Welcome Lara, Farewell to Hannah and Tarence

We welcome Shenandoah Valley resident Lara Mack to the Appalachian Voices team, where she will work toward a clean energy future in Virginia. Lara brings a passion for group facilitation and community organizing to her new position as Virginia Field Organizer in our Charlottesville office. An advocate for environmental and social justice issues for a decade, she considers herself and this work part of the legacy of building power in our communities and fighting oppression in our culture.

Lara is helping to fill the shoes of Hannah Wiegard, who shared her enthusiasm with Appalachian Voices as our Virginia Campaign Coordinator for two and a half years. Hannah campaigned for just policies for solar energy, supported community groups fighting natural gas pipelines and rallied ratepayers to speak out for clean energy and climate justice. She is dedicated to volunteering with environmental organizations in her new home in Charlotte, N.C.

We also bid farewell to former Central Appalachian Field Coordinator Tarence Ray. Tarence brought a passion for environmental justice to his work with community members impacted by extractive industries. We wish him well in his new role as Development Director for Appalachian Citizens Law Center in Whitesburg, Ky.