Where is home for you? This is a tough question for some of us who’ve moved around a lot. But for Annie Forrest, home will always be Richlands, a small Appalachian town in Southwest Virginia. It’s a town with a population of 5,000 and a town where her family has lived for eight generations. In this episode, Annie shares her incredible journey of leaving and ultimately returning home. A brief content note, this episode contains mentions of sexual assault and abusive relationships. After leaving home, Annie went to college and became an advocate. She moved to New York City and became a relationship health educator. She moved back to Richlands during the pandemic and became a champion for rural communities in Appalachia and across the United States. Welcome to the Fuqua Show for the stories, the lessons and the passions of the Team Fuqua community here at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. I’m Thomas Chang, and I’m very excited to be with a good friend of mine today, a fellow classmate in the class of 2024, Annie Forrest. Welcome, Annie. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I’m a huge fan of the Fuqua Show and a listener since day one. Well, we appreciate your support and we’re excited to finally have you on the show as we’re just about to graduate. How do you feel about the MBA almost being done? It feels like, everyone says it happens in the blink of an eye, but when you really think about the amount of time that we’re actually here in Durham together in class, it’s only about a year, a calendar year. So it did in fact pass in the blink of an eye. Well, we have a lot to talk about your life before Fuqua, the things that you’ve done here at business school, but first I’ll give a brief bio for folks who haven’t met Annie yet. Annie Forrest is a second year MBA student, originally from a small Appalachian town in Virginia. Annie is passionate about improving education, health, and economic development in rural communities. Prior to Fuqua, she worked at the One Love Foundation in New York City, leading strategic partnerships and policy initiatives to scale relationship health education nationally. Here at Fuqua, she served as the MBA’s Vice President of Health and Wellness, and one of the co-chairs of CASE i3, or the Impact Investing Initiative. After graduation, she’s hoping to pursue impact investing full-time, and she loves hiking and biking in the mountains, very long road trips, and seeing how many days in a row she can eat pizza. First off, I have to ask, what’s the number? How many days? My record right now is 21 days in a row. I’ve also done 17, but I think there are probably long stretches where I wasn’t even necessarily counting. It’s just a food that has always brought me comfort. 21 days of eating pizza, back to back. Back to back. Okay, and this is what? Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, or Homemade? Oh, all of the above, all of the above. When I moved to New York City, the only apartment I ever lived in was directly on top of a Little Caesars. Roof was my floor, and it kept our apartment warm in the winter, which is hilarious, but New York is full of such incredible pizza. I would try lots of new spots, but I would also eat at Little Caesars. Oh, I can imagine just living above a pizza place. That’s why you were there every day for three weeks? Every day. Love it. Well, Annie, as I mentioned in the intro, you’re from Appalachia, and I know that that’s a big part of who you are and where you’ve come from, and I want to talk a little bit about that first. So for listeners who aren’t familiar, where is Appalachia, or what is Appalachia as a region? First of all, thank you for pronouncing Appalachia the way that almost all Appalachians pronounce it. We have this internal regional joke that if you say Appalachia or Appalachia, we will throw an Appalachia, so first of all, thank you for that. And Appalachia as a region is actually a very large swath of the United States, so it follows basically the Appalachian mountain range, but it consists of 423 counties per the Appalachian Regional Commission, ranging from Mississippi all the way up through New York, and all of those parts are distinct in their own ways. It’s a very culturally distinct part of the country, but where I’m from is the central part, so think eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, southwest corner of Virginia, where I’m actually from, northeast Tennessee, and the western part of North Carolina, and that part is in the Ridge and Valley section of the Appalachian Mountains, so the mountains are really compressed, there’s a lot of haulers, as they’re called, a lot of farmland, a lot of incredible mountains, and people who are very kind and hardworking. I think Appalachia has a lot of stereotypes put on it by other parts of the country, but the region that I grew up in was an incredible place to be in many ways. Well, I wanna ask about where you grew up. You grew up in a small town in southwestern Virginia called Richlands. Tell us about that, and what it was like to grow up in this small community of 5,000 people. Correct. My family is eighth generation Appalachian on both sides of my family, and I think that there’s this connection to land that I haven’t really found people