As the founder, president and CEO of Partners for Rural Impact, Dreama Gentry works to ensure the success of all rural students. For 25 years, those efforts were focused on Appalachian Kentucky, where she developed strategies to increase investment and improve outcomes on six indicators of success – kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading, eighth-grade math, high-school graduation, postsecondary degree attainment, and individual wellness.

Through the experience of designing and leading the first rural Promise Neighborhood, she created a place-based, cradle-to-career approach for improving outcomes for rural students and communities across the country. The model has been shared with and adopted by communities across the country, including Walla Walla and the Yakima Valley in Washington, Cocke County in Tennessee, as well as ones in South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas.

In 2018, Gentry launched the annual Rural Summit to bring practitioners and leaders from across the nation to share inspirations and ideas for improving the educational outcomes for students from rural communities. An Annie E. Casey Children and Family Fellow, she also serves on the board of directors for the Pine Mountain Settlement School.