Hannah Adams Asbury first started working with Appalshop in 2017 as an Appalachian Media Institute (AMI) intern. In 2021, she became the Lead Educator for AMI, before taking on the role of Social Media & Program Manager. In her current position as Appalshop’s Communications Manager, Hannah designs graphic art and oversees the organization’s social media presence. Hannah has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Convergent Media from Morehead State University. Her work has been featured by prominent outlets including NPR, YNST Magazine, YR Media, and 100 Days in Appalachia. She values the opportunity to continue her work at Appalshop, a place that helped nurture her creativity and sense of community as a young intern. When not at the shop, Hannah is a busy mom to three cats and is a certified foster parent with her husband. In her spare time, she enjoys making collage art and scrapbooking.

Tommy Anderson (they/she) was raised in the sunshine and the shadows of the Pine Mountain ridge in Shelby Gap, Ky. As a musical and charismatic youth facing unique challenges, Tommy’s passion and energy were brought into focus by Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute (AMI) where she learned to tell her stories and appreciate her Appalachian roots and identity in a way she never knew possible. After 5 years at AMI, Tommy left the Appalshop nest, studying Psychology and English at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, theater/performance studies at UVA-Wise, and Old-Time mountain music and art at Mountain Empire Community College. While studying and working in the region, Tommy began teaching for the Wise County Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAMs) Program through Pro-Art Association until advancing to the position of Program Manager/Project Coordinator. While teaching old-time fiddle to school-age kids 4-5 days a week in Wise County, Tommy managed booking, coordination, and promotion for a spectrum of fine arts events for Pro-Art, expanded the enrollment of the Wise County JAMs programs, was a mentor, and volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) through the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth in Big Stone Gap, VA. After six years at Pro-Art, Tommy came back fully into the Appalshop fold, taking on a number of important duties until she finally nestled in a destined and well-suited spot as Appalachian Media Institute Program Manager.

Jared Hamilton is a documentary-style photographer and filmmaker who has lived all over Kentucky with roots in Pike, Knott, Floyd, and Letcher Counties. Jared’s notable work in this area includes the photo essay/zine series Familiar Paths. In Familiar Paths, Jared photographed his friends, family, and the surrounding communities. They also documented the 2019 Blackjewel Miner’s Blockade in the film Mighty Harlan County. Most recently Jared has been documenting their own health journey since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2023 in the project LESIONS (jaredhamiltonvisuals.com). Jared has done photo/video work for Mergoat Magazine, the New York Times, NPR, Garden & Gun, EKU, 100 Days in Appalachia, and KFTC. Jared spent a few years as a professional touring musician with Moonshine District, Heirloom Symphony, and Ye Ole Remedy. They are the Chairman of the Board for M.A.R.S. Collective based at Wiley’s Last Resort. M.A.R.S. stands for Music, Art, Re-creation, and Sustainability. The group hosts local music, arts, and education events on top of Pine Mountain at the homeplace of former WMMT station manager and DJ Jim Webb aka Wiley Quixote. Jim was one of Jared’s mentors in organizing whether in activism or music/arts events.

Chad Hunter was co-founding archivist of the Appalshop Archive in 2005. After years away, he returned to help after the July 2022 flood, and is now leading the Archive team to save and preserve the largest collection of Appalachian media in the world. He previously worked as an audiovisual archivist at institutions such as George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY, and musician Peter Gabriel’s human rights organization, WITNESS, in New York City. His work in film exhibition includes serving as manager of the Little Theater in Rochester, NY, as Executive Director of the nonprofit Hollywood Theater in Pittsburgh, and as Senior Director of The Rangos Giant Cinema at Carnegie Science Center. He is also founder and director of the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society & Festival.

Brandon Jent is a near-lifelong Letcher countian, residing on unceded ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ, S’atsoyaha, and Šaawanwaki lands. He holds a masters degree in Linguistic Theory and Typology from the University of Kentucky. Over the past decade, Brandon’s work experience has spanned Appalachia-focused higher education pedagogy, arts and cultural organizing, and community and economic development. As Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships, Brandon is excited to work with Appalshop, its partners, and our broader community towards the betterment of the region we call home.

