Who's Involved
The Podcast

C. Lee Smith
Producer
With more than 20 years experience in public media & television production, Chris has written, edited, shot & produced programming for sports, news magazines, commercials & documentaries; PBS, FOX, ESPN, CBS, NBC and HGTV.

James Baines
Audio Engineer
James Baines is from Chicago & a graduate of Columbia College's Audio Arts Program. Mr. Baines works as editor & engineer for the Black in Appalachia podcast. He & his family participated in the 'Great Reverse Migration' for a change of scenery and now call Knoxville home.
Documentation , Research & Engagement

William Isom II
Director
William Isom is a East Tennessee native & the director of Black in Appalachia. He coordinates the project's research, community data base development, documentary film & photography production, oral history collection and educational events with residents.

Kathleen Kelley
Historian
Kathleen came to East Tennessee from Memphis. She received a Bachelor's in History at the University of Tennessee & has been working with Black in Appalachia to chronicle African American families from 1860 & 1870. She's also worked as a researcher & writer for the Kingsport Black history display project.

Alona Norwood
Researcher
A native of Elizabethton, Tennessee & graduate of Berea College, Alona has been working with Black in Appalachia to research & document the history of Black schools in Carter County and Middlesboro, Kentucky. She's incredibly active in Northeast Tennessee and continues to act to make her region one that her and her peers can thrive in .

Kelle Jolly
Music, Arts & Culture

Misha Awad
Researcher & GIS
Misha is a cartographer & environmentalist from the Shenandoah Valley of WV. Since attaining her bachelor' degree from Vassar College, Misha has focused on education, community development, & Afro-Asian relations in China & Japan. Her current work for Black in Appalachia documents migrations of Black & POC communities through Appalachia & beyond.

Tanner Charles
Digital Collections
A native of Hawkins County, TN Tanner has BS from Carson-Newman University in Business Administration. He is currently working on a Masters of Business Administration from the same school & is contributing to the Black in Appalachia Project from his hometown of Rogersville.

Jessica Tezak
Photographer
A professional photojournalist & farmer, Jessica originally hails from Joliet, Illinois, but now lives & works out of Knoxville. Her work with Black in Appalachia centers around documenting the events & communities in Southeastern Ohio.

Devyn Kelly
GIS Specialist
From South Florida, but now a resident of Knoxville Devyn has immersed herself into the culture of Southern Appalachia. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, she has been working to document & build out the Bristol Black Businesses mapping project with the Black in Appalachia project.

Pumpkin Starr
A popular educator, trainer & creative from N. AL and TN, Starr has educated across ages to address current economic and racial inequities in Central Appalachia & the South, along with food and land justice issues. Starr's current work is focused on Black land & place based projects in the South, along with farming, creative writing & music.