Advancing a future filled with possibility for all Appalachians.

Multiple layers of blue mountain ridges under a pale sky with a faint silhouette of a snow-capped mountain in the distance.

Welcome to the Appalachian Futures Institute!

We are a community-rooted Appalachian collective that identifies exceptional local models, tells their stories, and translates them into practical, replicable tools.

We then partner with communities to adopt and adapt these ideas, strengthening education, economic opportunity, cultural vitality, and civic life across the region.

Our Work

Multiple layers of mountains receding into the distance with a forested area in the foreground.
Sunset over a small downtown street with shops and cafes, some people sitting and walking, parked cars, streetlights, traffic signals, and a neon sign on a brick building.

Our team of ambitious, connected, and rooted Appalachian leaders lead with genuine curiosity, rigorous methodology, and ingenuity to spark meaningful action across Appalachian communities.

We connect with leaders across Appalachia to highlight impactful programs, policies, and practices that are creating a bright future for our region. As a team, we support leaders in replicating and adapting highlighted programs in their own communities and organizations.

Our work spans four core domains.

Education

AFI advances learning experiences that are rooted in place, purpose, and possibility; ensuring young people gain the skills, confidence, and agency to shape their own futures. We lift up innovative, community-connected models that move beyond test scores to honor creativity, critical thinking, and real-world impact.

Economic Development

AFI supports pathways to meaningful, sustainable work by uplifting efforts that strengthen local talent, entrepreneurship, and regionally grounded industries. We focus on economic strategies that allow Appalachian communities to thrive without extraction, displacement, or leaving home behind.

Cultural Wealth

AFI celebrates Appalachia’s ever-evolving stories, traditions, arts, and lived knowledge as assets rather than artifacts. By investing in cultural expression and preservation, we help communities reclaim narrative power and pass pride, identity, and belonging to current and future generations.

Civic Engagement & Renewal

AFI cultivates civic leadership that is ethical, informed, and rooted in community care. We support efforts that rebuild trust in democratic processes, elevate and incorporate youth voice, and equip people to participate meaningfully in shaping the decisions that affect their lives.

Appalachian Futures

Strategic Archetype Assessment

Define Your Methodology

Effective change requires an ecosystem of roles: builders, storytellers, defenders, and visionaries. This diagnostic connects your instincts to the Four Domains of AFI and the historical figures who defined them.

Meet the Team

  • Smiling man with red hair and beard wearing a red checkered shirt in an art gallery or office with art on the wall.

    Rob Collins, Ed.D.

    FOUNDER

  • A young man with medium-length brown hair, wearing a patterned button-up shirt, standing outdoors with a background of trees and greenery.

    Dixon Cline

    PARTNER

  • Portrait of a young man with glasses smiling, wearing a checkered shirt and a white t-shirt, against a black background.

    Ford Edwards

    PARTNER

  • A woman with long brown hair smiling outdoors with yellow flowers in the background.

    Samantha Nygaard

    PARTNER

  • A smiling man in a blue suit jacket and light blue shirt standing in front of a cityscape backdrop with a river.

    Christian Turner

    PARTNER

Let's Keep in Touch

Interested in implementing an innovative program, policy, or practice in your Appalachian community? Fill out the form below and a member of our team will reach out to you to discuss next steps.