25 to watch in 2025: Appalachian media, arts nonprofit has new director at crucial time
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25 to watch in 2025
The Lexington Herald-Leader is tracking 25 individuals we expect will be making news in 2025.
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Editor’s note: The Herald-Leader is profiling 25 individuals we think will be making news in 2025.
Name: Tiffany Sturdivant
Why is she someone to watch in 2025?
Sturdivant, 37, a former nurse and community organizer, joined Appalshop in September 2020 and was named executive director in September 2024.
Appalshop is a community media and arts organization founded in 1969, with a mission that includes using education, media, theater, music and other arts to document, disseminate, and revitalize the traditions and contemporary creativity of Appalachia, tell stories others don’t and challenge stereotypes about the region.
It includes a radio station, WMMT at 88.7 FM; the Roadside Theater performance group, currently on hiatus; and the June Appal record label, which showcases Appalachian music.
It also makes films; trains young film makers and musicians; produces public-interest programming; and maintains an archive of thousands of hours of film, videotape and audio recordings, as well as photographs, and print materials covering nearly a century of life and history in Appalachia.
Sturdivant took over as executive director as Appalshop continues working to recover from record flooding on the North Fork of the Kentucky River that badly damaged its building in downtown Whitesburg and soaked many items in the archive.
The organization is working with companies to clean, dry out and restore as many items as possible from the archives. More than two years after the flood, it still has items in cold storage, designed to prevent mold growth until the items can be cleaned.
What does she expect in 2025?
Sturdivant said work will continue on developing a new studio in downtown Whitesburg for WMMT, as well as on raising money to salvage and restore items from the archive.
She said she hopes to finish most of the restoration work in 2025.
Appalshop is waiting on information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) about a buyout of the flooded building in Whitesburg it had occupied since 1982.
That will inform decisions on what to with that space.
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Appalshop rented office space in Jenkins and also bought a historic building on a hill overlooking the town that was initially constructed as a coal-company hospital in about 1913, so faces decisions on developing that building, Sturdivant said.
Appalshop also is doing some organizational restructuring, she said.
“The non-profit world has changed so much and we want to make sure that we are doing a service to our staff internally and also externally to our community,” she said.
What others say about Sturdivant:
“Tiffany is definitely someone to watch in 2025 but you better not blink or you might miss her. She is everywhere in Appalachian Kentucky and beyond making friends and developing connections,” said film maker Mimi Pickering, director of the Community Media Initiative and All Access EKY for Appalshop.
“Tiffany understands and articulates the ways in which arts and cultural work can heal, rebuild and strengthen individuals and communities that have experienced too many downturns. Artists, cultural workers, health care providers, social service professionals, educators, economic developers, local politicians, community organizers, everyday folks, you name it. She has gone out of her way to introduce herself, learn what others are doing, and talk with them about how we can work together. Tiffany has amazing energy, enthusiasm and empathy and is a wonderful ambassador for Appalshop.
Pickering said Appalshop has gone through some tough times because of the flood and the COVID-19 pandemic, which interrupted many of its programs.
“I look for Tiffany to provide revitalized leadership for Appalshop and to inspire rebuilding, renewal and new programming that benefits Letcher County, East Kentuckians and beyond,” Pickering said.
What do you hope to achieve in 2025?
Sturdivant said that after the disruptions of the pandemic and the flood, she hopes for a renewed focus on “making sure that Appalshop is showing up in community spaces” and on storytelling.
“Hopefully in my first full year as executive director, we’ll be able to be together, we’ll be centered in community, and we’ll be focused on the art, the art of storytelling,” Sturdivant said.
“I hope that Appalshop will be prepared to really push the envelope past superficial, sensationalized coverage. I want us to be, the staff that we’ve got, asking some deep questions about how we can inform economic and social change in Appalachia.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM.
