The Brookings-AEI Commission on U.S. Rural Prosperity brings together a diverse group united behind a shared mission to strengthen economic opportunity, resilience, and quality of life across rural America. The full membership will be listed here in the coming weeks.
Co-Chairs
Chris Sununu, former governor of New Hampshire
Governor Christopher T. Sununu served four terms as the 82nd governor of the state of New Hampshire and after choosing not to seek a fifth term, he returned to the private sector in January 2025.
He is recognized as a national leader in his common sense approach to government and balanced political navigation of otherwise polarized political waters. Sununu has appeared in over 1000 nationally televised interviews including multiple appearances on shows like The View and Real Time with Bill Maher. He has spoken to hundreds of organizations across the country including corporations, think tanks, universities, conferences, and political organizations. Sununu worked closely with both the Trump and Biden administrations.
As governor during the COVID-19 pandemic, he took a balanced approach: maintaining the health and safety of Granite Staters as top priority while keeping the state’s economy strong. As a result, New Hampshire ranked among the safest states for COVID-19 yet maintained one of the strongest economies in the country and was the only state in America that saw more business startups than company closures in 2020.
At the conclusion of his tenure in office, the Granite State is the fastest growing state in the Northeast, has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, and has the lowest child poverty rate of any state in America.
Heidi Heitkamp, former senator for North Dakota
U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp served as the first female senator elected from North Dakota from 2013 to 2019.
During her six years in the U.S. Senate, Heitkamp quickly became a proven senator who worked across the aisle to fight for North Dakotans. She personally showed that if senators work together, it can lead to real solutions.
Throughout her time in the Senate, Heitkamp prioritized improving the lives of Indigenous people and working families, stopping human trafficking, guaranteeing affordable health care, addressing childhood trauma, eliminating unnecessary regulation, and securing an energy policy that keeps cost low but achieves climate goals. Providing equal economic opportunity to rural America continues to be her lifelong pursuit.
Heitkamp previously served as North Dakota’s attorney general, and elected state tax commissioner. She serves on numerous boards including the McCain Institute, the Howard Buffett Foundation, Restore Democracy Initiative and the German Marshall Fund. She is the founder and chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural America. Heitkamp is the director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago. She serves as a contributor to both CNBC and ABC News.
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Acknowledgements
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public.
The Brookings-AEI Commission on U.S. Rural Prosperity and associated work is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Ascendium Education Group, CoBank, and The SCAN Foundation.
The conclusions and recommendations of the commission are solely those of its members(s), and do not reflect the views or policies of Brookings or AEI, their management teams, other scholars, or the funders acknowledged above.