Rural Opportunity Grows in West Tennessee with Lindsey Theobald & Dr. Yancy Freeman

At tnAchieves, we believe that Building Tennessee’s Future Workforce begins with ensuring that every community—especially our rural ones—as a seat at the table. That means making a commitment to making sure students are skilled, educated and prepared to meet the needs of businesses once they graduate and enter the workforce. It also means fostering partnerships with organizations that are on the ground in these rural communities and doing the work.

In this episode of the At Scale podcast, we sit down with the CEO of Obion County’s Joint Economic Development Corporation (JEDC), Lindsay Theobald, and UT Martin’s Chancellor, Dr. Yancy Freeman. These two longtime friends of tnAchieves are entrenched in rural counties in West Tennessee and making sure opportunity grows there for both students and the economy. They talk about their deep love for living and working in rural West Tennessee and ensuring this part of our state is thriving.

Tune in to hear how getting students into the college going pipeline leads to degrees and then gainful careers in rural West Tennessee. They share how this work and these partnerships are making generational changes in their communities. They also share what employers are telling them they need in future employees.

• To learn more about the Rural Impact Celebration and the impact of tnAchieves in rural communities that are mentioned in this episode, click here: https://www.tnachieves.org/rural. You’ll be able to watch the celebration hosted at TCAT Upper Cumberland!

• To learn more about tnAchieves Job Shadowing, click here: https://www.tnachieves.org/job-shadowing. tnAchieves will be hosting a series of job shadow days for students the week this podcast becomes live (November 3). We’d love to have your business join our list of hosts in the future!