07/02/2026
Join us in congratulating our second cohort on their graduation from the Central Appalachia Leadership Lab!
This group of regional change makers served as Lab members over the past three years. From September 2023 to June 2026, Lab members took turns serving as “host fellow,” traveling a collective 32,337 miles to visit each other's communities in…
📍Corbin, KY
📍Roanoke, VA
📍Charleston, WV
📍Hazard, KY
📍Ashland, KY
📍White Pine, TN
📍Princeton, WV
📍London, KY
📍Martin, KY
📍Abingdon, VA
We learned about a range of issues and opportunities affecting the future of possibilities for youth: economic transitions and growth, postsecondary readiness and success, youth social and emotional needs, rural school models, and the evolving role of technology.
Congratulations to the following graduates, who individually and collectively deepened their leadership and elevated the unique power of place across Central Appalachia.
✨ Representing West Virginia: Halie Henkes & Sam Nygaard
✨ Representing Eastern Kentucky: Kevin Campbell, Kristin Collins, Rob Collins, Sam Keathley, Morgan Kirk, Dee Parker, Bailey Richards, Tina Wei Smith, and Kelsey Tackett
✨ Representing Southwest Virginia: Max Yurkofsky, John Otey, and Cori DiSantis
Interested to learn more about the Central Appalachia Leadership Lab? Stay tuned for more updates over the summer, including the opportunity to apply for our next cohort!