The promise of the American Dream has always been rooted in meaningful work, opportunity, and the ability to build a good life close to home.
In Eastern Kentucky, that promise is being rebuilt every day.
In 2025, Shaping Our Appalachian Region continued its mission to connect talent, opportunity, and community with one clear goal: help 15,000 Eastern Kentuckians get to work by 2035.
Across four interconnected program areas, our team focused on practical solutions, measurable outcomes, and people-first progress.
This is what that work looked like in action.
Job Readiness: Preparing People for What Comes Next
For many people in Eastern Kentucky, their challenge to finding employment isn’t motivation or work ethic. It’s access to training, guidance, and support tailored to where they are right now.
The Eastern Kentucky Runway Program exists to meet people at that moment.
Launched in January 2025, this job readiness and career navigation program is designed to help individuals identify their strengths, remove barriers, and move toward meaningful employment.
Participants receive:
- Personalized training plans
- One-on-one coaching
- Peer mentorship
- Career training
- Wraparound support services
What makes the Eastern Kentucky Runway Program different is the depth of its support that addresses real-life obstacles, from expungement to skill gaps.
The program isn’t built around a one-size-fits-all model. It’s built around real people.
The Eastern Kentucky Runway Program team works closely with each participant to understand their goals, challenges, and opportunities.
They create an employment path that fits the participant’s life, not the other way around.
“Job placement doesn’t eliminate barriers. It often creates new ones. Someone’s car breaks down, childcare falls through, or a window gets broken, and in a moment, they can lose everything they’ve worked for,” says program manager Kirsten Wilburn. “The support has to continue past the job. That’s what we do: We stay with people until stability becomes dignity, and dignity becomes legacy.”
The Social Enterprise Accelerator
Another arm of the Eastern Kentucky Runway Program is the Social Enterprise Accelerator. It’s a mentorship, training, and business growth program that helps local entrepreneurs tackle real community challenges like childcare, housing, transportation, healthcare, or workforce issues.
The first cohort launched and graduated in 2025, with multiple participants starting new businesses and winning funding.
2025 by the Numbers: The Eastern Kentucky Runway Program
In only its first year of implementation, the Eastern Kentucky Runway Program’s scale and impact are clear:
- 1,295 program applicants
- 551 participants in 12 Eastern Kentucky counties
- 4,246 client meetings
- 91 personalized training plans
- 1,725 peer mentorship sessions
- 408 digital certificates awarded
- 384 criminal records expunged
- $14.19 per hour average starting wage for participants
- $5 million in new wages
- 108 people gained meaningful employment
- 81 in-person job placements
- 25 remote work job placements
- 2 hybrid job placements
These numbers represent more than activity. They represent momentum.
Behind each statistic is a person who gained confidence, skills, and a clearer path forward. For example, Michael Shepherd transformed his dead-end job into a dream career through a free coding program.
Individualized support can change not just employment outcomes in Eastern Kentucky, but outlooks and futures.
Take it from program manager Kirsten Wilburn: “When we invest in people, we’re not just fixing a crisis; we’re rebuilding confidence, restoring dignity, and creating a new legacy for families across Eastern Kentucky.”
Job Placement: Turning Preparation into Employment
Preparation matters, but connection is what turns readiness into results.
The Eastern Kentucky Talent Network is a job placement engine, bringing employers and job seekers together through a free membership platform:
- Members gain early access to job opportunities, hiring events, and coaching.
- Employers connect with a motivated, prepared workforce rooted in the region.
The Eastern Kentucky Talent Network works because it’s proactive.
Instead of waiting for layoffs or labor shortages to become crises, the team builds relationships early, supports transitions, and helps both workers and employers plan ahead.
“I never imagined I would walk into a job interview and walk out with an opportunity like this,” says member Bailey Smith.
Building an Employer Pipeline for the Future
Behind every successful placement is intentional relationship-building with employers who are planning not just for today, but for the future.
The Eastern Kentucky Talent Network actively pursues employers in industries with:
- Consistent job openings
- Competitive wages
- Clear advancement pathways
- Roles that align with the skills many Eastern Kentuckians already have
These are jobs that value reliability, technical aptitude, teamwork, and hands-on problem solving, strengths that already exist across the region.
