Cowan Staff

Stacy Dollarhide is the Administrative Assistant at Cowan Community Action Group, Inc. She began her work in February 1992 serving as the secretary/treasurer of the CCAG Board and volunteer recordkeeper. In 1994, she began work as a bookkeeper and assisted with the Letcher County Save the Children program. Through the years she has served in various roles and work with CCAG including the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School. 

Steve Ruth is a life-long communicator. He sold his first newspaper story at 13 and continues to write for print media over 50 years later. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater with minor study in Media from Centre College. Steve’s professional career has been varied and dynamic. It has included 10 years with the IBM Corporation producing educational and promotional media for a worldwide audience, 8 years at Appalshop as a fundraiser, radio producer and web development director, 10 years as the Adventure Tourism liaison for Elkhorn City, KY and 6 years as the Coordinator of the Levitt AMP Whitesburg Music Series. He’s been mostly involved in community work for the last 20 years. In his spare time, Steve is either playing music or trying to find something new to listen to. If the weather’s nice he’s either kayaking or hiking in the Breaks.

Abby Maggard is a ACC AmeriCorps Member with Cowan Community Action Group. She is a devoted community member and garden enthusiast from Viper, Kentucky. As the Grow Appalachia Coordinator and City of Whitesburg Farmers Market Coordinator, Abby cultivates connection and growth within the community. Inspired by her family’s gardening traditions, Abby tends to her own garden with love and care. When she’s not working, Abby enjoys spending time with her family, planting flowers, thrifting and decorating her home. Her passion for community, family and Appalachian heritage shines through in every aspect of her life. 

Mandy Fleming coordinates the Kids on the Creek and youth programs for Cowan Community Action Group, an engaging summer camp designed for local children, providing them with unique opportunities to explore a wide range of artistic disciplines, music, sciences, and cooking. Mandy believes that education should be fun, and she strives to create memorable experiences through exciting instructional sessions and educational field trips that inspire curiosity and creativity.

With a passion for Appalchian culture, Mandy loves to see mountain folks thriving. Through her interests in film and photography, Mandy is always seeking innovative ways to incorporate visual storytelling into her work, enhancing the educational experiences of the youth she serves. She hopes to pass along the utilization of these mediums to the next generation.

Yoko Nogami is an interdisciplinary artist, born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She resides in Letcher County of Eastern Kentucky drawn by her passion for old time music and banjo playing.  She serves as Cultural Arts Specialist for Cowan Community Action Group Inc. and as an independent artist consultant focusing as an advocate for arts education accessibility for all, representing marginalized populations of Kentucky and preservation of old-time music and traditional arts. As an interdisciplinary artist, she uses diverse media from drawing, painting, photography, performance, video and digital media, choosing ones which align best with her concepts. As an educator, her experiences range as the Department Chair at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida, adjunct professor of art at the University of South Florida, University of Tampa, Hillsborough Community College and the Art Institute of Tampa, also as an interdisciplinary artist resident at the Creative Clay (teaching Developmentally Disabled Adults through the Pinellas County School Extended Transitions Program), Youth Arts Corps with at-risk youth and Visual Art faculty for Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan.

A native of Eastern Kentucky and graduate from University of Kentucky, James is dedicated to developing methods and implementing processes that preserve, enhance, and restore natural stream function, in the coalfields of Appalachia. For the past 25 years James has provided technical consulting for hundreds of stream projects involving the private sector, as well as state and federal agencies. As an environmental scientist and lifelong resident of Central Appalachia, it is his goal to better understand the unique circumstances and challenges of restoring and preserving our creeks and rivers, in the coalfields. In short, he has lived a lifetime and earned a living playing in the creek!

In the golden years of my scientific career, he is striving to become an amateur ecologist that can see through haze of the scientific method and just continue playing in the creek, unencumbered by academics, gurus, and experts. He feels fortunate that his Appalachian experience has instilled a sense of gratitude for the natural world, and the rich culture we share in these hills and valleys.

