Kathi Littlejohn Kathi Littlejohn is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She has been telling Cherokee stories for more than 40 years at events, festivals, and schools. She has been leading Cherokee history tours for five years to historically and culturally significant places in Western North Carolina. Littlejohn has produced four CDs of Cherokee stories: ‘Cherokee Legends,’ Volume I, II, and III and ‘Cherokee Stories of the Supernatural.’ She also completed a series of YouTube videos named “Cherokee History and Stories, “What Happened Here?”

LaKisha Blount Born in the historic Black community of Texana, North Carolina, LaKisha Blount explores the essence of her experiences and generational stories of Black mountain life in Appalachia through her figurative oil paintings. Using bold colors, gritty textures of layered paint, and intricate markings, Blount aims to capture the raw emotion and beauty of everyday life. Her canvases are a nostalgic representation of the people and moments that shape her world - both real and imagined. Of her work, Blount says “My work is a tribute to the vibrant culture and rich heritage that influence my artistry.”

Blount’s work has been exhibited at The Bascom: Center for the Visual Arts, UNCA Highsmith Art and Intercultural Gallery, Slocumb Galleries at Eastern Tennessee State University, Haywood County Arts Council, Ananda West in Asheville, NC, and more. She graduated from Western Carolina University with a BFA in Graphic Design, and was a recipient of the University’s Book Art Award.

J. Drew Lanham Raised in Edgefield, South Carolina, Lanham studied zoology at Clemson University where he also earned a PhD in Forest Resources in 1997. He was named an Alumni Distinguished Professor at the university in 2012. He currently teaches several classes on birding and wildlife science. In his 20 years as a faculty member, he has taught courses, conducted research and outreach in woodland ecology, conservation biology, forest biodiversity, wildlife policy and conservation ornithology and has mentored more than 40 students.

He describes his work in his own words as: "’Connecting the conservation dots’ is how I envision my research mission. More recently I've begun to investigate how ethnicity (especially Black Americans) relate to wildlife and other conservation issues. I'm also interested in how birders and hunters might bridge philosophical gaps to effect conservation in a more holistic way."

His research focuses on songbird ecology. He is a board member of several conservation organizations, including the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Audubon South Carolina, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and BirdNote. and an advisory board member for the North American Association of Environmental Education. In 2016, he was named a Brandwein Fellow for his work in environmental education, and he has also been a fellow of Toyota TogetherGreen and the Clemson University Institute for Parks. Lanham is a Board member of the National Audobon Society. In 2019 he was awarded its Dan W. Lufkin Prize for Environmental Leadership, recognizing "individuals who have dedicated their entire lives to the environment."

Kelle Jolly Vocalist Kelle Jolly is known as "The Tennessee Ukulele Lady". Kelle expresses herself through folk traditions of the South. Her first ukulele was a shiny green Kala with a dolphin on the bridge. She had her first ukulele lessons on Youtube fifteen years ago. She is the founder of Ukesphere of Knoxville, a ukulele group for all ages. As an ambassador of jazz, she has traveled to Muroran, Japan as Knoxville's Sister City representative at various jazz festivals and events.  Kelle Jolly is the host of  Jazz Jam with Kelle Jolly, an hour-long show that celebrates great local, national and international singers of jazz on WUOT 91.9FM. She is also the founder of the Women in Jazz Jam Festival. Kelle is a teaching artist on the Tennessee Arts Commission Roster. Kelle is a member of the Jonesborough Storytelling Guild. She is a National Association of Black Storytellers 2023 Black Appalachian Storyteller Fellow

Roy Harris Roy grew up in the small hamlet of Sladesville, NC.  He is a retired engineer having spent 40 years working for Fortune 500 companies up and down the East Coast.  He graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC, in 1972 earning a BS, Industrial Technology- Manufacturing degree.  Roy is very active in the city having served on numerous boards and commissions from religious to civic.  He currently serves as a Deacon at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, is a life member of The NAACP, member of the National Association of Black Storytellers as well as Black Men Monday, and is a graduate of Leadership Asheville, class #10.  He is the father of three grown children and the grandfather of three.  He spends his time telling stories to all that would listen and serves his community. 

Glenis Redmond is a Road Warrior Poet with two posts as Poet-in-Residence at The Peace Center for the Performing Arts in Greenville, SC and the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. She has been a teaching artist for twenty-six years and is on the Kennedy Center's National Roster.Glenis serves as the Mentor Poet for the National Student Poets Program. In 2014-2016 she prepared student poets to read at the Library of Congress, the Department of Education and for the First Lady, Michelle Obama at the White House. In 2016 she was a semi-finalist judge for the Poetry Out Loud competition. She helped create the first Writer-in-Residence at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, NC. Glenis is a Cave Canem Fellow and a North Carolina Literary Fellowship Recipient.As a full-time road poet performing and teaching poetry across the country, Glenis believes that poetry is a healer. She can be found across America in the trenches applying pressure to those in need, one poem at a time.