Tammy Halevy
Executive Director,
Reimagine Main Street
Senior Advisor,
Public Private Strategies
Tammy Halevy is Executive Director of Reimagine Main Street, a project of the Public Private Strategies Institute, and is a Senior Advisor at Public Private Strategies. Reimagine Main Street is an initiative focused on accelerating growth and opportunities for small businesses and the people they employ. Reimagine Main Street is built around a cross-sector multi-stakeholder network, data driven insights, and engagement with business owners, business leaders, investors, and policymakers.
Tammy brings a rare combination of experience, skills and passion to this work. For more than twenty years, she has worked across Fortune 100 companies, small nonprofit organizations, philanthropy and government. Tammy spent nearly a decade as the Senior Vice President of New Initiatives at a national nonprofit organization focused on creating economic opportunity for underserved entrepreneurs. In this role, she published award-winning research reports, formed groundbreaking cross-sectoral partnerships, and launched a new company with $1M in seed money from a competitive Innovation Challenge sponsored by the US Treasury’s CDFI Fund. Tammy was also a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where as part of the corporate finance and strategy practices, she led client engagements and research projects primarily focused on reaching new markets and structuring complex partnerships. Early in her career she also held positions in the US House of Representatives, The Overseas Development Council, and Kroll Associates.
Tammy serves on the Board of 1863 Ventures, a Washington, DC-based accelerator for new majority entrepreneurs and the Advisory Board of Camino Financial, a fintech CDFI small business lender.
She is a proud resident of the District of Columbia but still considers Texas as home.
Ashley Powdar
Senior Director
Ashley Powdar is a senior director who joined the Reimagine Main Street team in February 2024.
She holds a dual B.A. degree in Political Science, Modern Languages and Cultures from Pace University. Previously, she served as a content strategist for AARP’s national employer and entrepreneurship programs. She has 14 years experience working in and advocating for small businesses in the United States, South America and Africa. As a first generation American and third generation seamstress, she’s deeply energized by entrepreneurship and social impact issues. An entrepreneur at heart, she operates a female artisan group in Georgetown, Guyana under her social impact brand Ruby Sampson. She is a winner of the 2021 Guyana Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s Creative Industries Grant, which powers a scholarship program for the Carnegie School of Home Economics’s Garment Making Program. Her brand also supplies sewing equipment to local seamstresses and trade schools.
A devout traveler, Ashley has lived in Spain, China and Eswatini and visited over 40 countries across 6 continents. In her spare time, she loves binge watching a great show, testing secret products for the nation’s leading black hair care brands and writing on workforce development and entrepreneurship issues. Her work has been featured in Essence, The AFRO, Naturally Curly, AARP, Style Caster and more.
Rhett Buttle
Advisor
Rhett Buttle is an Advisor at Reimagine Main Street, President of Public Private Strategies Institute, and Founder of Public Private Strategies (PPS).
As Founder & CEO of Public Private Strategies (PPS) and President of the Public Private Strategies Institute, he partners with companies, nonprofits, philanthropy, and policymakers to advance entrepreneurship, expand economic opportunity, and strengthen cross-sector collaboration. Rhett is widely recognized for building coalitions that support entrepreneurs and help communities navigate a rapidly changing economy.
Leadership and Public Service
Rhett has held senior roles shaping policy and economic engagement for the White House Business Council, a governor’s office, and multiple presidential campaigns. In these positions, he worked closely with business leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to advance policies that promote economic mobility, innovation, and growth across the United States.
Public Private Strategies
Rhett founded Public Private Strategies to bring together the public and private sectors and build partnerships that drive policy and market outcomes. Under his leadership, PPS has played a central role in creating and supporting national initiatives including:
- Small Business for America’s Future, a national coalition advocating for policies that support small businesses and economic growth
- The
Small Business Roundtable, the nation’s largest coalition of small business organizations
- The
Entrepreneurship Exchange, a global platform that connects business leaders to promote commerce and economic diplomacy
- The
Small Business Innovation Summit, an annual convening of entrepreneurs, policymakers, and business leaders spotlighting innovation, policy, and the future of small business
- The
Next Gen Chamber of Commerce, future-forward national chamber advancing innovation, leadership, and opportunity for the next generation of business leaders
Through PPS, Rhett advises corporations, philanthropic organizations, and nonprofits on strategies that support small business growth, workforce development, innovation, and long-term economic competitiveness.
Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute
Rhett serves as a Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute, where he contributes to the Institute’s economic programming and the Aspen Ideas Festival. He is part of the founding team behind Aspen’s economic forum and helps shape discussions related to the future of work, economic mobility, and entrepreneurship.
Media
Rhett is a contributor to Forbes, where he writes on economic policy, small business, and public-private collaboration. His commentary and analysis frequently appear in major outlets including CNN, Fortune, Inc., Fast Company, and others.
