Fellowships

Christi Scott Bartman

Christi Scott Bartman has been involved in anti-human trafficking efforts in Ohio for over a decade and established Eyes Up Appalachia to illuminate, educate and activate against human trafficking. Working in areas such as law, legislation and advocacy, she saw the need for even more dedicated effort. She left her position as director of public administration, public policy and legal studies at American Public University System and now operates as a compassionate catalyst to push for better ways to address human trafficking and the vulnerabilities that underlie it – specifically poverty and lack of education.

In 2021, she received The Social Justice Leader Award from the University of Toledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute, was a semi-finalist in the Everyday Heroes of Central Ohio and was chosen as one of the inaugural fellows for the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio. She served as the co-chair of the Ohio Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission Research/Gap and Data Analysis Subcommittee until January 2022.

Christi holds an undergraduate degree in business from Appalachian State University, a Master of Public Administration from Troy State University (achieved while on active duty in the U.S. Air Force), a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law and a PhD in policy history from Bowling Green State University. She is also a certified professional coach.

Kari Gunter-Seymour

Kari Gunter-Seymour is the Poet Laureate of Ohio and former City of Athens poet laureate. Her poetry collections include Alone in the House of My Heart (Ohio University Swallow Press, 2022), winner of the “2023 Book of the Year Award” for narrative poetry from the American Book Fest and finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award; A Place So Deep Inside America It Can’t Be Seen (Sheila Na Gig Editions, 2020), winner of the 2020 Ohio Poet of the Year Award; and Dirt Songs (EastOver Press, 2024).

A ninth-generation Appalachian, she is the editor of I Thought I Heard A Cardinal Sing: Ohio’s Appalachian Voices, focused on the unique cultural experiences of poets located in or connected to Appalachian Ohio. The publication won the “2023 Poetry Anthology Best Book Award” from American Book Fest, and funding provided by FAO provided a copy of the anthology to all public libraries in Ohio and to all Appalachian Ohio middle and high schools

A 2016 Jenco Award recipient, she is the executive director of the Women of Appalachia Project and editor of its anthology series, Women Speak. Kari holds writing workshops for incarcerated teens and adults and women in recovery housing. She is a retired instructor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and the founder, curator and host of “Spoken & Heard,” a seasonal performance series featuring poets, writers and musicians from across the country. She was selected to serve as a 2022 Dodge Poetry Festival Poet and is an artist-in-residence for the Writing the Land Project.

Maribeth Wright

Maribeth Wright was a successful CPA for 40 years, working in the nonprofit sector and retiring as principal and CPA at Rea & Associates. She now serves as director of outreach at the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio.

A lifelong resident of Cambridge, Maribeth’s service to FAO and the Appalachian Ohio region runs deep. She is a former member of the FAO Board and is president of the Guernsey County Foundation, which joined FAO in 2004 as the Foundation’s first geographic affiliate. Maribeth’s gifts of time, talent and treasure have been instrumental in growing the Guernsey County Foundation to more than 75 charitable funds with assets totaling more than $15.5 million.

In Guernsey County, Maribeth recently served as a trustee of the Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center, the Agnew Foundation, and the Cambridge Alumni and Friends Education Fund.

Maribeth was recognized by the Cambridge Area Chamber of Commerce with the Distinguished Public Service Award in 2008 and the John Sidlo Award for Vision, Leadership, and Legacy in 2012. She received FAO’s 2017 Chaddock Philanthropist of the Year Award. In 2020, Maribeth received the 2020 Rea & Associates Marcia Stutzman Award for Community Service.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mount Union University.