Rachel Halfaker
Showing 1–3 of 3 transcripts.
- Milken Institute43 min
Powering Economic Opportunities: Energy at the Core | Future of Finance 2026
Leslie Kaufman, Benton Arnett, Rachel Halfaker, Stephen Propper, Nidhi Thakar
Driven by surging AI data center demand and corporate carbon-free procurement commitments, the U.S. energy sector is pivoting toward flexible nuclear power models and advanced grid modernization to address critical reliability and affordability gaps. Independent developers and community lenders are leveraging innovative financing structures alongside artificial intelligence to accelerate permitting and scale distributed energy resources despite persistent regulatory bottlenecks. Concurrently, geopolitical shifts and targeted federal incentives are fueling investment in onshored supply chains and transmission infrastructure, positioning clean firm technologies as essential components of national energy security.
- Milken Institute29 min
Community Infrastructure Building Blocks: 10,000 Communities Initiative | Finance Forum 2025
Rachel Halfaker, Andreas Karelas, Jane Brady Knight, Amanda Li, Tony Pipa
High demand for rural economic revitalization faces significant deployment barriers, including insufficient project scale, limited local capacity, and traditional financing models that exclude non-profits lacking credit scores. To overcome these hurdles, successful strategies now employ blended capital stacks, direct pay provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act, and digital platforms that automate underwriting to reduce overhead on small-ticket clean energy investments. By shifting narratives toward rural agency and utilizing community financial institutions, stakeholders aim to establish a permanent, self-sustaining asset class that drives long-term wealth creation and strengthens national competitiveness.
- Milken Institute1h 9m
Deep Dive: Deployment of High Demand Community Infrastructure Projects
Dan Carol, Bryan Borlik, Rachel Halfaker, Donnel Baird, Rob Day, Bill Lee, Patrick Meyers, Michelle Moore, Matt Petersen, David Guilford, Adam Fried, Robbie Jones
The Economic Development Administration awarded a grant to the Milken Institute and RCAP to launch a pre-development training accelerator designed to equip rural and underserved communities with the technical capacity to make infrastructure projects shovel-ready. A diverse panel of experts including representatives from the Trust for Public Lands, Groundswell, and Spring Lane Capital highlighted the critical need for zero-percent match requirements, community-paid participation stipends, and granular data targeting to overcome traditional grant-writing barriers. These initiatives aim to transform one-time federal funding into sustainable local wealth by pairing financial capital with technical assistance to scale projects ranging from broadband and green infrastructure to urban decarbonization.