EdFund May 19, 2025
Tony Pipa discussed how school funding can help or worsen issues related to concentrated poverty in an EdFund podcast.
Tony Pipa is a senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution. Pipa launched and leads the Reimagining Rural Policy initiative and hosts the award-winning Reimagine Rural podcast. He also provides expertise on U.S. global development policy and local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reflected in the work of the SDG Leadership Cities Network.
The Reimagining Rural Policy initiative provides analysis and recommendations to improve the effectiveness of federal policy in supporting rural communities in the 21st century. The stories profiled by the Reimagine Rural podcast feature local people developing solutions to strengthen the resilience, economic security, and future prospects of their rural towns. As part of this portfolio to improve rural policy, Pipa is helping lead and facilitate America’s Rural Future: The Brookings-AEI Commission on Rural Prosperity, co-chaired by former Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and former governor Chris Sununu (R-NH).
Pipa came to Brookings after serving as chief strategy officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and as a special envoy at the U.S. Department of State, leading the U.S. delegation during the intergovernmental negotiations at the U.N. to agree upon the SDGs.
His work on global policy built upon decades of leadership advancing community and economic development at home. He served as the first director of philanthropic services at the Triangle Community Foundation; founding CEO of the Warner Foundation in Durham, North Carolina; and as a founder of the Foundation for Louisiana.
He serves as vice-chair of StriveTogether, chair of the Reimagining Rural Assistance Network (RRAN), treasurer at Lead for America, member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Rural Investment Collaborative, member of the NC Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine’s advisory council, and on other advisory councils and boards related to economic mobility. He grew up in rural Elysburg, Pennsylvania, attended Stanford University, graduated from Duke University, and earned a Master of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.
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Current Positions
- Treasurer, StriveTogether
- Senior Associate Research Fellow, Global Cities Program, Italian Institute for International Political Studies
- Member, Rural Justice Task Force of the Legal Services Corporation
- Advisory Board Member, Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne
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Past Positions
- Chief Strategy Officer at USAID
- U.S. Special Coordinator for the Post-2015 Development Agenda at the U.S. Department of State
- International Policy Advisor at USAID
- Deputy Assistant to the Administrator in Policy, Planning, and Learning at USAID
- Senior Advisor, Strategic and Program Planning, Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning at USAID
- Founding Executive Director and Board Member at The Warner Foundation
- Founding Director of Philanthropic Services at Triangle Community Foundation
- Founding Executive Director at Mt. Diablo Habitat for Humantiy
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Education
- Harvard University, MPA
- Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Fellowship in Journalism
- Duke University, BA
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Languages
- Spanish (conversational)
- French (conversational)
Media and Appearances
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