Using the newly published, Power and Just Transitions: Struggles for a Post-Coal Future in an Appalachian Valley, as a starting point, the discussion will focus on West Virginia’s lived experience: the enduring influence of the coal industry, shifting political dynamics, the rise of Trumpism, investigative journalism’s role in exposing corporate power, and emerging grassroots efforts to build more equitable and sustainable futures.

We are thrilled to welcome four featured panelists:

-Ken Ward Jr., Founding Editor-in-Chief and President of Mountain State Spotlight and long-time environment and energy reporter

-Barbara Ellen Smith, scholar-activist who focuses on labor, race and gender in Appalachia and the U.S. South

-John Gaventa, political sociologist and engaged scholar and author of Power and Just Transitions: Struggles for a post-coal future in an Appalachian Valley

-Gabe Schwartzman, Assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Tennessee who studies climate change, rural development, and the energy transition