Written by JW Randolph

JW Randolph

Raised on the banks of the Tennessee River, JW's work to create progress in his home state and throughout Appalachia has been featured on the Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Kos and Grist. He served first as Appalachian Voices’ Legislative Associate and then Tennessee director until leaving to pursue a career in medicine in 2012.

January 14, 2011

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “Lisa Jackson is the Most Courageous EPA Administrator in U.S. History”

Team App Voices’ friend and colleague Robert F….

January 13, 2011

Victory! EPA Vetoes Spruce Mine Permit.

EPA announced today that they will be vetoing…

January 11, 2011

Video Blog #1: 112th Congress

We at the Front Porch would like to…

January 10, 2011

Representative Gabrielle Giffords Shot

In a tragic piece of news, we learn…

January 4, 2011

Judy Bonds, Remembered

It is with a heavy heart that we witness the passing of one of the greatest community organizers and Appalachian leaders in our country’s history, Judy Bonds.

A loyal friend, inspiring leader, and and a proud family woman, Judy will be remembered for her unwavering commitment to the people of Appalachia and for her heroic efforts to ending mountaintop removal coal mining. With her sharp wit and quick smile, Judy was a joyful peer, an engaging collaborator, and a powerful and beautiful storyteller who told the rest of America the story of the Appalachia and its people. Judy stood up and spoke up for herself and her region at great personal risk to herself, facing arrest, threats, and even assault from allies of a corrupt coal industry . Born in Marfok Hollow,WV a proud daughter of a coal miner, Judy, received international acclaim in 2003, winning the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for community organizing at a time when few people had even heard of mountaintop removal.