Participation Type
Roundtable
Session Title
New Girls Club: Womxn Leading Appalachian Futures
Session Abstract or Summary
This roundtable, which premiered as a popular breakout session at the 2018 National Rural Assembly, is led by three fierce female artist-educators from east Kentucky grassroots media center Appalshop. Womxn (a term that refers to all female-identifying people, including trans and non-binary) often take a backseat to “old boys clubs” in Appalachian power structures, organizing initiatives, and movements for change...even as those movements benefit from our labor and genius. The group discussion will introduce a variety of strategies for changing this narrative, including challenges, resources, and regional perspectives on shifting our institutions―and the communities they serve―towards equity with humor, compassion, and style. NOTE: This is an inclusive session. People of all genders, ages, ethnicities, and degrees of ability are welcome.
Presentation #1 Title
New Girls Club: Womxn Leading Appalachian Futures
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This roundtable, which premiered as a popular breakout session at the 2018 National Rural Assembly, is led by three fierce female artist-educators from east Kentucky grassroots media center Appalshop. Womxn (a term that refers to all female-identifying people, including trans and non-binary) often take a backseat to “old boys clubs” in Appalachian power structures, organizing initiatives, and movements for change...even as those movements benefit from our labor and genius. The group discussion will introduce a variety of strategies for changing this narrative, including challenges, resources, and regional perspectives on shifting our institutions―and the communities they serve―towards equity with humor, compassion, and style. NOTE: This is an inclusive session. People of all genders, ages, ethnicities, and degrees of ability are welcome.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Amy Brooks is a 5th generation West Virginian and rural-urban intersectional feminist. She is the executive VP for Conferences of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and the former Humanities Director of the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, WV. Amy received LMDA’s 2017 Bly Creative Capacity Grant for her work with Roadside Theater and Appalshop, where she currently serves as a Communications and Public Relations Associate. She is a Fellow in the 2018-19 cohort of the Intercultural Leadership Institute, a year-long training program for artists, culture bearers and other arts professionals co-led by Alternate ROOTS, P’AI Foundation, First Peoples Fund, and the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
An auntie and eldest daughter of four from Bell County, KY, Tanya is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University. She spent five years on the staff of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and joined Appalshop’s development team in 2017 after working on The Holler makerspace with Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative. Tanya has contributed to youth programming at the Highlander Center and Stay Together Appalachian Youth (STAY) Project, served on the Boards of Appalachian Community Fund and currently, the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Besides leading regional Sexy Sex Ed workshops and her weekly WMMT program, Feminist Friday, you can hear Tanya on the regional podcast, Trillbilly Worker’s Party.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
A daughter of a retired middle school teacher and coal truck driver, Willa Johnson grew up and has returned to her home community in Letcher County. She has served as an Appalachian Transition Fellow, is a co-founder of the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project (STAY), and is a newly licensed foster parent. Willa recently worked for the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) Community Engagement team where she created FIREshare, a program designed in collaboration with The Holler to train teachers and students to use multimedia tools to tell their own stories about their schools and communities. She participated in the Appalachian Media Institute as a youth intern in 2007, worked as Lead Educator in 2015, and has recently returned as Program Coordinator.
New Girls Club: Womxn Leading Appalachian Futures
This roundtable, which premiered as a popular breakout session at the 2018 National Rural Assembly, is led by three fierce female artist-educators from east Kentucky grassroots media center Appalshop. Womxn (a term that refers to all female-identifying people, including trans and non-binary) often take a backseat to “old boys clubs” in Appalachian power structures, organizing initiatives, and movements for change...even as those movements benefit from our labor and genius. The group discussion will introduce a variety of strategies for changing this narrative, including challenges, resources, and regional perspectives on shifting our institutions―and the communities they serve―towards equity with humor, compassion, and style. NOTE: This is an inclusive session. People of all genders, ages, ethnicities, and degrees of ability are welcome.