talk about in other places necessarily, and I’m sure that’s just from my experience, but people are so tied to this place. For generations, they have grown up there and seen their mamas and their daddies and everyone grow up there too, that I think there’s a lot of pride in being from Appalachia, even though, like I mentioned, there are a lot of stereotypes about rednecks or hillbillies and people believing that folks in the region are uneducated or not hardworking. And so for me, growing up there, I think there were a lot of things that I thought were normal for my family or for the region that until college I didn’t necessarily know were true. Like I thought a lot of people or everyone grew all of their vegetables in the summer or got their meat from either their farm or someone’s farm that they knew. I thought that people on Thanksgiving just shot a turkey and had that for their family and come to find out things like that weren’t necessarily normal, but I’m thankful for a childhood in a small town that really did have small town values and where I could be outside and surrounded by incredible nature all the time. And was it the kind of small town like people talk about where everyone knows each other? Everyone knows each other. Everyone knows each other’s business. Everyone knows each other’s business. When I was in high school, for instance, my aunt was the home ec teacher, my uncle was the agriculture and future farmers of America guy, and all the teachers know your parents and you can’t get away with anything. But that’s also a really cool community oriented approach to taking care of one another. I wanna ask you a bit more about what you mentioned with the misperceptions or the misunderstandings that people have about Appalachia. I think recently you have high profile books like Hillbilly Elegy. There was the very controversial book that just came out called White Rural Rage. What do you think for folks who haven’t really been to these places, what do they not know? Or what do they maybe have a wrong impression of? It’s very easy from the outside looking in to demonize a group of people or to think that, like I mentioned, they’re uneducated or they don’t know what’s good for them. One of the things that kind of irks me is people, when they’re gonna talk about someone who’s quote unquote dumb, they’ll just automatically do a country or a hillbilly accent. Things like that we don’t even understand are perpetuating these stereotypes. It’s kind of like one of the last groups of people where it’s socially acceptable to make fun of them. Books like Hillbilly Elegy, which my partner and I wrote a very long op-ed for the New York Times. I mean, it wasn’t published, but we got a lot of our own personal rage out that way. I don’t think lean into how much extraction and divestment from the region that there has been has impacted it. For generations, the timber industry, the coal industry, the opioid epidemic, all of this has been stacked on top of one another to create a situation where people are really hardworking. People want to take care of themselves and their neighbors, but have all these compounding factors that make it really hard to do that. It’s like the just pull yourself up by your bootstraps thinking that’s part of Hillbilly Elegy where what if people don’t even have boots, let alone bootstraps? And I don’t think books like that consider the complexity of the region. I want to ask a bit about the opioid epidemic. This is something that is in the headlines all the time, and it sounds like it was something that really hit your hometown and your region pretty hard. As much as you feel comfortable, can you share a little bit more? It is absolutely something that hit our region hard, hit my town. You see people all the time who have been impacted by it. I would say everyone has some connection to it, whether it’s a family member who has an active addiction or someone in your family who has passed away from opioids. And I think what we don’t often talk about, organizations like Purdue Pharma or even McKinsey or other groups who are implicated in this and who’ve pushed this are able to sit outside of the region and not see the long-term impacts of the opioid crisis. It’s not just what happened in 08 up through the 2010s to now, it’s what’s going to be happening in 2050 because grandparents are now having to raise young children. There are whole generations that are being vastly impacted and who will be for many generations to come. I think that’s an important point that it’s not just this thing that happened in the past, but something that these communities are still living with and will live with for many, many years to come. I wanna talk later about your desire to improve some of these issues in the communities, but you ended up leaving Richlands to go to college at the University of Virginia, same state, but very different city. You went to Charlottesville. Tell us about that transition and what it was like leaving that small town and going to a place like UVA. Going to UVA was such a different experience for me versus a lot of my classmates. So there were many, many people who said, oh my gosh, Charlottesville, this is such a small town. This is the smallest place I’ve ever lived. And I’m thinking this town