One of the strongest examples is the nuclear energy industry, including hiring events with employers like Framatome. Through these relationships, the Eastern Kentucky Talent Network has connected members to skilled, technical roles that provide stability, growth, and long-term career potential.
“Thanks to Shaping Our Appalachian Region and the Eastern Kentucky Talent Network for connecting me with a job opportunity with Framatome. It’s been lifechanging,” says member Nathaniel Hamilton.
These partnerships don’t happen by chance.
They’re built through trust, understanding employer needs, and ensuring job seekers are prepared and supported before, during, and after hiring.
“I look forward to our next hiring event and am grateful to partner with a group that shares my core values: That all people matter, and that there is real fulfillment in helping someone find meaningful work,” says Darrin Bryant, Manager of the Resource Development Group at Framatome.
This same approach extends to other major employers such as Kentucky Power, where our partnership is creating new pathways to stable, meaningful careers without leaving Eastern Kentucky.
By focusing on industries that are growing and employers who are committed to investing in people, the Eastern Kentucky Talent Network ensures that job placements aren’t just successful on day one, but sustainable over time.
2025 by the Numbers: The Eastern Kentucky Talent Network
In 2025, the Eastern Kentucky Talent Network delivered tangible outcomes:
- 953 new members
- 6,721 new job opportunities
- 3 partner hiring events
- 8 member job placements from the June 2025 Framatome Hiring Event
- 9 member job placements from the October 2025 Framatome Hiring Event
- 12 member job placements from the December 2025 Bluegrass Army Depot Hiring Event
These results represent more than placements or metrics.
For employers, the Eastern Kentucky Talent Network reduces uncertainty in hiring by connecting them with prepared, supported workers who are ready to succeed and stay. For workers, it replaces stress and guesswork with clarity, confidence, and real opportunity at the moment it matters most.
“Framatome’s involvement and interactions with Shaping Our Appalachian Region have been nothing short of spectacular,” says David Bailey, Supervisor of the Resource Development Group at Framatome. “Their experienced leadership and personnel have helped create an amazing partnership that has opened the door for the wonderful people of Eastern Kentucky.”
That impact is felt just as strongly on the individual level.
“The Eastern Kentucky Talent Network was great to work with and made me feel more confident and more comfortable when trying to find a job during a very stressful time in my life,” says member Winter Shockey.
Together, these stories reflect what happens when talent, opportunity, and timing come together with the right support: stronger workers, stronger employers, and a stronger Eastern Kentucky workforce for the long term.
Entrepreneurship and Business Growth: Building the Economy from Within
A strong regional economy depends not only on jobs, but on businesses that start, scale, and stay.
That’s why SOAR Innovation supports entrepreneurs and small businesses through hands-on programming, technical assistance, and access to capital.
SOAR Innovation is one of six Kentucky Innovation Hubs funded by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. It’s focused on practical education, peer connection, and real-world application, helping entrepreneurs in 29 counties of Eastern Kentucky launch, grow, and scale tech and tech-enabled businesses.
“SOAR Innovation has been more than a program — it’s been a bridge. Their guidance, encouragement, and connections have helped transform MountainView from a dream into a growing company that represents what’s possible for entrepreneurs in Eastern Kentucky,” says SOAR Innovation client Alex Lamb.
From early-stage business training and legal workshops to growth-focused accelerators, SOAR Innovation meets entrepreneurs at every stage of the journey.
2025 Impact: SOAR Innovation
- 8 new programs started
- 139 # entrepreneurs served (304 times total)
- 8 # new businesses launched
- 8 # businesses receiving funding
- $356,000 funds received by client businesses
Access to the right mentorship, resources, and community can be the difference between an idea that stalls and a business that grows.
In 2025, SOAR Innovation continued to strengthen that support system, adding an Entrepreneur-in-Residence to its team with firsthand experience building, scaling, and successfully exiting a business in Eastern Kentucky.
SOAR Innovation clients are received practical leadership designed to help local founders do the same.
“SOAR Innovation challenged our preconceived ideas about how we communicate with investors,” says Zack Hill, Founder and CEO of StartBid. “Their guidance helped us refine our messaging and focus on what really matters. As a result, we now approach investor conversations with clarity and confidence, and we feel better equipped to represent our Kentucky-based startup on a larger stage.”
