Liz Brunello (she/her) is the Program Director for AFSC's Appalachian Center for Equality. A native of the gulf coast of Florida, Liz has been a West Virginian by choice for over a decade. Working first with the AmeriCorps VISTA program in the areas of youth leadership development and community health work, for the past 8 years, Liz has spent her time working for AFSC with youth in the southern coalfields. Her work is guided by the belief in the power of youth organizing to make long-term change for the common good. In her spare time, she is an avid reader/listener, movie-watcher, printmaker, and dog-adventurer. Liz graduated from the University of Richmond in 2013 with a BA in French Honors.

Kirstyn Ooten (she/her) serves as the Program Coordinator for the Appalachian Center for Equality (ACE). A proud alum of ACE’s youth program, Kirstyn has dedicated her career to working in nonprofit, focusing on social justice and community development. Kirstyn is a Mingo County, West Virginia native, and is deeply committed to helping make the state a sustainable place for young people to flourish. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dogs, spending time with her nephews, and exploring new places.

Molly Born (she/her) is a youth mentor and leadership coach for American Friends Service Committee's Appalachian Center for Equality (ACE). After several years of working outside West Virginia, Born returned to her home state in 2018 for a fellowship in the state's southern coalfields. That year, she learned about AFSC's presence in the region and saw its impact on young people in her community. Aside from her work at AFSC, Molly is a multimedia producer and writer. She co-produced the documentary film King Coal, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, and currently is leading a project to help state archivists digitize and share old audio and video collections. She has a bachelor's in French from Fairmont State University and a master's in journalism from Northwestern University. 

Kat Curry (they/she) is the 2025 Padosi Fellow with ACE, working to implement policy and programs that advocate for and serve disabled youth in Appalachia. They've served on steering committees with AFSC and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy to help develop the 2025 Summer and Fall Policy Institutes. Kat is an alum of Fairmont State University, recently earning their Bachelors of Science in Sociology. In their free time, Kat enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, and spending time with their friends and family.

Carolina Rascon (she/her) works as a Food Justice Fellow for ACE. She is also a right to food advocate and project coordinator for Voices of Hunger WV. During her time as an undergraduate she experienced food insecurity, leading her to food justice work. As an undergraduate research assistant with the WVU Food Justice Lab she collaborated on several projects, including the passing of the Morgantown Right to food municipal resolution in 2021. Carolina is dedicated to growing the right to food movement in the Mountain State, shifting the narrative around food justice to one based in human rights.

Rickey French (he/him) is a dynamic student mentor and leadership coach for ACE, excelling in fostering community outreach in Logan County. 

Lida Shepherd (she/her) works as the program director for AFSC’s West Virginia Economic Justice Project (WVEJ). Lida’s work advances policy solutions to issues affecting poor and working families in West Virginia, and includes popular education trainings, policy advocacy, and coalition building. Lida also serves on the boards of WV Center on Budget and Policy, Mountain State Justice, and the Greenbrier County Health Alliance. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies and lives with her family in Lewisburg, WV.

Kenny Matthews (he/him) is the Program Associate for WVEJ. Kenny uses his lived experience as a person formerly incarcerated and in recovery to advocate for equality in all areas of life. He uses his voice to not only train others in sharing their story for power and purpose, but to combat the carceral system in the legislative branch of West Virginia’s government. It’s his continual hope to network and build out compassion for those returning citizens from incarceration, as well as inhibit the furtherance of any policies, laws, or ideals that seek to increase incarceration, minimize access to food, housing, or education, while ensuring individuals with the lived experience are always at the table or part of the conversation. He also helps train and guide higher education professors in educating from within the carceral system. He enjoys spending time with his wife, son and two dogs.