For Renee Clark, true leadership requires a willingness to constantly learn, which is something she’s always doing in her role as a rural health specialist for the NC Office of Rural Health. Clark isn’t the traditional kind of leader who calls every shot. Instead, she pulls together other leaders in rural health from across the state to help them share their ideas, direct them to resources and collaborate.
It’s a role that feels familiar, thanks to her lifelong love of sports, Clark says. She grew up playing sports in a small town in Wisconsin, working out plays and towards the same goal with her basketball, volleyball, track and softball teammates.
“I really believe because I played a lot of sports that being in the trenches and just being somebody who is willing to listen and learn gives you credibility as a leader,” says Clark, who’s playing pickleball these days. “I like the overarching thought process of, ‘Let’s think big picture. What does this mean for everyone? How do we get there?’”
That desire to learn and collaborate with others is a big reason why she took part in the Rural Center’s Rural Economic Development Institute in 2021. The center’s flagship leadership program has trained hundreds of North Carolina’s rural leaders, providing them with collaborative leadership skills and rural development strategies to use in their daily work.
“It gave me the confidence that I am on the right track of what leadership is,” said Clark, who regularly runs into other REDI alumni in her work. “It was a validation that it’s OK to not know everything. It’s OK to ask questions. It’s OK to be a little awkward and say, ‘Hey, I don’t know that.’”
There’s plenty to learn, after all, in her work with rural health leaders. They’re grappling with a myriad of challenges — from aging and sicker populations to widening gaps in funding and healthcare providers. Whether at a free clinic, rural hospital or other community resource, Clark says she’s constantly inspired by the innovative ways that rural leaders take care of their people.
“I just want to bring everybody to the table,” she says, “because the things that everyone is doing out there are amazing.”