Staff

Morgan joined our staff in summer of 2009. She was born, raised, and still lives in Knox County, surrounded by her extended family.  Morgan enjoys spending time with her husband and their two wonderful children. She works out of our London office.

Ashley grew up in Salyersville, KY and moved to London in 1999 where she now lives with her partner Daniel and his two kids. She joined the KFTC staff in November 2016 as the Operations Associate and provides day-to-day operational support to the Operations Manager and Deputy Director. In her free time she enjoys reading, embroidering (poorly) and half-finishing DIY projects.

Lesley grew up in Paducah and has a passion for social sustainability. Currently working on a Bachelor of Science Degree in Liberal Arts at Murray State, she hopes to meld academic theory with accessible action steps toward a fair democracy. Along with studying, Lesley has volunteered with nonprofits across Haiti, interned with the City of Paducah Planning department, and worked at McCracken County Public Library. In her free time, Lesley will usually be found adventuring with her golden-collie, Aria.

Jerry is KFTC’s Communications Director. He has worked with KFTC for 30+ years in various roles, including balancing the scales editor, media coordinator and occasional financial manager! He lives in Magoffin County.

Michael lives in Madison County and works at KFTC’s Berea office. Michael started working with KFTC in 2017 as a Program Associate to provide support across KFTC’s program of work and organizational needs. He enjoys spending his free time reading outdoors!

Angel grew up in Corbin, KY and moved to Richmond in 2014. She graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in December with a degree in Sociology. During her time at EKU she minored in Appalachian Studies, which drove her passion to work back home in Southeastern Kentucky after graduating college. She is excited to have the opportunity to work in an area that she loves and cares about, and to continue working towards a just transition!

Beth Howard grew up in Morgan County. She is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a Master’s in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Beth served for five years as a lead organizer with a grassroots organization in Daytona Beach, Florida called Fighting Against Injustice Toward Harmony (FAITH). She returned to Kentucky in 2011 and worked as a case manager facilitating classes in parenting, job coaching, and interpersonal skills for a multi-county program based in West Liberty and started organizing with KFTC in 2013. Beth is a student of yoga, she is rarely ever without a book, and lives in Lexington with her dog Sandy. 

Alicia is originally from Louisville and holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Louisville with a concentration in Non-Profit Management and a Graduate Certificate in Pan-African Studies. She has been with KFTC since January 2013, spending her first 4 years as the Jefferson County Community Organizer before transitioning into her current role in the spring of 2017. In her free time, Alicia is a volunteer leader with Outdoor Afro and enjoys outdoor activities, reading, and watching indie movies. 

Molly is excited to join the team as a community organizer in the Southern Kentucky region. She is a Louisville native and graduated from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in Spanish and Anthropology. She enjoys camping, traveling, cooking and doing puzzles.

Carissa grew up in southern Indiana and joined the KFTC staff team in 2008.  She has a bachelor's degree from Ball State University and a Master's degree in Public Administration from George Mason University.  She previously worked as a grassroots organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement where she focused on organizing family farmers and rural residents for economic and environmental justice.  She lives in Louisville with her husband and two children.  She enjoys spending time telling bad jokes, cooking, and playing with her family.

Jacob is an Organizing Apprentice working in eastern Kentucky, living in Knott County. His people are from Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he first became politicized and was introduced to organizing as a young person grappling with how to respond to the Iraq war. From there he could never quite go back, and has been grateful to learn from incredible groups working towards change for everything from jail expansion to LGBTQ issues in faith communities, from mountaintop removal to militarism, and wage theft to local foods. Jacob graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a degree in Peacebuilding and Development. Jacob is thrilled to be joining the team at KFTC after several rewarding years spent working at the Hindman Settlement School.

 Tyler is KFTC’s Tax Justice Organizer and supports our state-wide work to create a fairer and more equitable tax code. He is the co-owner of Homeplace High Adventure, an outdoor adventure guiding company that teaches backcountry skills and guides groups into the wilderness of eastern Kentucky. He grew up a 3rd generation flatlanding Floridian, often found catching alligators in the Everglades before moving to Lexington in 2012 with his now wife Cara. He has organized around ending modern slavery with the Coalition for Immokalee Workers, getting young people involved in the electoral process with the Florida YES Coalition, and passing comprehensive energy transition legislation with the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition. He spends most of his free time playing in the Red River Gorge, planting fruit trees, and listening to podcasts.

Nikita grew up in Louisville and is a KFTC Organizing Apprentice at the Lexington office. Nikita is a 2016 graduate of the Dual BA Program between Columbia University and Sciences Po, where she received degrees in Human Rights and Political Science. After five years away, Nikita has returned to Kentucky to work on the issues she feels most passionate about, in the place she calls home, with the organization that first sparked her interest in activism. In the past, Nikita has participated in the Humanity in Action John Lewis Fellowship for civil and human rights, organized with Columbia Divest for Climate Justice, and served as a summer organizer with the Responsible Endowments Coalition. Most recently, she completed a Fulbright research grant in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, where she studied community participation in responses to climate change.

Jessie began with KFTC in 2013 and works as a Program Associate. She is a graduate of the University of Louisville with a degree in graphic design and worked in that field for four years. She also holds a Master's Degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University, with an emphasis on sustainable development. Jessie enjoys cooking, traveling, shopping for books, and she lives in Johnson County with her dog Marley. 

DeBraun Thomas is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Lexington in 2008. After graduating from the University of Kentucky in 2012, he began working as an intern at Lexington's NPR station WUKY and was brought on staff in 2013. History and storytelling are big passions of his and he was able to do both in producing The Unghosting of Medgar Evers (2012) and a documentary on the March on Frankfort (2013) for WUKY. DeBraun does a weekly feature on local musicians in Lexington called Local Music Monday and is also the host of the Crunkadelic Funk Show which airs Saturdays at 9pm on WUKY.  Speaking out on social issues is something he's felt is his duty as a person of color. In 2016 DeBraun founded the Take Back Cheapside Movement, a coalition of various organizing groups with the goal of removing confederate statues located at Cheapside, the site of a former slave market in Lexington. In addition to producing radio features and organizing, DeBraun also spends his time writing and performing music. He released his first album, All My Colors Are Blind, in 2015 and continues to perform regionally with his band. DeBraun is looking forward to working with KFTC and gathering more tools to use in the fight against oppression.