Guest Columnists

Alex Gibson is executive director of Appalshop—home to the largest body of creative work on Appalachia in the world. He’s taking the Whitesburg, Kentucky, nonprofit into its next 50 years as an arts, culture and media education center.

Executive Director Ali Crumpacker and her team are making a forever home for chimpanzees at Project Chimps. This Blue Ridge Mountains sanctuary is home to nearly 100 chimpanzees.

Watching the waters of a 4,520-acre Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir in Upstate Tennessee is a long-time passion for Boone Lake Association President Val Kosmider.

The mayor of Greenville, South Carolina, is a champion for the urban and the wild, and helped turn a neglected natural resource into a spectacular gem that makes this small city a national destination and a magnet for visitors.

Emily Jones, regional director of National Parks Conservation Association’s Southeast Region, loves exploring the outdoors at Great Smokies and Cumberland Gap national parks, and the 469-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway.