Saturday, June 14th at 12:00 PM - Sign up here!
Moderator: Lucy Lawrence Ph.d.
Professor of Social Work at Warren Wilson College
Lucy is a farmer's daughter growing up in the central part of North Carolina. She has worked at Warren Wilson College for 22 years, and is currently the chair of the social work department, and director of Inside Out, WWC's higher education in prison program in collaboration with Western Correctional Center for Women. Prior to that, Lucy began her social work career in mental health, moved into community development work in Peace Corps, created international development programming with Oxfam America, and worked in sustainable development through a global study abroad institution. Since joining the faculty at WWC, she has engaged in partnerships with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, Loving Food Resources, Veterans Treatment Court, the Mediation Center of WNC, and Buncombe County Health & Human Services. Lucy's classes have partnered with API since 2014, with students engaging in poverty education and creating community projects like realities of poverty panels and simulations, website contributions, and community-based research. She is currently learning silversmithing and savoring every opportunity to squeeze her local granddaughters, ages 5 and 8.
Rev. Shannon Spencer
Chaplin at Warren Wilson College and founder of API/12 Baskets Cafe.
North Carolina-native and former Executive Director of Asheville Poverty Initiative. Rev. Dr. Shannon Spencer joins Warren Wilson as the Director of Spiritual Life and Chaplain of the College.
Before her time at Warren Wilson, she coached Division I basketball and was the Founder and Executive Director of Asheville Poverty Initiative and the 12 Baskets Cafe. She has a TedTalk and a documentary!
Additionally, she has served as an interfaith chaplain at the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women and served churches in Illinois, California, and North Carolina. Shannon holds a BS in Special Education from Appalachian State University, an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School, and a D. Min. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.
Reflecting on her time in ministry, she writes: “I have had many teachers along the way – some living in gated communities while others behind the gates of prisons and jails. It’s been a beautifully broken journey framed by abundant grace and radical love.”
Brady Rochford
7th/8th Grade Language Arts & Social Studies Teacher at Francine Delany
Brady began her teaching career in Raleigh, North Carolina after graduating with a B.S. in Middle Grades Education from NC State University. While in school there, Brady participated in an international studies program in Pskov, Russia, and worked in farmworker advocacy in rural North Carolina. She obtained her Master’s degree from Appalachian State and her National Certification while working in Watagua County. In 2011, Brady studied indigenous and biological diversity in Oaxaca, Mexico with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Although she looks forward to another international adventure, she is most grateful to be living in Asheville and enjoys the thrill of middle school, running in the woods and spending time with her family.
Adrian Schaefer
Student at University of NC Asheville
Adrian Schaefer is a senior at University of North Carolina at Asheville who is studying Accounting and Professional Writing. Sa is interning this summer at MANNA FoodBank. Outside of my educational pursuits, sa enjoys working with nonprofit organizations both locally and within my identities, including food justice, economic justice, accessibility, and disability rights. Sa recently presented a session on resilience as applied to people with a specific disability at an online international conference for this population and is a panelist on the topic of education about poverty for Asheville Poverty Initiative’s Unlabel Poverty event.
Sa is currently torn between two ultimate career goals. One is to go on to earn sy Master’s degree in Forensic Accounting, while the other is to pursue a dual role in a nonprofit organization wherein sa would serve both as an accountant and as a writer, assisting with grants, calls to action, and other needed documents. In sy spare time, sa enjoys reading science fiction, crafting poetry and a fantasy novel, and training sy dog, who has so far earned two out of five possible levels of AKC Trick Dog titles.
Thornne Garen
Poverty Educator at Asheville Poverty Initiative
Thornne is a U.S. military veteran, a retired tattoo artist, and a former certified peer support specialist. He experienced five years of homelessness, living in a tent. With lived experience informing his perspective, Thornne brings a unique blend of creative and clinical insight to discussions on trauma, identity, and resilience. Now actively engaged in academic and community-based work, he focuses on bridging the gap between experiential knowledge and institutional practice in the field of recovery, mental health, and substance abuse. Thornne is one of the founding poverty educators at API.