is many, many, many times the size of my hometown. And I had never been in a place like that. I had never been surrounded by such diversity. I think I had a misconception growing up that because people are overwhelmingly Christian in my hometown and where it’s not really, where do you go to church? It’s which church do you go to that people ask, that everyone was like that. And I really loved how much UVA challenged my beliefs about the world and allowed me to explore areas that I didn’t even know I was really interested in, like women, gender, and sexuality became one of my majors. And it finally put into words things like feminism or intersectionality that I had kind of felt in my bones for a long time, but never had the language to explain. So in that way, I’m very, very grateful for my experience there, but it was a really hard time for me as well. I experienced sexual assault in my first year and it colored the entire experience. I became very involved in sexual assault and relationship abuse prevention efforts after taking a semester off from school. I don’t think people really often know that’s an option, but I took the spring semester off in 2013 and it was the best decision I ever made. It taught me that you have to take a step back sometimes in order to ultimately propel yourself forward and gave me the passion when I did come back to be able to graduate and then move into that field full-time. Well, thank you for sharing that. I imagine it’s not easy, and I am really inspired by the fact that you took that experience and you wanted to do something about that, not only for yourself, but also for other people who are going through similar things. Thank you. Can you share a bit more about what that activism and advocacy looked like in college? Sure. I was grateful to be surrounded by people who let me find my voice and who uplifted it alongside me. I was in a sorority. I lived in our sorority house for three years, mostly because my parents found out, oh, there’s parking as part of rent, and there’s food, and you get all the toiletries paid for, so this is a good place for you to stay. Sign me up. Sign me up for it. But it really gave me a community that helped me along that journey, and even when I was away from school for that semester, it didn’t make me feel alone. And we can talk about the overlap with health and wellness here at Fuqua, but I think that sense of belonging is so, so important, especially in a collegiate or graduate school setting. But activism-wise, I was part of One Less, which was a group that was growing a lot. This was pre-Me Too movement. Talking about sexual assault wasn’t necessarily something that was mainstream conversation at that point. And I remember I just decided one day I have to share my story. I posted it on Facebook. I took a picture. It’s called Project Unbreakable. And you post a quote from something perpetrator or abuser said to you. And I just posted it on Facebook, and it went viral. I mean, not viral in what the internet is known now, but viral throughout Virginia and other places. I was seeing full news organizations called, and they said, this isn’t normally something that we cover, but we would love to cover your story. And they gave me a platform to do that. And from there, I was able to get involved in policy initiatives. And there were knee-jerk reactions from Virginia legislators as a result of that. So for the month of February that year, I just drove back and forth to Richmond and testified to different Senate committees or different opportunities for people to share their experiences and their stories to help inform the legislation that was coming out of that. And we were able to change some of the laws that were ultimately passed to make them more survivor friendly. That’s incredible. Thanks. How did it feel for you getting up there and testifying and telling your story for senators? There was this one senator who really questioned my experience, who said, my daughter went to UVA, and she tells me that wasn’t her experience there. And I had to fight back in that moment. And I also saw other senators tell that man, you know, in this very public arena, you need to listen to her. That’s not okay what you’re saying. And it showed me what allyship looks like. I was doing my best to advocate for myself, and that was really hard, but there were other people who were willing to be advocates too. And I think it shows that we all play a role in changing norms around sexual assault, relationship abuse. It’s not something where only people who have experienced can be the ones to step in and say something. It really does take all of us. It’s pretty shocking that the senator told you, basically, I don’t believe you in this public hearing in front of everyone. Wow. Well, I want to ask you about how you ended up taking this passion that you developed in college into your full-time job. I see that you spent a year working for your national sorority, and then pivoted to the One Love Foundation and moved to New York City. Actually, before we get into the foundation, we’ve talked about the move from Richlands to Charlottesville, Virginia. What was the move like from Charlottesville to New York City? It was, I think about it sometimes as leapfrogging. So I went from Richlands to Charlottesville. The year I was at a sorority, I was in Mobile, Alabama, which is a big city, but still not anywhere near the size of New York, and then leapfrogged up to New York. And I think by that time, I really felt more comfortable in city situations, but New York is such a beast. It is such a beast. And I moved there with two suitcases. I had a one-month sublet. I slept on my friend’s floor for the first five days. And I just thought, what the hell have you gotten yourself into? I remember my parents saying, oh, you’re moving to New York. Like, good luck with that. I mean, they were supportive, but they just thought, this is a wild thing to want to do. But I really, really wanted to work at One Love. And I thought, if One Love has one office, and this is the only place that office is, I guess I’m moving to New York. And then I loved it. I would go back in a heartbeat. So you mentioned that your parents were supportive, but maybe didn’t really know how to help you succeed in the Big Apple. I’m guessing that not a lot of people from rich lands end up in New York City. No, that would be a correct assumption. Not a lot of people. I think I’m the only person from rich lands that I knew. Maybe one other person was there for a stint. And getting my family up there was challenging. They came for one Thanksgiving. I flew down to rich lands. I rented a car, I drove us all up. We all stayed in my apartment. You did not shoot a turkey. We did not shoot a turkey that Thanksgiving. No, we went to Veselka, which is this awesome Eastern European restaurant. And it was a cool way to spend Thanksgiving, but they were like, we gotta get out of here. We gotta go. But you loved it. It was lots of camo in New York, yes. It was the two worlds that I was straddling at the time coming together. Well, you were having a great time in New York City and you started working at One Love Foundation, again, working on relationship health education and trying to scale that on a more national level. I’d love to hear more about what that looked like and what you did and how you were able to take this fire that you had in you and try to do something with it. It’s so funny how we end up at places where we don’t even necessarily know that we should be or how much growth is going to come out of it. But I joined One Love at a time when it was maybe a year and a half into getting off the ground. So looking back, major startup vibes, also a nonprofit. So we’re bootstrapping funding together, trying to figure out how to get more funders in the door. We don’t have regional offices at that time, but we had funding from the Jacksonville Jaguars. So I would fly back and forth between New York and Jacksonville every week or almost every week for about two years. And it was such a crash course in learning how to do relationship building because I would just fly down and I would email as many people as possible, people at the county who oversee health education curricula and say, oh, can I meet with you? We have this free curriculum that we’ve created. We would love to get it into every high school and middle school in Duval County. I would talk to all of the colleges and universities, people at the military bases, people at the Boys and Girls Club. I mean, just lots of different people. And I was a 23-year-old at the time just saying, we have this solution. It’s just one part of the solution, but we have this and really believe so passionately in getting it out there and making it accessible for everyone. So you were a saleswoman. I was absolutely a saleswoman and I loved it because what I was selling was free. I didn’t have to ask people for money, but it’s amazing even though something is free, sometimes that makes people question it even more. Why is this free? And also because people have resistance to talking about relationship abuse or believing that doesn’t happen in their community or to their young people can be a really challenging sell. So there were relationships I worked on for two years before anything came to fruition, but it’s about showing up and showing that, unfortunately, it’s something that happens to over one in three women, almost one in three men, one in two trans and non-binary folks, and it absolutely touches every community. So you’re going around the country trying to sell these education programs to, like you said, schools, military, anyone and everyone who might be interested. Correct. I wanna talk a bit more about what you all were actually teaching in these programs. I think that for the listeners as well, that might be something helpful to hear, either for people who are in these relationships, unfortunately, right now, or people who know someone who might be. Tell us a bit about what healthy or unhealthy relationships look like. Thank you for asking that question. I really love to talk about the language that we used for healthy and unhealthy relationships. So One Love tried to create a common core language for people to label behaviors that are really common in our lives, but aren’t always labeled as what they are. So on the unhealthy side, things like manipulation, volatility, someone who’s deflecting responsibility, someone who is guilting, all of these things that make our gut go, that feels a little off. I