville, TN—one of the key innovators behind Tennessee’s $25 million TANF Pilot. Together, they pull back the curtain on what’s truly working to end poverty in Tennessee. From deploying economic stability teams to launching family-centered prosperity plans, Megan shares the practical wins and tough lessons from the front lines of a poverty alleviation effort to reimagine how families exit poverty. You’ll learn how Empower is...

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What if we stopped managing poverty—and started ending it? In this game-changing episode of Essential Leadership to End Poverty, Scott C. Miller—founder and national anti-poverty leader—sits down with Mark Farley, Executive Director of UCDD and Empower UC, to reveal what’s actually working inside Tennessee’s bold $25 million TANF Pilot. Together, they take you behind the scenes of a statewide effort tackling the toughest barriers to economic mobility—from dismantling the Benefits Cliff to reclaiming Tennessee’s “phantom workforce.” No fluff. No theory. Just real strategies...

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Essential Leadership to End Poverty

Welcome to Essential Leadership to End Poverty—the podcast where bold voices challenge broken systems and chart a new course toward true economic mobility. In this powerful kickoff episode, co-hosts Scott C. Miller, founder of The Poverty Solution, and Becky Tsadilas, Chief Operating Officer, introduce listeners to the mission behind the mic: spotlighting the people, programs, and policy shifts that are actually working to disrupt poverty. Together, Scott and Becky explore what essential leadership really looks like in this space—why it matters, where it's missing, and how cross-sector...

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In this episode of Essential Leadership to End Poverty, host Scott Miller sits down with Michael Aikens, Assistant Vice President for Economic Development at Tennessee Tech, to explore the driving force behind Empower Upper Cumberland.

More than just a program, Empower UC is a comprehensive initiative that unites innovation, education, and grassroots leadership to spark long-term economic growth in rural Tennessee. Michael shares how strategic partnerships—across government, education, and community organizations—are transforming not only economies, but the mindsets and futures of those living in historically under-resourced areas.

Together, they dig into:

  • The foundational vision behind Empower UC

  • How higher education can anchor local transformation

  • The role of leadership in rebuilding trust and capacity

  • Real-world outcomes already reshaping lives and communities

If you care about economic mobility, rural revitalization, or what it truly takes to lead change from the ground up, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.