John Molinaro is from the Pittsburgh area. (Yes, it is a part of Appalachia!) In 1979 he left seminary when he felt called to improve the lives of struggling families (rather than parish ministry). To prepare for this work, he completed a Master’s program focused on planning, rural development and organizational administration.

In 1982, John was asked to revitalize a family counseling and child abuse prevention center which specialized in working with children experiencing sexual violence in their homes. As Executive Director, he observed that most families struggled financially due to an economy that produced mostly low-wage jobs. He decided to focus on building local economies that produce family-sustaining jobs.

For 20 years, John ran the programs of a foundation that supported economic development in 9 rural Minnesota counties. Over that time, they added 30,000 well-paying jobs. Average wages doubled and 15,000 people moved back home to live and work.

In 2006 The Aspen Institute recruited John to co-lead its Community Strategies Group (CSG). CSG helps build rural economies to improve the economic success of struggling families. John helped rural places in 35 states chart their paths forward, building on local assets and intentionally including families living on the margins.

In 2012, John left Aspen to start up Appalachian Ohio’s first regionwide economic development organization. Over eight years, he built four related organizations with 22 staff and a $3 million budget, which secured $6 billion in corporate investment creating 10,000 jobs, attracted $25 million in government grants and leveraged $125 million in loan capital for small businesses.

In 2020, John retired and co-founded RES Associates LLC with his partner Dr. Solveig Spjeldnes. RES allows John and Solveig to continue to share their expertise, taking on selected high-impact projects across rural America.