#ThisIsAppalachia: Women of ACF March 2022

Angela L. Alston, Board Member, Lewisburg, West VirginiaOriginally from Beckley,  West Virginia, Angela currently serves as the Executive Director of the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) at the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, WV. Angela holds an Associate of Arts from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, a Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia University Institute of Technology, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health at Purdue University Graduate School. Her areas of expertise are Business Administration, Organizational Leadership and Development, Grant Writing and Management, Health Professions Interprofessional Training, and Continuing Medical Education. Angela also serves as the Co-chair of the National AHEC Organization (NAO) Diversity Committee and the NAO WV State Advocacy Leader.Brandi Augustus, Board Treasurer, Knoxville, TennesseeBrandi is from Cincinnati, Ohio. She was introduced to activism hearing speakers for social justice and how to combat prejudice in her community. Teen leadership programs taught her care for community and how to lead. Her “Call to Action” came in 2001 as a high school sophomore after 19-year-old Timothy Thomas was shot and killed by a police officer. This led to civil unrest in the city and a curfew being set by the law. Residents countered by protesting entertainment revenue coming to the city as well as a boycott of downtown businesses. After the city lost +$10 million dollars the police agreed to retraining and reform. Brandi realized what could happen when people came together for a common goal. She is now a community leader and advocate in East Knoxville.Ashley Marie Browning, Board Secretary, Knoxville, TennesseeFrom Belfry, Kentucky, Ashley is deeply passionate about social justice and creative ways to show up for her community. She came to University of Tennessee in 2018 as Compliance System Coordinator for SACSCOC Accreditation, where she also serves on Inclusive Teaching Taskforce, Assessment Steering Committee, and Accommodation & Accessibility Committee. Ashley’s research interests include the student experience of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) members of campus community, social strain in Central Appalachian social disparities; prevention, succession, and treatment of prescription drug abuse; and gaps between socio-economic status and social goal attainment. Ashley has Correctional/Juvenile Justice Studies B.S. (Eastern Kentucky University) and M.A. (East Tennessee State University). She is currently a doctoral candidate in Sociology (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) and obtaining a graduate certificate in Cultural Studies in Education. Ashley relaxes with cross-stitch and binge-rewatching Parks & Rec for the millionth time.Belinda Burns, Executive Assistant, Kingston, TennesseeBelinda is a little country girl at heart, having grown  up in Cave Spring Holler near the small town of Harriman, Tennessee. She is a fun, joyous, loving mother of two.Her role at ACF is executive assistant to Margo Miler;  she’s the one responsible for managing the directors’ calendar, travel, emails, and keeping her on track.Standing by ACF’s mission and what it does in the region. Belinda’s positive influence and willingness to help others has her ready to find and help others who want to be involved with the work of social justice and social change.Belinda is a positive influence and helpful to others involved with the work of social justice and social change.Teresa Caudill Collins, Board Member, Whitesburg, KentuckyTeresa comes from Carcassonne, Kentucky where several generations of her family maintain a vibrant community life that practices the traditions of quilting and square dancing. Teresa works at the Center for Rural Strategies as Executive Assistant, and Associate Producer of Everywhere Radio Podcast. Teresa previously worked as a community organizer for Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) where she organized members working on strip mining, excessive logging, abuses of oil and gas drilling on private surface property where the mineral underneath is held by companies and reforming the state’s welfare system. Teresa lives in Whitesburg, Kentucky.Taysha DeVaughan, Donor Engagement/Development, Big Stone Gap, VirginiaTaysha is a resident of Wise County with her young son, Aiden. Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, Taysha moved to Virginia in 2011 shortly after her father became the Director of Flatwoods Job Civilian Conservation Center, Coeburn, Virginia.Soon after graduating from UVA-Wise in 2018 with BA in Communications, Taysha began her career at the Appalachian Community Fund as Regional Organizer and current position is Donor Engagement Coordinator. She has been an active member of her community since making Virginia her home. She is President of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, active in Lonesome Pine Mutual Aid and a gubernatorial appointee to Virginia Council on Environmental Justice. She is a primary candidate for Congress in the 2022 primary.Kathy Johnson, Office Manager, Knoxville, TennesseeKathy has worked as a library clerk, newspaper reporter, medical transcriptionist, and paralegal. As ACF’s office manager, she serves as our bookkeeper, archivist, copy editor, copier technician, bureaucrat wrangler, and data therapist.While in elementary school, she started hating strip mines. Her first activism was being a teenage protester of the Tellico Dam. She was formerly active with Christian peace activists, but today spends her free time caring for chronically ill family members. She also grows fruit, flowers, and herbs at her home in the Fountain City area of Knoxville where she lives with her husband and his motorcycles. (No photo)Margo Miller. Executive Director, Knoxville, TennesseeMargo Miller is a daughter of Appalachia, born and raised in East Tennessee. She’s an avid crafter, frustrated poet, cultural activist, creative strategist, and most recently a tournament Texas Holdem poker player. She believes art and culture are powerful tools for enriching, organizing and uniting communities.After serving three years as development director, in 2011, she became the executive director of the Appalachian Community Fund. Since then, she has helped leverage several million dollars to support social justice work in the region.Miller is committed to making a difference by finding creative ways of building sustainable and resource generating partnerships to ensure that the legacy of social justice organizing is carried forth with all the richness and courage that are the hallmarks of the region.Janell Pisegna, Board Member, Marietta, OhioJanell was born and raised in the Ohio River Valley in Marietta, Ohio. An occupational therapist currently pursuing her PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Janell’s clinical and academic work seeks to support equitable participation in client-valued activities. Janell is also interested in researching strategies for implementing evidence-based occupational therapy mental health care for acquired brain injury. She developed interest in working toward the de-stigmatization of mental illness in rural communities through previous roles with the National Alliance on Mental Illness – The Ohio State University chapter. Janell has a B.S. and B.A. (Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, Ohio) and Master of Occupational Therapy and Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching (The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio). In her free time, Janell enjoys knitting and gardening.Angela Reed, Board Member, Bluefield, West VirginiaFrom Keystone, West Virginia, Angela relocated in 2004 to Bluefield where she attended Bluefield State College University to earn bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and master’s degree in Social Work (Concord University). Since 2008, Angela worked as social worker for aged and disabled population. Her dream was to become a geriatric social worker and start her own personal care agency, as well as provide housing for elderly and transitional housing for veterans. In social service field, she witnessed injustice that minorities faced in her rural community. Determined to end such injustice, she sought others of a like mind.  Everyone was tired of the injustice and talking about it amongst each other, but fearful of losing jobs or connections securing funding for organizations. A friend told her about ACF where she found others with shared  sentiment and no FEAR.  Read more about Angela  and Connection to the Connection Inc. on our website.To learn more About Us, go to the ACF webpage https://appalachiancommunityfund.org/about-us/Contact Walter Davis, walter@appalachiancommunityfund if you have a positive story about people, places, and things in Central Appalachia.