don’t really like that feeling with what this person is telling me, looking over my shoulder at my texts and saying, who are you texting? Constantly asking something like that, or just showing up at your apartment unannounced. And you feel uneasy, but you don’t know how to label that as what it is. And then on the flip side, there are lots of healthy behaviors that we’re just expected to understand. When you think about growing up, and I don’t wanna speak for everyone, I’ll speak for myself. I was not actively taught what a healthy relationship looks like. Social media, media in general, TV shows and movies often portray and put on a pedestal very unhealthy relationships. So we would use the example of the notebook. Super unhealthy relationship. This guy is hanging from a Ferris wheel and saying, if you don’t go out with me, I’m gonna drop. I’m gonna hurt myself. That’s not good. Just showing up unannounced. It’s super on again, off again. There’s a lot of volatility, a lot of aggression. And that’s supposed to be one of the most romantic movies of our time. And whether people like it or not, it is often put on a pedestal. So we were debunking a lot of that and focusing on what healthy relationship behaviors actually look like. Things like healthy conflict. Conflict is normal in a relationship, but the way that you go about handling that and having those conversations with a friend, a roommate, a partner, a family member, that’s the difference between unhealthy and healthy. Things like taking responsibility, building trust, having honesty. Is the truth that you’re telling or what you’re telling, is it correct and is it complete? Or is it neither of those things? And also fun. Are you happy more days in your friendships or in your relationships than you are unhappy? If not, I’m not saying it’s an unhealthy or abusive relationship, but it’s something to think about. So we should not watch The Notebook anymore, or at least put it on a pedestal of what a great relationship should be. Once you work in this field, you can’t watch any TV show, no song, without thinking that’s so unhealthy. And so one of the things that we did was create really high-quality video content that had an educational purpose and showed both the unhealthy and the healthy side. For people who are listening to this episode, my guess is mostly current students, prospective students, some alumni, maybe late 20s, early 30s. What advice would you have for them on having healthier relationships? Because it is a little bit different from maybe being a teenager or being a younger adult. Yeah. So I think one of the pieces of advice I have is not necessarily about our own personal relationships, but rather as friends. We believe that talking about this isn’t our business. And as we get older, and maybe we see friends a little bit less because they’re scattered across the country, we think what we see on social media is real life, and I don’t need to check in or go a little bit deeper. Oh, that person’s doing well. Their relationship seems really happy. But we just really challenge classmates and other people around our age to ask open-ended follow-up questions and not just take social media at face value. I know that it is our business if we notice that there are unhealthy things in a friend’s relationship happening. There are things you can do. There are strategies for opening up a dialogue with that person, planting seeds. It doesn’t just have to be you. Who else do you know that you could bring into the conversation as well? But it’s really easy, even at business school, to say, oh, that person in my section, I see that maybe something is a little bit off, but that’s not my business. It is our business. And like you said, this can happen to anyone. It can happen to women, men, people of any gender identity. Yes, it’s one of the things that truly cuts across any identity. There are certainly communities that are disproportionately impacted by relationship abuse and sexual assault, but it absolutely touches everyone. Thank you for sharing that. And so you were at the One Love Foundation for, I believe, six years. Correct, six years. So I’m sure you learned a lot. Do you have any advice for listeners who might be working, maybe not in this context, but this kind of startup, you really have to hustle, grind, you’re running around the country, no official training or experience. You basically just have to figure it out. I would say both lean into that experience and also set boundaries for yourself. I think in a startup environment, you can learn way more than you might at another type of job where you’re doing one task over and over in a very short amount of time. And I am incredibly grateful for the experience. One Love was run by almost all people who had MBAs, and it was the catalyst for me to want to go to business school. I just saw how smart they were at being able to scale up our organization. But you also do have to set boundaries because in a startup, you have to do many different things. You have to be available sometimes, like you said, on the fly, to be able to just fly to Austin. I remember my boss just called me one day and said, I need you to go to Austin tomorrow. I’m like, okay, I guess I could do that. And I think setting boundaries is