In “Bridging the Past and Future: Sustainability’s Role in Revitalizing Coal Communities,” Kramer offers a reflection on how collaboration, sustainability, and community leadership are shaping the future of our region.

Betsy Kramer is a leader in economic and environmental resiliency, driving transformative redevelopment across central Pennsylvania. Since its creation in 2019, SEDA-COG’s Community Revitalization program has secured nearly $37 million in grant funding to support infrastructure improvements, flood resiliency, and sustainable redevelopment across the 11-county SEDA-COG region. Betsy’s work began in Shamokin, where she led the award-winning GoShamokin Plan, an ongoing initiative that has positioned the city as a regional model for revitalization. Through major grants such as
EPA Brownfield funding and DOT Safe Streets for All (SS4A), she has spearheaded projects including environmental remediation, downtown revitalization, and green infrastructure improvements.
Collaboration has been central to Betsy’s success, with key partnerships including Bucknell University’sCenter for Sustainability & the Environment, the EPA, DEP, and the AmeriCorps VISTA program. These efforts have advanced initiatives from Shamokin’s Climate Action Plan, which Betsy helped develop and is now actively implementing. With over eight years at SEDA-COG, Betsy has played a pivotal role in regional strategic planning and
sustainable economic development. Before joining the agency, she spent 12 years as a small business owner, author, and speaker, recognized as a featured success story by Bucknell University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Betsy is a Certified Economic Development professional (CEcD) and Entrepreneurship Development Professional (EDP) through the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and holds a Business Contracts Certification from Cornell Law School, reinforcing her expertise in navigating complex partnerships that drive sustainable growth.