Tony Pipa

Tony Pipa is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Tony leads the Reimagining Rural Policy initative and hosts the Reimagine Rural podcast, Timbre Awards’ “Most Impactful Podcast of the Year.” 

He incubated and facilitates America's Rural Future: The Brookings-AEI Commission on US Rural Prosperity, co-chaired by former senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and former governor Chris Sununu (R-NH). The commission is visiting and engaging local rural leaders and residents across the country, to review the the effectiveness of current federal rural policy and publish a national rural strategy in the fall of 2027. 

Tony came to Brookings after serving in senior policy roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Department of State focused on advancing global development. That global work built upon decades of leadership advancing community and economic development at home, especially in philanthropy. He developed the program in philanthropic services at the Triangle Community Foundation in North Carolina, served as founding CEO of the Warner Foundation, and helped launch the Foundation for Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. 

Tony serves as 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; 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.