He believes that our streams are our greatest natural resource, and the value of good, unpolluted water is essential for a high quality of life. His goal is to encourage the scientific community and citizen scientists alike to work together to provide comprehensive data that can be used to provide practical solutions that can be implemented to sustain our most precious resource.

He is humbled and honored to be a small part of the Cowan community and excited to be around good people, doing good things.

Sam grew up in Harlan County and moved away from the area for over a decade. They recently returned to the mountains they once called home and currently run a farm with their spouse in Letcher County. Sam attended college in Minnesota and worked towards a fine arts degree with a focus on community theater. In the past, they have collaborated with the Higher Ground program in their hometown of Cumberland, collecting stories from locals and helping to preserve Appalachian oral history.

At Cowan, Sam serves as an Americorps VISTA by being a communicator and event coordinator. They assist in planning our Growing Home festival, Kids on the Creek camp, farmers’ market, SOURCE newsletter, and a variety of other programs.

In their personal life, Sam is a human rights activist and environmentalist, as well as a new parent. Their interests include art, music, cats, foraging, cosmetics, video games, and tabletop roleplaying.

Debi joined the Cowan team as our intern liaison with a foundation of hard work, resilience, and resourcefulness deeply rooted in community.  This is the result of being the proud daughter of a coal miner father and household CEO mother who lived on a small rural farm in eastern Kentucky.  She married her high school sweetheart, an entrepreneur, and together they have one son who manages a third-generation family-owned local business.

After retirement as a teacher educator, she directed multiple research projects targeted at healthy communities focusing on nutritious food choices along with air and water quality. In addition to her work, she is active in her church, is a big UK basketball fan, and is a self-proclaimed eclectic interior enthusiast.

Being a member of AmeriCorps VISTA affords her the opportunity to continue community work with us through capacity building, resource development, and promoting economic opportunities.

Debbie Cook is focused on supporting and strengthening community-based programs that advance environmental stewardship, local food systems, and community engagement while collaborating with the Cowan Community Action Group organization team and their partners.

 Debbie is a retired secretary, a forever farmer and ecosystem conservator, and restorer who loves her family and being outdoors. Whether she is working in her garden or playing with her grandchildren, Debbie tries to nurture and grow her surroundings. She looks forward to working closely with CCAG staff, volunteers, partner organizations, farmers, and community members to help provide the support, tools, education, and information to sustain and improve the overall health of the community and the ecosystem.

Kelly is a lifelong member of Letcher County with 20+ years of exploring other regions of Kentucky with the Army National Guard. Working storm duties, flood recoveries, and pandemic response, he is experienced in seeing vision and commitment immediately alleviate crisis suffering. He understands that a vibrant and functional community is a resilient one and prepared for any future crisis. He sees a duty in supporting any and all community activities as these create potentially lifesaving connections.

Dr. K. Michelle Lewis is an educator, percussionist, author, and researcher who is passionate about using music and the arts to strengthen communities and support health and well-being. As the new Community Arts and Engagement Coordinator of Health and Wellness at Cowan Community Action Group, she brings extensive experience in music education, percussion performance, and community drum circle facilitation to her work in Appalachia.

Michelle holds a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Kentucky, a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from Rutgers University, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from Morehead State University. Her research explores the connections between group drumming, mindfulness, and social-emotional learning. She is a registered Remo HealthRHYTHMS Facilitator and serves as an adjunct professor of percussion at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, where she also coordinates the percussion studies program, overseeing the percussion ensemble and private percussion studio.

Michelle believes that the arts can create meaningful opportunities for self-expression, stress reduction, connection, and belonging. In her role at Cowan, she looks forward to developing inclusive intercultural arts and wellness programs that bring people of all ages together to nurture individual and collective well-being. She is excited to be part of a community that values creativity, connection, and the power of the arts to make a positive difference in people’s lives.