Board of Directors
Anne Hyder - Chair
Anne joined the Cowee School board in 2016. She holds a BSN degree from the University of South Carolina and was employed by Macon County Health Department for 31 years including serving as the Assistant Health Director for several years prior to her retirement. In addition to serving on the Cowee School board, Anne is the chair of the board of both the Macon County Department of Social Services and Folk Heritage Association of Macon County (FHAMC) and serves on the leadership team of the Women’s History Trail, a project of FHAMC. Anne has lived in Macon County since 1975. She has two children and four grandchildren living in Macon County. Anne’s hobbies include volunteering and giving back to the community through her involvement in many organizations and spending time with her granddaughter and grandsons.
Bob McCollum - Vice Chair
Bob’s family was one of the founding families of Macon County. After graduating from Western Carolina University, Bob enjoyed a 32-year career in research at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. Bob joined the board in 2013 and has served in many capacities, including as board chair. He has a passion for the mission of preserving Appalachian culture. When Bob isn’t volunteering at Cowee School, he sings with the V8s, “a Rock ‘N Soul explosion from the golden age of rock n roll.’. Bob and his wife, Elaine, enjoy traveling and trying new foods. A favorite quote from Bob: “Food. It’s one of the roses of life.”
Susan Bishop McCracken - Treasurer
Susan grew up in the Burningtown community of Macon County, attending Iotla Elementary School and Franklin High School. She earned bachelors and masters degrees from Western Carolina University, majoring in business/accounting. Susan began her public accounting career in Asheville, with a small regional firm, Crisp Hughes & Co. In 1993, she transferred to the firms Greenville SC office and was promoted to partner in 1996. Susan served as audit and accounting partner to clients around the southeast. As growth continued, the firm changed names several times, ending with DHG/Dixon Hughes Goodman at Susan’s retirement in 2016 after 31+ years. Susan and husband Ron moved to the Cowee valley permanently in 2018. In retirement, Susan earned the NC Master Gardener designation and currently serves as Treasurer of the Macon County Master Gardener Association. Susan enjoys gardening, travel, spending time with family, especially her young grandson. The lecture series, concerts and Cowee Christmas are some of her most enjoyed events at the Cowee School.
David Carpenter - Secretary
A native of Macon County, David grew up on a small farm in the Iotla community. Many generations of his family have lived in Macon County, and his paternal grandfather, Edgar (E. J.) Carpenter, served as principal of the Cowee School. David graduated from Franklin High School and then attended Western Carolina University. David worked for five years at WCU’s Hunter Library (where he met his wife Michael Ann Williams in the card catalog). He then attended library school at the University of Illinois. After earning his MLIS, he worked as a reference librarian at the University of Georgia and then Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, David served as Head of Reference and later as Acting Director of Central Library. In 2019 he moved back to Macon County. In retirement, David enjoys playing old-time mountain music, a family tradition. He and Michael Ann both enjoy contra and square dancing, as well as hiking, including long-distance walking in Scotland and Wales. David was attracted to the Cowee School by its concerts, lectures, and events. He volunteered to help with projects at the school and tends a raised garden in the school’s courtyard.
Kelly Penland
Kelly is a Realtor ® in Macon County and loves the relationships and connections that are made through that work. A proud Gator fan and University of Florida Alumni, Kelly was raised in sunny Florida but she got to the mountains "as soon as she found out about them!" She directs a non-profit dance school, The Dance Arts Co-Op, which operates out of the Cowee School. She also enjoys gardening, sewing, bible study, traveling, reading, cooking and wine tasting. Kelly currently serves as secretary of the board of directors.
Ben Banick
Bio Coming Soon!
Susan Ervin
Susan has lived in Franklin for 40 years and is married to aquatic biologist, Dr. Bill McLarney. She served on the Macon County Planning Board and was co-coordinator of the League of Women Voters for many years. She has served on the board of Cowee School almost since the beginning and organizes the popular speaker series, Where We Live: History, Nature, and Culture. Susan spends an inordinate amount of time gardening on Coggins Bend, just a couple of miles from the school. Daughter Rose, a professor at Auburn University and poet, attended Cowee Elementary School. Strengthening community and appreciating our heritage are important to Susan and she feels that Cowee School does an excellent job on these missions.
Anne Jobe
Anne Jobe joined the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center Board in 2026 after a 26-year career in public education as a teacher and school leader in Huntsville, Alabama. A nativeof High Point, North Carolina, she returned to the mountains of Western North Carolina afterretiring from public education and has remained engaged in education and her community through substitute teaching, environmental stewardship, and volunteer service.
Anne is a writer whose work explores the interconnectedness of place, landscape, education, and the more-than-human world. Drawing from her experiences in schools, the Southern Appalachian Mountains, and the many places she has traveled, she writes narrative nonfiction that examines how relationships—to one another, to the land, and to our communities—shape who we become. Anne and her husband, Jim Jobe, have lived in Macon County since 2020. She is an avid hiker, occasional trail runner, and enjoys traveling to experience new places, cultures, and ideas. A lifelong learner with an enduring curiosity, Anne values opportunities to explore, listen, andconnect with both people and the natural world.
