NEW RURAL VIRGINIA PODCAST heads to Network NOVA’s 10th annual Women’s Summit for Political Engagement, this year branded BIG TEN, for conversations with candidates, organizers and grassroots leaders from Virginia and beyond. Network NOVA co-founder KATHERINE WHITE reflects on how the organization grew from a post-2016 grassroots effort into a broader political movement.
From the hallways, Democratic congressional nominees BETH MACY (VA-06) and JOY POWERS (VA-09), along with LYNLEE THORNE, MAKAYLA VENABLE, JEANNE RUSSELL, KATE POWELL and TIM CYWINSKI, weigh in on where rural Democrats fit within the party’s centrist-progressive divide and what rural voters need from politics now.
KATHERINE WHITE
Co-founder of Network NOVA, co-host of Friday Power Lunch, and a driving force behind the BIG TEN Women’s Summit for Political Engagement.
Friday Power Lunch:
https://fridaypowerlunch.substack.com/
Network NOVA:
https://networknova.org/
BETH MACY
Acclaimed journalist and author, and Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 6th District.
https://bethmacyforcongress.com/
JOY POWERS
Fourth-generation cattle farmer, small business owner, and Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 9th District.
https://www.joyforva.com/
MAKAYLA VENABLE
Shenandoah Valley native, 2025 Democratic nominee and 2027 candidate for Virginia House of Delegates District 36.
https://www.venable4va.com/
KATE POWELL | KATE FOR THE PEOPLE
Nonprofit fundraising professional and Virginia advocate focused on civic engagement and government accountability.
Kate for the People:
https://substack.com/@kateforthepeople
@kateforthepeople
TIM CYWINSKI
Community organizer, environmental advocate and former 2026 Democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 1st District.
https://www.votetimva.com/
JEANNE RUSSELL
Longtime Shenandoah County Democratic organizer and community activist working to build grassroots engagement across the Shenandoah Valley.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jeanne.e.russell
LYNLEE THORNE
Political Director of Rural GroundGame and longtime rural Democratic organizer.
Rural GroundGame:
https://www.ruralgroundgame.org/
