ENROLL WITH THRIVE APPALACHIA and Discover the Joy of Learning

Elizabeth O'Hagen has always loved animals.  That love grew into a career as a Veterinary Assistant and Animal Hospital Manager.  After leaving the profession, I continued working with animals through pet-sitting services and temporary animal fostering.  At last count, I have fostered over 600 animals. My daughter, Maura, shares a love of animals and became a Registered Veterinary Technician in 2022.

Maggie Cline was introduced to Genesis bows for teaching archery in a summer camp setting while living in the Midwest.  Now that she has returned to North Carolina, she enjoys sharing this sport with grandchildren and youth groups.

Bryon Towler, President of Broken Wheel Ministries, is a mechanic who believes in serving his community through low cost auto repair and replacement as well as community education programs.

Jonathan Sheppard is the owner of ShepCo Outdoors/Jon's Small Engine Repair in Elk Park. He has a passion for the business as well as working with young people to help them build their future. 

 Learn safe food handling, sanitation, and other basic baking techniques.

Paul Lundquist, our blacksmith teacher for the second year, has made his living as a blacksmith since 1973. His work began with small objects sold at craft fairs and progressed through large architectural ironwork commissions at Mountain Air and many other places including a major movie set. He has taught blacksmithing classes at Mayland Community College for 6 years as well as at his studio where he now makes specialty tools.

 Jon Pertee is the owner of KSPhillips Contracting and is the Board President of Asheville's Tool Lending Library. He has been building, tinkering and observing the underlying systems in home construction before he could even walk. His grandfather got him into his shed workshop using hand tools, and around age 8 a neighborhood teenager taught him to repair bicycles and skateboards which led to ramp building and a better understanding of structural engineering. His skill was further refined by a family friend who taught how to build radio controlled airplanes from scratch in his early teens. Raised in a family of public school educators, it is no wonder he has a passion for teaching youth!

  Keenan Phillips has been building homes in Yancey County since 1986. He currently works for Equinox Woodworks, designing and building custom homes. Over the years, he has helped train numerous apprentice carpenters in the skills for building homes.

MaryLee Yearick is a CCR &R coordinator at Blue Ridge Partnership for Children. One of her specialties is teaching and certifying individuals in the areas of first aid and CPR for the American Red Cross.

Matt Michel caught his first fish at 2 years old. This started a lifelong passion for fishing. As a member of the Southern Appalachian Anglers, he strives to teach others about the sport.

 Hearth Glass & Gallery is an open-access blown glass studio located in Burnsville, NC, that houses fully custom, high-quality glass-blowing equipment, a cold-working studio, and a public gallery. Hearth Glass & Gallery was founded in March 2022 by fourth-generation glassworker Keikichi Littleton. Hearth aims to provide education and access for aspiring and professional glass artists to create and market their artwork in the Toe River Valley. We honor the legacy of Harvey K. Littleton by tending flame for future generations of glass artists. 

Lanny Heidenfelder, co-owner of Quilt-n-Code in Burnsville, is a retired IBM employee who worked in various software and education roles. He also conducts a Robotics Camp each year.

   Robin Ollis, a lifelong equestrian enthusiast, founded Elk Mountain Riding Co. She has a goal of sharing her passion for horses with others. star. 

Ruthie Styles has been making jewelry using a variety of materials since 1989. Her love of anything that sparkles and learning new techniques is the inspiration behind her creations. Ruthie has worked to improve the lives of young children and their families in Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties for many years and loves seeing the spark of creativity in young people happen so they have something they enjoy creating as much as she enjoys making jewelry

Sarah Cody discovered the beauty in needle felting. Wool is a fascinating medium to work with. Shrinking a sweater in the dryer by mistake is one thing but having wool do what you want it to do and creating something beautiful makes it art! And once I understood what happened when I poked it with a needle, I had to keep going! I love how there are so many ways to get expressive with wool. 

Kat Turczyn has loved drawing and painting since she was 3 years old . While seated on the ground with a bunch of other 3-year-olds, watching a teacher show them how to draw a human figure at Humpty Dumpty Preschool, Kat recalls thinking, "I can do better than that."

Little Blackberry Creek pottery started with Morgan's mother Lynda Gayle Banner in 2002 and she started a few years later in 2006. Their pottery is heavily inspired by the natural world around them, especially their home mountains. They like their work to be both decorative and functional and believe everyone should be able to afford a beautiful piece of art. She's proud to have their work in several local galleries and in many privet collections, including those of former presidents, many local officials, and even the occasional pop star. 

Evelyn "L" Robinson has been sewing with her mother since she was 5 years old. She won her high school's home economics award two years in a row. She sewed her own wedding dress, her husband's groom's jacket and her bridesmaids dresses for her wedding, and has made the entire wedding party's apparel for several others. L has the ability to get inspiration from a dress or blouse that someone is wearing, to draw it, to make an original pattern and create her own design. L teaches both our sewing classes and is spearheading the design and creation of our signature boiled wool jackets.

Tal Galton, naturalist and lead guide, is the owner of Snakeroot Ecotours. He has been guiding people to wild places for 30 years.

   Lucas Hundley began turning as a child and became accomplished enough to be recognized by the American  Woodturner's Association while in high school. He has studied in Japan, and attended the Appalachian Center for Craft at Tennessee Tech University where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.