Dr. Melissa Newman
Associate Vice President, Place-Based Partnerships: S&T, Partners for Rural Impact
Executive Director, Appalachian Cradle to Career Partnership
Convening multi-sector partners to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive—from early childhood through adulthood—is both simple in concept and complex in execution. This effort is rooted in addressing the systemic barriers that have persisted for generations, allowing families to move beyond survival to achieve long-term success.
The Role of StriveTogether and Backbone Support
When I began this work, I coined the phrase, “To disrupt generational poverty, we must disrupt generational power.” This means supporting and empowering people to uniquely transform their own communities in ways that sustain the individual and collective economic conditions they envision for themselves and their children.
The Appalachian Cradle to Career Partnership (AppC2C) aims to unite partners who fill gaps, mend cracks, and bridge fissures in the pipeline that families and students navigate on their path to success—whatever their dreams of achievement may be. Each of you plays a crucial role in driving this mission.
The Cradle-to-Career (C2C) work is guided by the StriveTogether Theory of Action and supported by a dedicated backbone staff. This team empowers partners to focus on their areas of expertise while ensuring the integrity and strength of the overall pipeline.
Dr. Amon Couch, AVP of Place-Based Partnerships Programming, eloquently describes this relationship:
“I’m pushing water (programs for youth and families) through the pipeline just as fast as I can get it through, and Melissa is ensuring the integrity of the pipeline, fortifying it with partnership capacity, resources, and whatever else it takes to keep it strong.”
Systems Transformation: Sustaining Collaboration
The journey to intently focus on convening multi-sector partners began in fall of 2020. Working alongside StriveTogether, we progressed through the Theory of Action Gateways, which outlines the steps needed to transform a fragmented system into a cohesive partnership. By uniting organizations, agencies, and individuals, we amplify our collective voice when securing funding and influencing policy. Over the years, we’ve seen how this unity leads to tangible results.
The AppC2C Partnership, with significant support from PRI, provides a partner-focused backbone that includes communication, project management, grant and data resources, program coordination, and leadership. Together with East Texas C2C and Mexico, Missouri C2C, we are part of a national movement of Place-Based partnerships advancing cradle-to-career systems transformation.
Achieving and Sustaining Systems Transformation
In fall 2023, the AppC2C Partnership reached StriveTogether’s final Gateway of Systems Transformation. This milestone reflects a region where organizations work together to overcome barriers and improve outcomes for children and families. Sustaining this transformation is an ongoing process, requiring adaptability, resilience, and continuous improvement guided by both qualitative and quantitative data.
Sherry Horner, AVP of Place-Based Partnerships: Innovation and Excellence, knows that data and continuous improvement must always travel together:
"Data provides the compass, and continuous improvement is the journey. Together, they ensure sustainable success by guiding actions, measuring progress, and adapting to changing needs."
Our ultimate goal is a seamless pipeline where no young person falls through the cracks. By strengthening partnerships and aligning efforts around a shared mission, we can ensure that “All Rural Students Succeed.” With every challenge we navigate and every success we achieve, we move closer to building a formidable structure that supports every child’s journey from cradle to career.
What’s next?
While the Appalachian Cradle to Career Partnership has to this point been focused on what we all know as what was the eight counties of Kentucky’s Promise Zone: Bell, Clay, Knox, Harlan, Letcher, Leslie, Perry, and Whitley counties – now plus Knott, we are adding a new grouping in Kentucky’s Appalachia that will begin with a focus on Martin, Johnson, Floyd, and Lawrence counties by building a partnership supporting paid work experiences for youth. Stay tuned for more information about this partnership and the growth of our rural C2C Partnerships.
As our work continues to expand, it is increasingly recognized on a national level as a model for how to successfully implement cradle-to-career partnerships in rural America. Through mentoring and guiding PRI’s cradle-to-career partnerships, I’ve also had the privilege of supporting other partnerships within StriveTogether’s national network that are tackling this transformative work in rural places. Together, we are demonstrating the power of systems transformation in driving meaningful change for communities that have historically been underserved. This recognition highlights our collective expertise in not only setting up these partnerships but also ensuring their long-term success.
To celebrate and amplify this achievement, we encourage our partners and employees to proudly display the Appalachian Cradle to Career Partnership (AppC2C) and StriveTogether Systems Transformation badge in email signatures. This badge is a visible representation of our commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of their circumstances, can thrive. Below is an example of how to incorporate the badge into your signature:
AppC2C: A Vision for Rural Systems Transformation
Convening multi-sector partners to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive—from early childhood through adulthood—is both simple in concept and complex in execution. This
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