Tucker Leighty-Phillips (he/him) grew up in Laurel County, Kentucky, where he booked punk rock shows before becoming a road crew member for a number of national touring bands. He returns to Kentucky from Tempe, Arizona, where he recently completed an MFA in Creative Writing, teaching fiction courses at the undergraduate level as well as in larger community spaces. He hopes his passion for writing and narrative will find a place among and engage a larger network of enthusiastic storytellers.

Roger May joined Appalshop in 2021. Based in Alum Creek, West Virginia, Roger was born in the Tug River Valley on the West Virginia and Kentucky border. His photographs explore the complicated history of place, faith and identity in the coalfields, and have been published in The New York Times, National Geographic, The Guardian, and Oxford American, among others. Roger has taught at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and Hindman Settlement School, lecturing throughout the region, and the photography project that he founded called Looking at Appalachia continues to present a crowdsourced visual representation of the 13 Appalachian states. When he’s not making photographs, you can find Roger renovating a 100+ year-old cabin and learning about living closer to the land.

Mimi Pickering began learning filmmaking at Appalshop in 1971. The recipient of numerous awards such as a Guggenheim Fellowship and two Kentucky Arts Council Artist Fellowships, her film The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry in 2005. Other documentaries include Chemical Valley, which aired on the PBS series P.O.V., and Hazel Dickens: It’s Hard to Tell the Singer From the Song. Most recently Mimi and former Appalshop filmmaker Anne Lewis produced Anne Braden: Southern Patriot, a biography of the storied civil rights and civil liberties activist. As Director of Appalshop’s Community Media Initiative (CMI), Mimi produces Making Connections News, a WMMT program and podcast exploring sustainable economic options for the coalfields. She is also Appalshop team leader for All Access EKY, a collaboration to raise awareness and support for comprehensive reproductive health services for people in Appalachian Kentucky, and manages Prevent Diabetes EKY, a story-based health promotion initiative. Mimi is a staff board member.

Leo Shannon joined Appalshop in 2021 as our Archive Assistant. Leo is a fiddler and visual artist from Seattle, Washington who learned to play as a boy from older musicians around him and from friends his own age, particularly those who shared his interest in American traditional music. Since age 7, Leo has played as part of a group of friends called The Onlies, who continue to travel the country performing old time music. Before moving to Whitesburg, Kentucky, he spent four years in Swannanoa, North Carolina, studying regional history and sound technologies, and exploring the deep world of archives.

Tiffany Sturdivant (she/her) is a Florida-born, Mississippi-raised Southern girl. In her former career, she was a healthcare professional (Nurse) for 13 years. Her expertise spanned across home healthcare, pediatrics and geriatrics. She was also a community activist in Columbus, MS, where she spent a decade leading a youth-based nonprofit organization focused on growing the community through fun and festivals. Tiffany is a voting rights advocate and has assisted with voting rights restoration in both Mississippi and Alabama. Now a resident of Eastern Kentucky, she is Executive Director of Appalshop. She is also lead organizer of Performing Our Future, a national coalition of four delegations (Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, and Wisconsin) where we co-create and share knowledge to collectively own what we make. She enjoys singing, dancing and changing the world one day at a time.

Eric VanHoose first joined Appalshop in 2018 and has been a Bloomberg Fellow and Systems Administrator since 2021. As Educator for Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute, Eric launched a 3D printing pilot program teaching six apprentices how to design and print 3D media. Eric received Ithaca College’s S’Park Mentor award in the fall of 2019 in recognition for his work with AMI. After successfully creating the second Collegiate Esports Program in the nation, VanHoose went on to become the Founding Chairman of the National Association of Collegiate Esports. As a born-and-raised Appalachian, Eric is happy to be working in media and technology in his home region.

Tom Gage is the Founder and CEO of Marconi Pacific, LLC a technology strategy consulting firm. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Tom grew up in New York City, where his parents worked in the movie theater business. In 1975/1976 he took over from Bill Richardson, the founding Executive Director of Appalshop. He remembers that time fondly and offered to join the Board in 2024. His Board work as Treasurer is aimed at assisting the new Executive Director and new administrative team accelerate Appalshop’s flood recovery efforts and new growth.

Tom has 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. He lives with his wife Carole, a landscape designer, just outside of Washington, DC.