George James
George was born in Chandler, Arizona and raised in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. George has a Master’s Degree in Education from Lamar University (Texas) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Instrumental Music Education from Western Carolina University. He is currently the Director of Music Ministries at First United Methodist Church in Clayton, GA. George was a public school band director for 10 years and also was adjunct faculty at Wayland Baptist University (Plainview, TX) in their Music Department. He has also worked as an instrument repair technician, musician, and a truck driver. While George was student teaching at Franklin High School, he and the band director used to teach beginners at Cowee School. He has always enjoyed coming to Cowee School. George is an active musician who plays guitar and sings solo shows as well as being in two bands. He also enjoys riding motorcycles, and has ridden about 70,000 miles so far.
Ashlyn Miller
Ashlyn Miller is a facilitator, practitioner, and somatic therapist working at the confluence of mental health, holistic living, and spirituality from an integrative, fluid, anti-oppressive, creative, earth reverent lens. Born and raised in Concord NC, she settled in Franklin in 2023 after traveling and living in various parts of the US and Europe. She attended WCU for her undergraduate studies and returned 10 years later to obtain her MSW- always feeling a draw back to the rich valleys, mountains, and rivers of WNC. Before joining the board, Ashlyn taught movement & meditation classes and holistic workshops at Cowee School, finding a genuine sense of community rooted in curiosity, connection, and creativity. Her work continues to evolve through her business- Inner Woven, where she weaves yoga, ayurveda, somatics, animism, and clinical social work into a fabric of support for individuals, community, and the collective. Serving on the Cowee board feels like another tendril of that work, as she believes in the positive impact of access to the arts, community, and togetherness.
Kate McLean
A native of Franklin, NC, Kate McLean is a scientist and educator with deep roots in the Southern Appalachians. She holds a B.S. in Biology (minor in Mathematics) from Salem College and an M.S. in Ecology from the University of Georgia. Kate began her career studying regional ecosystems at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, later taught science at Franklin High School, and now works in clinical trial transparency. As a mother of two boys, she values nurturing youth, preserving Appalachian cultural heritage, and strengthening community through art, education, and connection. Kate loves fishing, flowers, and spending time outdoors with her family and friends, and she brings her regional ties and professional experience to support Cowee School’s mission.
Carla Funk
Carla joined the Cowee Board in 2025. She is an art historian with teaching experience at Georgia State University, Emory University, and Eastern Florida State College. From 2009 to 2020, she was the Director and Chief Curator of University Museums at Florida Tech in Melbourne, Florida where she oversaw public programs, developed fine arts courses and workshops, and curated exhibits of modern and contemporary art, textile arts, and studio craft. Since relocating to North Carolina in 2021, Carla worked briefly as Director of Development at The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts in Highlands, and also held a temporary Assistant Curator position at the Asheville Art Museum. She enjoys travel, gardening, exploring the Nantahala Forest, cooking for friends and family, and learning about Appalachian culture and history.
Staff
Executive Director - Will Anderson
Will Anderson comes to Cowee School with more than twenty-five years of leadership experience serving as a senior executive in the finance, corporate management, and nonprofit fields. Most recently, Will served five years as the Executive Director for Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, Kentucky. Will previously worked as a CEO in Alaska where he led many economic development projects, while also prioritizing the social and cultural health of the regions he served. He brings a unique blend of business skills combined with a background in the arts and a passion for strengthening and preserving cultural heritage.
Will earned bachelor’s degrees from Seattle Pacific University where he studied both music and psychology and Western Washington University where he majored in accounting. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Western Washington University and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. Will previously served as a trustee or board member of numerous nonprofit organizations including Alaska Pacific University, the University of Alaska Foundation, the Koniag Education Foundation, the Alutiiq Heritage Foundation, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the Alaska Federation of Natives, and the Beloit Art Center. Born in Kodiak, Alaska Anderson is Alaska Native of Sugpiaq descent.
“I am extremely excited to work for an organization that is part of such a rich and vibrant community. Cowee School has a very active and supportive board of directors, and I can see how its programming is so important to the region. I feel grateful to have been chosen to lead Cowee School” said Will Anderson.
Tracy Turner - Administrative Assistant
Tracy worked for 45 years in Atlanta, Georgia in the Creative Services, Production, Traffic and Project Management area for Large Atlanta based advertising agencies, Turner Advertising, West Wayne, Adair Green and then moved to the corporate side of Marketing Communication, working for in house agencies at Cingular, AT&T, AGCO and SiteOne. Moving to Franklin in 2022, Tracy started as a volunteer with the Cowee School and once retired in 2025, joined the staff at the Cowee school as Administrative Assistant to Director Laura Brooks. When not at the school, Tracy leads a quiet life, reading and reflecting, with her dog Uma by her side.