becoming easier for people these days, but going into a job knowing what’s fixed for you and what’s flexible for you and actually just having a list of those things. It’s important. I think that’s very important for listeners who are probably going to go into their first post-MBA job and feel like they have to do everything to do well. No job is worth your mental health. No job. No job. So after a number of years in New York City, you left and moved back to Richlands, Virginia for the first time in nine years. Tell us about that journey and what it was like to go home after all that time. When COVID started on March 12th, I will never forget. It was Thursday. Of 2020. Of 2020. Everyone in my office kind of panic packed. We hadn’t been told we could work remotely yet, but we just decided we have to go. I rented a car that afternoon and just started driving because there were three of us in our apartment and we realized we can’t all work from home together. And both my roommates were international, so they couldn’t necessarily go to where they were from. So I said, you know what? I’ll head down to Virginia. There’s a lot more space there anyway. And my parents were willing to house me. And what we all thought was just gonna be two weeks, it turned into the next two years before coming to business school. And I think I had been thinking about home so much in the months leading up to that. I had been listening to a lot of podcasts about Appalachia. I had been reading more books. I had been talking to people about the region. I actually, at that time in December, 2019, messaged my now partner on LinkedIn and said, I see you started this club called Friends of Appalachia at UVA. And I’m wondering what you’re doing with alumni because I’d love to get involved. I was just really craving home. And so going back, I realized, oh my gosh, my heart has always been here and I’m being reconfronted with a lot of the challenges of the region, the opioid crisis stacked again on top of industries that are leaving or have already left the region and the complications that creates. And it felt like, although COVID was a terrible, terrible time, a beautiful homecoming for me. How much had changed from when you left in 2011 to when you went back in 2020? My town, Richlands, has always been small. But when you drive down Main Street, there really aren’t a lot of businesses there. We often see small businesses, 99% of businesses in Appalachia are small businesses. So mom and pop shops are what run the whole region. And you see a lot of businesses coming and going, but in that time, it was really hard to see the amount that were leaving. But then there’s been this resurgence as well, where I’m not the only young person who is coming back. I’ve been really heartened to see businesses in my hometown started by people who are around my age that are really thriving. And I do think that more and more people who have left the region are excited to come back and to work on issues that it’s facing. When you went back in 2020, did you feel at home or did you feel like an outsider having been away for so long? I remember writing this Instagram caption about living in the in-between. And I’m sure many, many people can relate to that feeling no matter where you’re from, if you’ve ever straddled several worlds or two worlds at once. My mama had taken this picture of me, we were going fishing. So I had a fishing pole over my shoulder and I was carrying a New Yorker bag. And we were on the farm and it was just this really interesting looking, when I posted that picture, I was like, this is kind of me being in two places at once because I was still working at One Love and Zooming with people who were in New York all day, every day. And I did feel like I was caught in the in-between, but I was okay with it. I think that there’s something beautiful about seeing lots of other cultures and places and bringing little parts of those back to wherever home is for you. And like you said at the beginning, you and your family are very grounded in that place. Very grounded in that place. My mom is one of six and one of her siblings literally lives next door. Another is a mile away. No one is more than an hour. And every single Sunday, they still come to my family. We live in my grandparents’ old house and they still come and have lunch together. So it’s this very place-based, community-based, family-oriented part of the country. That’s beautiful. And I imagine it must have been refreshing to be back there during such a turbulent time. I was very grateful to be with my family. Well, you weren’t there for too long because you ended up moving out and coming here to Durham, North Carolina for your MBA. You already mentioned that you wanted to do the MBA to learn how to lead and scale organizations and scale impact. There’s a lot that we could talk about. You’ve done so much here in terms of leading health and wellness, CASE and CASE i3, the Impact Investing Initiative, your summer internship at REDF, which is a social impact organization. As you think about all the things that you’ve done and all the things you’ve learned, the people you’ve met, hard question, but what are your high-level takeaways from these past two years? As we approach graduation, this is a very apt