Hands-on events like Founders Weekend with the Startup Appalachia Accelerator, entrepreneurs gained more than advice. They gained clarity, confidence, and connections that move businesses forward faster and with greater resilience.
“I came into SOAR Innovation’s Founders Weekend excited to share my idea, but I didn’t expect to find so many meaningful partnerships with other founders,” says Corey Shepherd, a participant in the 2025 Startup Appalachia Accelerator. “I walked away with a clearer path to investment and real momentum. I can’t recommend the experience enough.”
These businesses are doing more than generating income for founders.
They’re creating jobs, delivering needed services, and expanding opportunity across Eastern Kentucky, strengthening the region’s economy one venture at a time.
Remote Worker Relocation: Bringing Opportunity Home
EKY Remote takes a different, but equally powerful approach, to economic development: attracting talent to the region.
The two-year-old program offers incentives and community support to remote workers willing to relocate to Eastern Kentucky. By pairing career flexibility with quality of life, EKY Remote helps families put down roots while contributing to local economies.
Led by Program Manager Latasha Friend, EKY Remote emphasizes integration, not just relocation. Participants are connected to schools, communities, and local networks, ensuring long-term impact.
“Once we connected with Latasha, everything fell into place,” say program participants Jenifer and James. “She answered all our questions and provided information about local amenities like doctors, places to shop, and parks. If you are looking to get out of the rat race and congestion, then this is where you want to be.”
In November 2025, EKY Remote launched an additional incentive program in partnership with SOAR Innovation: Attract tech and tech-enabled business owners to relocate to Eastern Kentucky. This Catalyze EKY initiative will bring new and scaling companies to the region, further stimulating population, job, and economic growth.
2025 by the Numbers: EKY Remote
The program’s metrics from its first two years (2024-25) demonstrate substantial economic return:
- 62 families relocated from 28 states to 27 Eastern Kentucky counties
- 118 adults and 68 children became part of local schools and communities
- $7+ million new annual wages added
- $797K annual tax contributions added
- $11.2 million estimated total annual economic impact
- $600,000+ SEEK funding added for local schools
- Catalyze EKY
- 227 applicants
- 56 pre-approved
- 1 offer extended
- 1 offer accepted
- 1 entrepreneur relocated
The impact of EKY Remote goes far beyond the numbers.
Each relocation represents a family choosing to put down roots, invest locally, and become part of an Eastern Kentucky community’s future. For participating communities, it means new talent, increased spending, stronger schools, and long-term growth.
“Partnering with Shaping Our Appalachian Region on the remote work initiative has been a great investment for Somerset and Pulaski County, and we are excited to see even more positive results to come,” says Chris Girdler, President and CEO of SPEDA, one of the communities participating in EKY Remote. “It is a labor of love for us to ‘sell’ others on our region.”
For the families who make the move, the impact is deeply personal.
“This was the best thing to do, moving to Pikeville, Kentucky. This is exactly what our family and I were looking for,” say Homero and Katie, EKY Remote participants. “If you are looking to get away from that city life and live in peace, come here. Don’t let fear stop you.”
Together, these stories reflect how EKY Remote is helping Eastern Kentucky grow in a new way: By welcoming people who choose to build their lives, careers, and futures in the region.
Shaping Our Appalachian Region 2025 Impact: Looking Ahead
Together, these outcomes tell a bigger story.
They reflect what happens when talent, opportunity, and community are intentionally connected across Eastern Kentucky.
From preparing people for work, to connecting them with employers, to supporting entrepreneurs and welcoming new families into the region, each program plays a role in building long-term economic stability.
This work isn’t about quick wins.
It’s about durable careers, growing businesses, and communities strong enough to keep people here and attract others who want to build a life in Eastern Kentucky.
The numbers matter. The stories matter. And most importantly, the momentum matters.
As we look ahead, the path forward is clear: Continue investing in people, strengthening employer partnerships, and expanding opportunity so the American Dream remains alive and attainable in Eastern Kentucky: one job, one family, and one community at a time.
Learn more about our program areas, attend events, and get involved by following our online updates and subscribing to our emails.