100 Days in Appalachia
Rachel Molenda is a seasoned editorial and digital media professional with extensive experience in photography and content management. Currently serving as Associate Editor for Special Projects at 100 Days in Appalachia since September 2024, Rachel previously held the role of Digital Photo Editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where responsibilities included managing images for the website and social media, developing visual stories, and training staff in image publication standards. Rachel's background also includes positions such as Digital Media Manager at The Salt Lake Tribune, where Rachel crafted an effective social media strategy that significantly increased audience engagement, and various roles in journalism and photography at organizations like SLUG Magazine and The Charleston Gazette. Rachel graduated from Shepherd University with a BFA in Photography/Computer Imagery in 2011.
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100 Days in Appalachia
The 2016 election revealed the deep social, economic and political fractures stressing communities —and American discourse — to the breaking point. While the nation’s growing rural/urban divide attracts a global audience and a steady stream of analysis in the election’s aftermath, in Appalachia we are no strangers to the issues at hand. We are these communities. “100 Days in Appalachia” is an experimental project designed to burst the filter bubble of social news and to narrate the new American landscape from within the heart of a region dubbed "Trump Nation" 100 days at a time. We'll tell the political, economic and human stories of communities that are more complex than national narratives have allowed. This is a collaborative project from West Virginia University's Reed College of Media, West Virginia Public Broadcasting and The Daily Yonder.