Manufacturing Is Not a Dirty Word: Reframing the Jobs Rural Communities Need | Chrissy Marrucci

Say the word manufacturing and a lot of people picture something old and dirty. For rural communities, Chrissy Marucci argues, it is something else entirely: jobs and the federal dollars that come with them.

On this Special Episode of GovCon Unscripted, host Chelsea Roberts continues the #RoadtoHUBZone series with Chrissy Marucci, President and CEO of Elevated Consulting & Development.

Chrissy lives in an entire HUBZone county in the mountains of Appalachia and has spent years connecting rural residents to real federal contracting careers. She and Chelsea talks about what HUBZone was designed to do (bring federal spending back into the communities that need it), why the program is about the place and the people rather than the owner, how the 35% employee-residency rule actually works, and why manufacturing deserves a serious rethink as a source of rural jobs. She also lays out the community development corporation she is building to keep that money at home.

2026 National HUBZone Conference, July 21 and 22 (golf outing July 20) at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and who Chrissy is

01:00 Elevated Consulting and Council back-office support

02:00 An entire HUBZone county in Appalachia

03:00 Building the HUBZone Workforce Program

05:00 What HUBZone does for rural areas

06:00 Manufacturing and construction in rural HUBZones

09:00 Advocacy, land use, and changing the narrative

10:00 Manufacturing is not a dirty word

15:30 Place-based and employee-based: the 35% rule

18:00 Remote work and unlocking rural talent

19:00 The community development corporation

21:00 Conference mode and see you in Chantilly

Resources:

• Chrissy Marucci's LinkedIn Profile
• Chelsea Robert's LinkedIn Profile
• Elevated Consulting & Development's Website

Other resources:

• Holler to Hilltop (community development)
• HUBZone Contractors National Council
• 2026 National HUBZone Conference (register)

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