Emily Hilliard
EDUCATION
Masters of Arts in Folklore, August 2011
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Areas of focus: American vernacular music, foodways, women's creative domesticity, ethnography, audio documentary
Thesis: “Vimala Cooks, Everybody Eats: Domesticity, Community, and Empowerment”
Archie Green Fellowship & Merit Fellowship Award Recipient
Bachelor of Arts in English and French, May 2005
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Graduated with Distinction, James B. Angell Scholar
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Folklorist / Berea College
July 2023-present, Berea, KY
· Engage students, campus, and the greater community in collaborative folklife fieldwork documentation projects
· Teach “Introduction To Folklore” and a folklore special topics course each academic year
· Serve as a resource for the campus community in fieldwork documentation, oral history, and the discipline of folklore, including folk arts and culture programming and instruction
· Facilitate student engagement with the folk and traditional arts, folklife fieldwork, and cultural heritage initiatives
Writer & Media Producer
November 2011-present
· Write and produce media pieces for publications including The Bitter Southerner, NPR, Oxford American, Southern Cultures, The Journal of American Folklore, Smithsonian Folklife, The Southern Foodways Alliance, Oxford University Press, Ohio University Press, and West Virginia University Press
· Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia, forthcoming from the University of North Carolina Press, 2022
Affiliated Faculty / Marshall University Graduate Humanities Program
August 2017-present, South Charleston, WV
· Design and teach History and Theory of the Arts and Folklore in Appalachia Today graduate seminars in a unique multidisciplinary graduate program with an Appalachian Studies Certificate
Program Director, Folk and Traditional Arts / Mid Atlantic Arts
September 2021-June 2023, Baltimore, MD (remote)
· Directed Central Appalachia Living Traditions, a comprehensive, multi-year program to promote the recognition and understanding of folk arts and culture in Appalachian counties of Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia
· Forged partnerships with cultural organizations such as the National Association of Black Storytellers and Berea College’s Grow Appalachia to support and celebrate underrecognized Appalachian artists and practitioners through the Appalachian Black Storytellers Fellowships and the Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellowships, respectively
· Managed National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and private funder-supported folk and traditional arts grant program for the Mid-Atlantic region, serving as a regional advocate for folklorists, culture workers, and traditional artists
· Supervised contractors and full-time folk and traditional arts staff
State Folklorist / West Virginia Humanities Council
November 2015-September 2021, Charleston, WV
· Directed and built dynamic state folklife program through fieldwork and outreach with traditional artists, practitioners, and cultural communities
· Fostered media partnerships with organizations including West Virginia Public Broadcasting, The Southern Foodways Alliance, and The American Folklife Center
· Established West Virginia Folklife Collection at West Virginia University Libraries, an archival collection of over 2,500 items documenting the vernacular culture, occupational skills, and creative expressions of contemporary tradition bearers, folk artists, and cultural communities across West Virginia; one of the few archival collections devoted to contemporary culture in Appalachia
· Developed and managed partnership and project grants from the NEA and other funders
· Facilitated strong communications network, including active social media platforms which grew to 9,000+ followers under my direction
Marketing Coordinator / Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
July 2012-October 2015, Washington, D.C.
· Managed multimedia communications and social media for non-profit record label of the Smithsonian Institution; doubled Instagram audience within first 6 months and grew other social media platforms by thousands
· Album co-producer, Ella Jenkins’ More Multicultural Songs and Tribute to Jack Hardy
· Production assistant, Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection
· Initiated and managed new guest-curated playlist series, engaging a new diverse audience
· Managed and supervised Marketing & Sales intern and volunteer team
Folklorist & Project Manager / Sandy Spring Museum/Maryland Traditions
November 2013-June 2014, Sandy Spring, MD
· Conducted, created, and presented fieldwork survey and report of Sandy Spring traditional artists and tradition bearers, launching the Maryland Traditions Regional Folklife Center’s folk arts and culture programming
Lecturer / University of Michigan’s New England Literature Program
February 2008-July 2014, Alton Bay, NH
· Taught place-based American literature, creative writing, history, and folklife undergraduate courses for intensive spring semester program
· Researched, developed, and implemented class curriculum and program administration
Director & Editor / Longhouse Scholars Program
May 2013-January 2014, Rensselaerville, NY
· Oversaw all operations, planning, and execution of food media education program, supervising and editing student writing and multi-media documentaries
· Edited The LongHouse Chronicle print publication
Program Coordinator / National Council for the Traditional Arts
June 2011-August 2012, Silver Spring, MD
· Curated and moderated demonstrations, performances, and panels at national and regional folk festivals
· Coordinated communications and social media for festivals and NEA National Heritage Awards Fellowships
INTERNSHIPS
American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, 2009
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2008
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Journal of American Folklore, Film and Video Reviews Editor, 2019-present
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum Board Member, 2022-2024
Appalachian Studies Association’s 45th Annual Appalachian Studies Conference, Local Planning Committee, 2022
Appalachian Food Summit Board Member, 2018-2022
Grants Review Panelist for organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Ohio Arts Council, Folk Art PA, and Maryland Traditions, 2012-present
WOMM, WXYC, Radio CPR, and WBER Radio Host, 2009-present
AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS
Finalist, Weatherford Award for Nonfiction for Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia, 2022
