Laura Lengnick is an award-winning soil scientist who has explored agricultural sustainability for more than 30 years as a researcher, policy-maker, educator, and farmer. Her work in sustainable farming systems was nationally-recognized with a USDA Secretary’s Honor Award and she contributed to the 3rd National Climate Assessment as a lead author of the USDA report Climate more »
Desiree Adaway is the Director of the Adaway Group and specializes in strategic planning, program design and development, curriculum development, training design and facilitation. She has extensive experience designing and directing leadership development trainings. She is a strategist, experienced presenter, knowledgeable curriculum designer and a skilled discussion leader. Her past audiences range from high school students more »
Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer.[1] A prolific author, he has written many novels, short stories, poems, and essays. He is an elected member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, a recipient of The National Humanities Medal, and the Jefferson Lecturer for 2012. He is also a 2013 Fellow of The American more »
bell hooks,[1] is an American author, feminist, and social activist. The name “bell hooks” is derived from that of her maternal great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks.[2] The focus of hooks’s writing has been the intersectionality of race, capitalism, and gender, and what she describes as their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of oppression and class domination. She has published over 30 books and numerous scholarly more »
Storm Cloud Media spent some time with us in Appalachia. Watch to learn more about the heart of Accelerating Appalachia and our participant businesses.
We are so excited to partner on HempX Asheville! HempX is the first festival in North Carolina with a focus on educating the public on the multiple uses and diversity of products that come from industrial hemp. All proceeds benefit Accelerating Appalachia. Join us at Highland Brewing for two days of talks, hemp more »
The 2015 Accelerating Appalachia nature-based businesses will be presenting at the Pitch Party in Asheville on May 14th. We are so proud of this incredible group of graduates in food, farming, eco-services, seeds, botanical essences, natural building and games! Our keynote is the fabulous Judy Wicks, thought leader in growing good economies, co-founder of Be more »
Ecological Services & Markets, Inc. is an environmental consulting firm that mixes research and management, working with private landowners, Federal agencies, and academic institutions to determine the best ways to establish tradable credit systems for natural resource assets. The team has a strong background in natural resource policy, environmental economics, both terrestrial and more »
In 2014 the Capital Institute published its Field Guide for a Regenerative Economy and featured Accelerating Appalachia as a leader in the field of nature-based business support. The Field Guide focuses on the use of story telling as a means of developing a supportive network for regenerative businesses. You can read the early story of more »
Soody is the founder and principal at STLGIP, a boutique intellectual property firm located in Silicon Valley. Prior to starting STLGIP, Soody practiced law as IP Counsel at Heller Ehrman as well as Townsend and Townsend and in-house at the Hewlett-Packard Company. She was General Counsel and Vice President of Intellectual Property at a successfully more »