By Kimber Ray For a small eastern Kentucky town, Vicco has been making big headlines. The driving force of this publicity is the town’s energetic and openly gay mayor, Johnny Cummings. Locals praise their mayor for leading ambitious community projects…
Kimber Ray
A native of New Jersey with an environmental policy degree from Rutgers University, Kimber served two terms as our AmeriCorps Communications Associate and the Associate Editor for The Appalachian Voice from 2013-2015 before leaving to pursue permaculture farming in Costa Rica.
Blog Archives
The Appalachian Voice
Dewayne Barton: Building Opportunity in West Asheville
By Kimber Ray Dewayne Barton isn’t only referring to nature when he talks about changing the way people relate to their environment. “Just like we polluted a stream or a river, we also polluted communities, and [restoring communities] has to…
TAGS: Asheville clean energy Environmental Justice green jobs training Local business North Carolina Sustainable business weatherization
Sara Day Evans: Accelerating Good Business
By Kimber Ray Although the environment and the economy are often painted as rival forces, Sara Day Evans never saw much sense in this argument. What she saw instead was a challenge — and an opportunity — to seek sustainable…
Anna George: Aquatic Activist
By Peter Boucher When Anna George was a child, she would pester her mother to take her to zoos and aquariums. As she grew up, she conducted research in a variety of aquatic environments — from the Dauphin Sea Lab…
TAGS: Aquatic life Chattanooga environmental education Freshwater fish sustainability Tennessee wildlife conservation
Ada Smith: Giving Voice to Appalachia
By Kimber Ray Amidst the economic and social upheaval sweeping through Appalachia, art and media may seem like unexpected tools for approaching the challenges the region faces today. However, through her work with Appalshop — a media and cultural center…
Advancing a Creative Economy for the Clinch River Valley
By Kimber Ray In the remote coalfields of southwest Virginia, a collaborative grassroots project is taking on the challenge of balancing job creation and environmental conservation. The Clinch River Valley Initiative, conceived at an economic development forum in 2010, is…
TAGS: Clinch River Coal Economy grassroots Local business Sustainable business Virginia Water quality
Charlie Jackson: Bringing Farms to Market
By Peter Boucher Charlie Jackson found a simple answer to the complex problems of regional agriculture. He founded the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project in 1995 to create new markets for mountain farmers who had lost their cash crop. Tobacco had…
TAGS: Agriculture appalachia local farming Local food North Carolina sustainability sustainable agriculture Tobacco
Only God Should Move Mountains
By Nolen Nychay For Reverend Ryan Bennett, creation care is about encouraging environmental responsibility through the Biblical principles of stewardship. At Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Franklin, Tenn., Bennett uses the philosophy “love the Creator, love His creations” to discuss…
TAGS: Creation Care Mountaintop Removal Scenic Vistas Protection Act surface mining sustainability Tennessee
Four Projects on Fourth Creek
By Hallie Carde Bob and Jill Kinser claim to have the best water around, and they’re quick to offer a glass to anyone to prove it. In fact, the only thing more apparent than the Kinsers’ hospitality is their hardworking…
Considerate Consulting: Andrew Grigsby’s Vision of Sustainability
By Brian Sewell Andrew Grigsby is a leading sustainability consultant with more than 25 years of experience in residential construction and green building. But ask him what motivates his work to foster a more ecologically and socially sane world, and…
