We are pleased to welcome Anna Lora Taylor, Ph.D., as our first program officer for Women’s Fund of East TN. She will be responsible for developing our new network focus along with facilitating the WFET advocacy programs. After an extensive search, we were delighted to find a woman whose background, studies, and relationships throughout our 25-county area, were a perfect match with our mission and position needs.

Anna Lora will support the WFET as we build and fund a strong network of organizations that can work to reduce barriers to “access to education (with mentoring).” Through the new network, WFET seeks to: “Change the current pervasive and discouraging narrative that serves as a barrier to education for low-income women and girls into a cultural mindset that every woman and girl deserves to make the most of herself by taking advantage of opportunities to further her education.”

Anna Lora graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Ph.D. in Counselor Education in July 2017 where she studied the college-decision making process of rural Appalachian youth. Her education and previous work with the PIPEs program, an NIH-SEPA funded program providing college and STEM outreach to rural Appalachian high schools, provided her with a unique skill set matching our network focus. Prior to her doctoral studies, Anna Lora earned a master’s degree in counseling from Austin Peay State University and a bachelor’s degree in Human Services from East Tennessee State University. She has worked in many greater Knoxville counties with schools, young women, as well as governmental agencies and other non-profits. Anna Lora is passionate about working with the community to address needs and develop successful outcomes.

We are delighted to have Anna Lora join us and hope you will join us in her welcome! Please feel free to reach out to Anna Lora at altaylor@wfet.org.