Staff

Jonah is a graduate of Berea College and a former KFTC steering committee representative for the Madison County Chapter. As a member of KFTC he has worked on issues around racial justice, immigration rights, LGBT fairness, and voter engagement. Jonah will be working in Eastern Kentucky around New Energy and Transition work in the London office and is excited to support Eastern Kentuckians in shaping just and sustainable communities. He lives in Berea and enjoys hiking.

Tayna Fogle is a mother of two young men, a grandmother of eight, and a basketball player extraordinaire. In order to stand up for the issues that were important to her family, she had to bravely defend against harsh drug sentencing policies and learn to navigate bureaucratic mazes to regain her right to vote. Tayna has created Re-entry programs, trainings and ministries in many Kentucky counties. She has been a motivational speaker and community activist, Developer and past Instructor of “Steppin To A New Beat”, and the Re-entry/Employment Specialist for Ex-Offenders. Tayna has empowered others for 11 years with the Kentuckians For The Commonwealth as she volunteered, worked on campaigns for the right to vote. She is a former felon that paid her debt to society.  She was the captain of a SEC championship basketball team at the University of Kentucky in 1982. She is also a former drug abuser. She spent several years in prison. She believes that her story has inspired and motivated many citizens to take part in this movement of restoring an individual’s self esteem, dignity, and self respect. 

Lesley is a Paducah native with 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 can usually be found taking analog photos or hanging out with her chickens and 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 son.  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.

Kevin is the Canary Project organizer.  After working as an organizing intern with KFTC in 1996, he moved west to work with an organizing group in Montana.  He returned to KFTC as an organizer in 1999.  He has a degree in Environmental Science from Saint Lawrence University.

Heather grew up on a farm in Lewis County, Kentucky and graduated from the University of Louisville more years ago than she'd like to admit.  She came to KFTC in 2005 after working for seven years at Democracy Resource Center, first as project coordinator, then as co-director. She works closely with the Executive Director, helps with foundation fundraising, provides administrative oversight for KFTC, and staffs several of our leadership teams including the Steering Committee, Executive Committee, and Finance Committee.  She lives in Lexington with her son, Kaden.

Caitlin is a member of the Communications & Development Team. She is the co-owner of a small media production company called Numediacy (Numediacy.com) with the mission to create media for the “responsibility movement.” Caitlin has a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Northern Kentucky University and lives in Covington with her partner Jason Gray. She is an active member of the NKY Sierra Club Group and an avid outdoors-woman.

Meredith works as an organizer with the Central Kentucky Chapter of KFTC. She was born and raised in Memphis, but her Kentucky roots are in Bowling Green, where she became a KFTC member with the SOKY Chapter in 2008. A proud Hilltopper for life, Meredith studied English and Social Justice at WKU. In 2016 she moved to Lexington and began producing the KFTC podcast _Power To The People_ on Lexington Community Radio. She loves long distance running, thoughtful media, and togetherness. Check out the podcast here.