Appalachia’s premier networking event, the SOAR Summit presented by Appalachian Wireless and the Appalachian Regional Commission, is ready to kick off in Corbin, KY, August 26–29.
Uniting leaders, innovators, and change makers dedicated to driving economic growth, innovation, and opportunity throughout Eastern Kentucky, the SOAR Summit provides access to inspiring sessions, meaningful connections, and actionable strategies.
The EKY Runway Program team will be joining the SOAR Summit to highlight workforce efforts in Eastern Kentucky and showcase the work of the program. For those passionate about workforce issues in Eastern Kentucky, or just curious, there’s no better chance to hear ideas and have your ideas heard than at the SOAR Summit workforce track sessions.
The 2025 SOAR Summit workforce track will host a variety of sessions from social enterprises in rural America to using workforce data to power rural talent strategy. The tracks are designed to equip and inspire organizations and communities with real-life workforce development strategies and initiatives.
2025 SOAR Summit Workforce Track Sessions
Eastern Kentucky’s workforce is evolving and the SOAR Summit Workforce Track will explore how to equip people not just for jobs, but for purpose-filled lives. The sessions will spotlight the systems, partnerships, and innovations powering inclusive employment and economic mobility in Appalachia.
Work, Wealth, and the Common Good: Social Enterprises in Rural America
Date: Aug 26
Time: 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Location: Corbin Center | Room 103 A-B
In rural places like West Virginia, North Carolina, and Eastern Kentucky, pioneering organizations are building a new kind of economy, one where workers are also owners, businesses solve social problems, and profit is reinvested into place.
This session will bring together three powerful models:
- Coalfield Development: A nationally celebrated workforce and reentry social enterprise model
- The Industrial Commons: A rural North Carolina hub for cooperative manufacturing and ownership
- The EKY Runway Social Enterprise Accelerator: An emerging initiative launching worker-centered ventures in coal-impacted counties
Together, these leaders will explore how social enterprises and employee ownership models (ESOPs, co-ops, trusts) can create lasting change by blending purpose + profit + equity in rural America.
From Insight to Action: Using Workforce Data to Power Rural Talent Strategy
Date: Aug 26
Time: 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m
Location: Corbin Center | Room 103 C-D
In the rapidly evolving labor market of Eastern Kentucky, data is only valuable when it leads to action.
This session will spotlight Futuriti, a dynamic workforce platform built specifically for Kentucky that enables residents, whether job seekers, students, or those in recovery or reentry, to easily explore career pathways, in-demand training, and live job opportunities tailored to their region and personal goals.
Alongside state and national partners KYStats and Lightcast, the session will demonstrate how data tools are no longer just for planners and policymakers. They are for people.
Together, the panel will discuss how integrated labor market data, real-time employer demand, and visual career exploration tools are helping rural Kentuckians make more informed decisions about their future and helping communities align education, workforce, and economic development.
Modern Apprenticeships for a Modern Appalachia: Unlocking Earn-and-Learn Pathways in Eastern Kentucky
Date: Aug 26
Time: 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Location: Corbin Center Room | Room 103 A-B
Apprenticeships are evolving beyond the trades and they’re one of the most effective tools we have to rebuild Eastern Kentucky’s workforce from within.
This session will explore how earn and learn models are being used not only in construction and healthcare, but also in tech, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship. We’ll feature scalable strategies, local success stories, and funding mechanisms to help expand apprenticeships across sectors.
With major employers and education partners embracing flexible, competency-based models, this conversation will highlight how Eastern Kentucky can become a rural leader in modern apprenticeship design.
The Community of Connection: Whole-Person Support for Eastern Kentucky’s Workforce
Date: Aug 26
Time: 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location: Corbin Center | Room 103 A-B
For individuals navigating the path to meaningful employment, healthcare-related barriers (mental and physical) often present the most significant roadblocks.
This panel will explore how access to comprehensive health supports is foundational to workforce re-entry, especially for those long disconnected from traditional employment. Featuring leaders from philanthropy, healthcare, insurance, and social enterprise, the session will highlight how strategic collaboration can help solve entrenched problems around chronic disease, behavioral health, addiction recovery, and benefits navigation.
Framed through the lens of our “whole human” model, the discussion will emphasize how investing in people’s health is inseparable from investing in their economic futures. Panelists will also share how their organizations are stepping up to close critical gaps in care, reduce employment friction, and provide long-term wraparound support.
From Surviving to Thriving: Stories of Change from the EKY Runway Program
Date: Aug 27
Time: 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Location: Corbin Center | Room 103 A-B
Eastern Kentucky is home to some of the most resilient and talented people in the country. But too often, circumstances like addiction, incarceration, and generational poverty have created invisible barriers to employment.
The EKY Runway Program, made possible by a more than $40 million investment through the EDA Recompete Pilot Program, is transforming that reality.
This session brings the model to life through the voices of those who know it best: Runway clients, empowerment coaches, and peer mentors who are walking the long road from surviving to thriving together.
You’ll hear honest, unscripted reflections on what it means to stabilize, rebuild confidence, and pursue purpose-driven work. And you’ll learn how the Runway approach—grounded in trust, mentorship, and individualized support — is helping people not only get jobs, but reclaim their future.
Beyond the Box: Reframing Reentry as Workforce, Community, & Economic Development
Date: Aug 27
Time: 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Location: Corbin Center | Room 103 A-B
In Kentucky — and across America — we often define reentry as a personal journey. But what if it was something more? What if reentry were a community’s opportunity to rebuild trust, reduce barriers, and design systems that actually work?
In this powerful session, Aaron Poynter, Director of Reentry Initiatives for the Kentucky Education & Labor Cabinet, invites attendees to reimagine reentry — not as a siloed service or box to check, but as a strategic workforce, economic, and public health priority.
Drawing from lived experience, statewide innovation, and a career spent building partnerships, Aaron will explore:
- Why justice involvement is a systems issue, not just an individual one
- What it means to be a “reentry-ready” community
- How employers, workforce boards, housing providers, educators, and peer mentors all have a role to play
- How Kentucky is building one of the most comprehensive reentry infrastructures in the nation
This is more than a talk about second chances — it’s a roadmap for sustainable, inclusive, and equitable economic development in places that need it most.
Don’t want to miss these impactful workforce sessions? Choose from three ticket options and save your seat at the SOAR Summit today!
Help Us Shape What’s Next for Eastern Kentucky’s Workforce
From business leaders and entrepreneurs to local government officials and community advocates, the 2025 SOAR Summit provides a space to shape what’s next for Appalachia and Eastern Kentucky’s workforce.
Designed to equip and empower workforce leaders, the workforce track sessions will provide the insights and strategy needed to move our region’s workforce forward.
The EKY Runway Program’s participation with the SOAR Summit workforce track showcases the quality and value of the sessions. With leading voices in workforce efforts from the local and national level, attendees are sure to walk away with practical and applicable insights.
Join the EKY Runway Program at the 2025 SOAR Summit and discover the potential waiting inside the Eastern Kentucky workforce.
Learn more about the EKY Runway Program.
Get your 2025 SOAR Summit ticket.