Handweavers Guild of Boulder

Keynote Speaker
Bethany Chaney

Bethany Chaney, Executive Director of the John C. Campbell Folk School - Keynote Speaker

Bethany Chaney is Executive Director of the John C. Campbell Folk School, a nearly 100 year-old anchor institution in southern Appalachia that offers weeklong and weekend classes for adults in a variety of traditional craft, music, dance, cooking, nature studies, and other disciplines. Founded in 1925 on the Danish non-competitive folk school model, the Folk School hosts nearly 6,000 students annually across 800 classes in addition to a variety of community events, all of which attracting students and visitors from all over the world. Prior to joining the Folk School, Bethany served more than 25 years in a variety of non-profit and public service roles, specializing in resource development, strategic planning, and community and economic development programming. She is an award-winning writer, a former NC Arts Council Fellow, and an avid maker of pine needle baskets, a craft she first nurtured as a Folk School student. Bethany holds a BA from the University of North Carolina and an MBA from Northeastern University. She makes her home in Brasstown, NC.