Margo Miller is a DJ, poet, avid crafter, cultural activist, creative strategist, documentarian, and most recently added, a Texas Holdem player. She believes art is a powerful tool for organizing and uniting communities, not to mention an essential part of life. She is currently, after serving three years as development director, the executive director of the Appalachian Community Fund.
The Appalachian Community Fund (ACF) encourages and supports grassroots social change in Central Appalachia. ACF works to build a sustainable base of resources to support community-led organizations seeking to overcome and address the underlying causes of poverty and oppression in the region. In my role as executive director, I am committed to building the donor and fund base of ACF to ensure that the legacy of social justice organizing is carried forth with all the richness and courage that are the hallmarks of the region.
She is a daughter of Appalachia, born and raised in East Tennessee. In the early 90’s, after graduating from the University of Tennessee, she started working with the Carpetbag Theatre, a professional, multigenerational ensemble company whose mission is to give artistic voice to the issues and dreams of people who have been silenced by racism, classism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. She worked for several years as a stage manager, project director, arts administrator, and professional actor. She’s currently the board co-chair.
The work with Carpetbag served as a spring board for her work as a community organizer, facilitator, project director, and administrator for several organizations in and out of the region, including the Highlander Research and Education Center, Southern Partnership Fund, Project Change, Southern Rural Development Initiative, Amnesty International, the Kellogg Foundation and many more. Through this work, she formed an even stronger affinity for art and culture.
When she lived in DC, she worked at the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, the Washington Performing Arts Society, and served as stage manager at the Black Luv Festival. I am also a founding director of Mason/Rhynes Productions, which was an arts service organization based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area dedicated to providing quality performing arts workshops, residencies, projects and performances designed to challenge, enlighten and entertain diverse populations. She served as their administrative director and board chair.
Through various networks, like Alternate ROOTS and the National Performance Network, and the amazing people she tend to cross paths with, she has been blessed with the opportunity to work and collaborate with artists, arts organizations, and organizers all over the United States.
She is committed to making a difference in her community by finding ways of building sustainable and resource generating partnerships that benefit and celebrate our diverse and rich culture. For the most part, this keeps her pretty busy, but she religiously makes time for creative expression and play. She am a published poet who is currently frustrated with myself for not writing as often as I would like. She is looking for her muse to assist her with getting a writing project off the ground, a collection of short stories surrounded by haiku and poetry.
She values her time with friends and family and vows to be a kid at heart all her life.