American Folklife Center Brenda McCallum Prize Winner for the West Virginia Folklife Collection, 2022
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress Archie Green Fellow, 2021-2022
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress Gerald E. and Connie L. Parsons Fund Award recipient, 2018
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress Henry Reed Fund Award recipient, 2016
Appalshop Performing our Future Forum fellow, 2016
Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Travel Grant recipient, 2015
Berea College Appalachian Sound Archives Fellow, 2014
The Kitchn Best Sweets & Baking Blog finalist, 2014
Southern Foodways Alliance Greenhouse Film Grant recipient, 2013
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
Guest Lecturer, Appalachian Folklore class, West Virginia University, February 2022; Appalachian Folklore class, George Mason University, April 2018; Senior English Seminar, Fairmont State University, April 2016; Folklore Graduate Seminar, West Virginia University, March 2016; American Studies Foodways Seminar, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, March 2013
Guest Faculty, Vermont Folklife Center Discovering Community Summer Institute, August 2019
Visiting Presenter, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, January 2019
Panelist, Field Recording Panel, Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN, March 2018
“Documenting Folklife and Foodways in West Virginia,” presenter in "Cornbread Convocations and Dancin’ Dumplin’s: Engaged Scholarship Programs in Appalachian Foodways" panel, Appalachian Studies Association 40th Annual Appalachian Studies Conference, March 2017
"Beyond Apprenticeships: Innovations and New Models in Statewide Folk Arts Programs," panelist, American Folklore Society and International Society for Folk Narrative Research Joint Annual Meeting, 2016
“Writing from Family Recipes,” Food writing workshop teacher at Hindman Settlement School's Dumplin's and Dancin', 2015
“Uncovering Lead Belly: Considering Huddie Ledbetter’s Previously Unreleased Recordings,” panel moderator and presenter, Association for Recorded Sound Collections Annual Conference, 2015
Kitchen Culture: Subversive Domesticity panel moderator, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, 2014
Instrument Maker Panel moderator, Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival, 2012
"Vimala Cooks, Everybody Eats: Domesticity, Community, and Empowerment," North Carolina Folklore Society Annual Meeting, 2011 & the American Folklore Society Annual Meeting, 2010
BOOKS AND BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS
Making Our Future: Visionary Folklore and Everyday Culture in Appalachia, forthcoming, UNC Press, 2022.
“‘The Reason We Make These Deep Fat-Fried Treats:’ In Conversation with the Rosettes of Helvetia, West Virginia,” in The Food We Eat, The Stories We Tell: Contemporary Appalachian Tables, edited by Elizabeth S.D. Engelhardt with Lora E. Smith, Ohio University Press, 2019.
Co-editor, 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike, edited by Elizabeth Catte, Emily Hilliard, and Jessica Salfia, Belt Publishing, 2018.
Foreword to Folk Songs from the West Virginia Hills by Patrick Gainer, West Virginia University Press, 2017.
Foreword to The West Virginia Pepperoni Roll by Candace Nelson, West Virginia University Press, 2017.
Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo entries in Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia (2015), edited by Lucy M. Long. Roman and Littlefield, pp. 24-27, 157-159, 533.
Cotton Candy, Nutella, and Oreos entries in James Beard Award finalist The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets (2015), edited by Darra Goldstein. Oxford University Press, pp. 190-191, 487-488, 493-493.
SELECTED PEER REVIEWED WORK
Album review of Blind Alfred Reed: Appalachian Visionary, liner notes by Ted Olson, Dust-to-Digital, 2015. The Journal of American Folklore 133, no. 528 (2020): 252-53.
Book review of Peggy Seeger: A Life of Music, Love, and Politics. By Jean R. Freedman. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2017. Journal of the Society for American Music, 13(3), 390-392.
"Building a Broom By Feel: Jim Shaffer," in Southern Cultures: Things Issue, Fall 2017.
“Written and Composed by Nora E. Carpenter: Song Lyric Scrapbooks, Home Recordings, and Self-Documentation,” in Southern Cultures: Documentary Arts Issue, Spring 2016.
OTHER SELECTED PUBLISHED WORK (Additional writing clips here)
“Something Deeply Rooted: The Invisible Landscape of Breece D’J Pancake’s Milton, West Virginia,” Oxford American, Fall 2021 Southern Literature Issue.
“A Soup Recipe: Questions and Interpretive Instructions for a Present Process and Future Meal,” co-authored with Rebecca Wright, Ecotone, Summer 2020.
"One Year in Helvetia," Bitter Southerner, February 2017.
“The Anthropology of Pie.” Sift Magazine, Fall 2015.
“Swiss Village + West Virginia + Mardi Gras = Fasnacht,” NPR The Salt, February 17, 2015.
“Heavenly Work: The Fleeting Legacy of the Shakers,” Ecotone Fall/Winter 2014.
SELECTED MEDIA & DOCUMENTARY WORK
"Building a Broom by Feel: An Interview with James Shaffer" audio documentary and video documentary for West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the West Virginia Folklife Program. Screened at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress' "Reel Folk: Cultural Explorations on Film Event". Aired on Inside Appalachia podcast, West Virginia Morning, and the West Virginia Channel, 2017.
Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project for the Southern Foodways Alliance and West Virginia Folklife Program, 2017.
"Never Whack: George O'Neal of Lil' Farm" audio documentary. In Scene on Radio podcast by John Biewen, The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. 2016.
“The Wharf” short film by Emily Hilliard and Ashley Melzer. Southern Foodways Alliance Greenhouse Grant Recipient, 2013.
“The Billy and Bobby Show” audio documentary. In Recycled. Aired on KGNU Boulder, KZYX Mendocino, KXOT Tacoma, WNIJ Northern Illinois, WMBR Cambridge.
SKILLS
Archival processing & research, Audio and video documentary production, Blogging, Collaborative ethnography, Curation, Editing, Evaluation services, Event planning & coordination, Folklife fieldwork, Grant development, writing & management, Management, Marketing & communications, Oral history, Photography, Public speaking, Radio hosting & production, Recipe development & testing, Social media, Teaching & curriculum development, Transcription, Writing
LANGUAGES
English, French
REFERENCES
Available upon request
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