Three Main Street America Staff members standing in front of a mural in Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

About

We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.

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Two community members in Emporia Kansas pose with a sign saying "I'm a Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Our Network

Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.

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Dionne Baux and MSA partner working in Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Resources

Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!

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People riding e-scooters in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

The Latest

Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.

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Woman and girl at a festival booth in Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Get Involved

Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

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Three Main Street America Staff members standing in front of a mural in Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

About

We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.

Overview Who We Are How We Work Partner Collaborations Our Supporters Our Team Job Opportunities Contact Us
Two community members in Emporia Kansas pose with a sign saying "I'm a Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Our Network

Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.

Overview Coordinating Programs Main Street Communities Collective Impact Awards & Recognition Community Evaluation Framework Join the Movement
Dionne Baux and MSA partner working in Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Resources

Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!

Overview Knowledge Hub Field Services Government Relations Main Street Now Conference Main Street America Institute Small Business Support Allied Member Services The Point Members Area
People riding e-scooters in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

The Latest

Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.

Overview News & Stories Events & Opportunities Subscribe
Woman and girl at a festival booth in Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Get Involved

Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

Overview Join Us Renew Your Membership Donate Partner With Us Job Opportunities
The Alabama Theater full of Main Street Now attendees during the opening plenary

The opening plenary of the 2024 Main Street Now Conference. © Tosha Gaines Photography/​Main Street America

It was an absolute honor to see so many of you at Main Street Now 2024 in Birmingham, Alabama, earlier this month. But I know that it wasn’t possible for everyone to be there. Many of us have family obligations or restraints that don’t allow us to travel right now. Know that you were missed, and we hope to see you next year in Philadelphia, April 6 – 92025

For those of you who were there, and for those of you who weren’t, I want to share my reflections from Birmingham with you. I knew that it was going to be magical (because everyone talks about how magical our conference is), but I wasn’t fully prepared for how amazing it would be. I left Birmingham feeling grateful, energized, and optimistic about our movement. I took a ton of notes and met so many incredible people. I’d like to take a moment to reflect on a few things from my first Main Street Now Conference and share the five aspirations for the movement that I offered during the Opening Plenary. (Download a copy of my full remarks here.)

Thank you to everyone who came up to me during the conference to introduce themselves (and their family members) and to tell me about their Main Streets, their jobs, and their aspirations for this movement. These conversations remind me that a lot of this work is about family. Thank you for bringing your sisters and your kids and your spouses along with you to this conference, and to the work in your communities! 

I had so many eye-opening conversations about ability, placemaking, health, property ownership, and more, and I’m returning to my day-to-day work with new ways of thinking our work and how we find power in our wisdom and strength through our connections with one another. 

I know many of you enjoyed the Main Idea fireside chat with Dr. Mindy Fullilove, social psychiatrist, professor of urban planning, and author of Main Street: How A Cities Heart Connects Us All. If you missed it, we will share a recap on the blog soon, and just know that Mindy invited everyone to come walk her Main Street with her in Orange, New Jersey. 

I want to hear from you—keep reading for details!

  • Three women stand side-by-side and smile.

    Erin (right), with Hannah White, Chief Impact Officer at Main Street America (center), and Renee Kuhlman, Senior Director of Outreach & Support at National Trust for Historic Preservation (left). © Tosha Gaines Photography/​Main Street America

  • Two people dance inside a large hotel ballroom; behind them people are standing and dancing.

    Main Street America visionary Mary Means (left) takes a photo of Erin dancing with a conference attendee at the closing plenary. © Tosha Gaines Photography/​Main Street America

MY FIVE ASPIRATIONS FOR LOCAL LEADERS AND THE MAIN STREET MOVEMENT

As I mentioned during the opening plenary, I’ve been thinking a lot about how best to steward this movement into a future of very real challenges. Here are five aspirations I’d like to name: 

NUMBER ONE—and most important aspiration for myself and this movement—is to stay humble and learn. If there’s one thing that we can expect, it’s that the unexpected will happen sooner or later. Whether it’s something disruptive like a natural disaster, or a new kind of technology, or a major political shift, or just that everyone decides they no longer want craft beer and they only want artisanal bubble gum, there will always be someone who anticipates the shift, sees it coming, and gets it right. There will always be new ways of doing things. Let’s not get so locked into our expertise that we lose sight of this. Instead, let’s keep our eyes and ears and hearts open. 

NUMBER TWO: Invite others to the table who might not otherwise volunteer but might be sitting on some truly great ideas. Think about who might have been excluded in the past and do the work of bridging that divide with genuine curiosity. Main Streets are a product of deliberate co-creation that’s rooted in listening and trust. We can only create inclusive places that are welcoming for everyone when we create them with everyone. 

NUMBER THREE: Think beyond the ways we usually see ourselves—as engines of local economic development, historic preservation, and small business support—and start thinking of ourselves in new ways that communicate the complexity of our work. We are healers against the epidemic of loneliness, and we are first responders on the front lines of climate emergencies like extreme heat, tornadoes and floods, and we are drivers of a new civic infrastructure of connectedness that’s centered on place, and we are choreographers, and we are storytellers, and we are designers of public space. (I want this list to go on, and I want you to help me create it. My three requests of you are below, but one is related to this item: tell me how you communicate the complexity of this work and of your job.) 

NUMBER FOUR: Welcome newcomers, and I mean truly welcome all newcomers. This means local and regional tourists, and it means young professionals and families who are relocating to our communities. But even more it means new immigrants and migrants who come to our communities to work in the service sector, or in our agricultural fields and packing plants. Take the time to get to know these newcomers as people, ask them about their traditions and their favorite foods, and ask them what ideas they have for the place they now call home. These newcomers bring with them a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial spirit. Ask them what they need to help start a business — it just might become your favorite place on your main street! 

NUMBER FIVE: Be thoughtful and honest with each other about the intended and unintended ways in which our work shapes our communities. If something didn’t work out as planned, be bold in naming it and be proactive in how we can be better next time. We’re all learning together, and we can learn a lot from each other. And share ideas and opportunities around how we can expand our reach. We have great tools in our toolbox. So how can we apply them toward affordable housing? Toward workforce development? Toward inclusive processes? There’s so much expertise in this room and in our movement. Let’s unlock it together and see what else we can grow. 

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

Tell me what’s on your mind and what you would add to my list of aspirations. Send me an email (ebarnes@​mainstreet.​org) or post a video to social media and tag me on Instagram (@erinargyle) or LinkedIn (Erin Barnes).

  • Introduce yourself! Tell me about you, your Main Street, and your community. I shared in Birmingham that based on some quick math, it’s going to take me 125 years to visit every Main Street in the network if I visit two per month, so help a sister out, and send me a video so I can get to know your work more experientially. 
  • Tell me the story of how your Main Street is inclusive and welcoming. Send me a link to a news story about your work, or write to me about it, or take a walk down your main street and make a selfie video showing it to me. 
  • Talk to me: what metaphor do you use to describe your job? Seriously, give it some thought, and walk me through the metaphor. If nothing is coming to you, tell me how you explain your job to your kid or to your mom. Make a video of yourself explaining it, and send it to me! 

I can’t wait to meet more of you! 

Erin Barnes signature

Erin Barnes
President and CEO, Main Street America