St. Louis Fed's Community Development Department Launches Podcast Series

The Community Development department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has launched an audio podcast series aimed at using real-world examples to address community development challenges in the Eighth District.

In the series, titled 8 From the Eighth, St. Louis Fed leaders will ask experts eight questions about their experiences in addressing community development issues.

In the inaugural podcast, Maria Hampton, regional executive at the Louisville Branch of the St. Louis Fed, interviewed Mary Gwen Wheeler, executive director of 55,000 Degrees, a Louisville, Ky. multi-sector, public-private partnership dedicated to increasing educational attainment levels. Wheeler explained how her organization is striving to make education a key factor in moving Louisville’s citizens forward and boosting the region’s overall economic outlook, emphasizing cross-sector collaboration as the cornerstone of the initiative.

Future 8 From the Eighth podcasts will cover a variety of topics, including innovative strategies and emerging trends related to community development.

St. Louis Fed community development specialists will gather ideas for topics through outreach and technical assistance efforts. They will discuss possibilities with community development leaders, experts and practitioners. They will use that information to identify emerging issues or common questions that are relevant to those working in community development, or issues that appeal specifically to a segment of the District.

"We conduct numerous on-site informational and educational events throughout the Eighth District, in St. Louis and our branches in Memphis, Louisville and Little Rock. However, we believe it is important that we make every effort to reach community development professionals in rural areas who often cannot attend those events in person because of distance or other barriers,” said Yvonne S. Sparks, community development officer at the St. Louis Fed.