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Appalachian Leadership Institute Connects Leaders Across 13-State Region

2025–2026 Appalachian Leadership Institute graduating class in Charleston, West Virginia. Photo courtesy of ARC.


The Appalachian Leadership Institute is preparing for its next annual cohort after another successful year of leadership training, field visits, and cross-state collaboration across Appalachia.

The institute was developed by the Appalachian Regional Commission in partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tuskegee University, and Collective Impact, LLC. The program consists of eight months of leadership and economic development for people living or working in Appalachia. Each year, 40 fellows are brought together from all 13 Appalachian states for six sessions held across the region.

This past year’s cohort traveled to sessions ranging from Dalton, Georgia, to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, before graduating in Charleston, West Virginia, where graduates received an Appalachian Leadership Institute certificate from ARC and the University of Tennessee. One of the sessions was held in Knoxville, where fellows visited the culinary program at Pellissippi State Community College and explored workforce and community-development efforts in East Tennessee.

Members of the 2025–2026 Appalachian Leadership Institute cohort during a regional program session. Photo courtesy of ARC.


UT faculty also directly contributed to the curriculum—Don Bruce, a professor in the Haslam College of Business, provided fellows with an overview of the Appalachian economy during the program’s kickoff in Ashland, Kentucky. During the Dalton session, Elis Vllasi, senior director of academic operations and teaching associate professor in UT’s College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies, led a discussion on artificial intelligence, while representatives from his college brought interactive technologies, including robotic dogs, for fellows to experience firsthand.

The 2025–2026 class also included three fellows from Tennessee: Noel Durant, who leads a land conservation trust in Chattanooga; Allen Foster, mayor of Cumberland County; and UT alumnus Josh Smith, a longtime former news anchor in the Tri-Cities who now works for Ballad Health.

Along with this annual cohort of established professionals, the institute supports students who are preparing for careers in public service. Each year, ALI includes a student fellow from the Appalachian region who is supported through a full assistantship. Former student fellows have gone on to roles in housing, regional planning, development, and higher education. The current student fellow is Cadyn Crouse of Galax, Virginia.