We talk with Kendra Pospychalla, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a decade of experience in disaster management. She specializes in designing disaster-related service programs and response plans. Kendra currently works for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) as the Director for Disaster Solutions, where she advises rural community and economic development organizations and local governments in their disaster-related efforts.

Julie Rae Powers’ photographic and written work has focused on family history, coal, Appalachia, the queer “female” gaze, the butch body, and queer chosen families. They are the author and editor of the forthcoming Reclamation: Queering Appalachia’s Visual History and the memoir To Thine Own Self Be True, both out in 2024.

Scott Keoni Shigeoka (they/he) is a nationally recognized creative leader and curiosity expert. He has worked with some of the most impactful and influential social movements, leaders, organizations, and celebrities in the past 15 years. Scott has deep roots in rural places; he is from a small town in Hawai‘i and now resides in another small town in the California Mojave Desert. Nhatt Nichols talks with Scott about his work and reframing who and what should be resilient.