question. It’s something I have been reflecting on a lot. I came to business school not only for the reasons that you mentioned, but also to test out my personal and professional values. I thought I’ve only worked in the nonprofit sector. I don’t think that corporate America is for me, but that is a big assumption of me to make without really any exposure to it. And I have seen the immense benefit that people who worked at One Love with MBAs got from that experience. And I just really worked with wicked smart people, but I did want to also come and test my values. And what I’ve learned from the past two years is that my values haven’t changed at all. I will have learned so much more, and I’m really, really thankful for this experience and to have been exposed to so much, but corporate America is still not for me. I will always be committed to social impact. I need to work at a place where I feel personally connected to the mission. I’ve also learned that that’s okay. So what’s next for Annie on the horizon? What’s next for me is finding a job. Where though? Do you want to move back to Richlands? I ultimately do want to be back in Appalachia, absolutely. I would go back now, but my partner works in environmental policy and the federal government is in DC. So we are doing a stint there first, but because remote work is possible, I have been in conversation with a lot of the funders in the Appalachian region, some of whom are based in DC and Appalachian Regional Commission is based there. So I’m definitely committed to still working on rural community and economic development, even if I’m not there full-time. That’s so exciting and so inspiring to hear. Do you have a vision for what kind of issues you want to work on in Appalachia or the kind of change that you’d like to help create? I’ve mentioned a few times the divestment from the region, and there are a lot of these extractive industries. So for me, I really want to work on bringing outside capital into the region that is non-extractive and that is focused on helping people create the communities that they desire and that they deserve. So whether that’s the green economy, infrastructure, construction, which is the project that I worked on at RedF this past summer, whatever it is, being able to help create jobs and be the byproducts of that throughout the community. Ultimately, I do want to work on education and figure out ways that people don’t necessarily have to leave the region, but still have access to really high quality education. Oh, I love it. Making rich lands more rich, it sounds, not just in terms of capital, but also just helping people live richer and fuller lives. Yes. Love it. Well, Annie, it has been such a pleasure not only doing this interview, but also getting to know you over these past few years. I have goosebumps right now. I’m so inspired by what you’ve shared today, and I wish you the best with graduation, with the next step. For anybody who’s listening, let’s get Annie an impacts investing job in DC ASAP. Thank you, Thomas. It’s been a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.

In this episode of the Fuqua Show, listeners are introduced to Annie Forrest, a passionate advocate from Richlands, Virginia, a small Appalachian town with deep familial roots. Annie's journey takes her from her hometown to the bustling streets of New York City, where she became a pivotal figure in relationship health education at the One Love Foundation. During her time in the city, she honed her skills in advocacy and community outreach, focusing on addressing critical issues like sexual assault and relationship abuse. 

Now, as a second-year MBA student at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, Annie reflects on her unique experiences and the lessons learned along the way. This episode delves into her commitment to improving education, health, and economic development in rural communities, particularly in Appalachia, and her vision for sustainable growth in her hometown. 

Listeners can expect to gain insights into the complexities of rural life, the impact of the opioid crisis, and the importance of community engagement. Annie's story is not just about personal triumph; it's a powerful reminder of the potential for change and the significance of returning home to make a difference. Join Thomas Chang as he engages with Annie, exploring her journey and the meaningful work she aspires to continue beyond graduation.

Here are some key life lessons from Annie Forrest's journey that others can learn from her experiences:

- **Embrace Your Roots**: Recognizing and valuing where you come from can provide a strong foundation for your identity and purpose. Annie's deep connection to her Appalachian hometown shaped her advocacy and career choices.

- **The Power of Community**: Growing up in a small town taught Annie the importance of community support. Engaging with and caring for one another can create a strong safety net, especially during challenging times.

- **Challenge Stereotypes**: Annie highlights the need to confront and dismantle stereotypes about rural communities. Understanding the complexities of a region can foster empathy and more accurate representations.

- **Take Time for Self-Care**: After experiencing trauma, Annie took a semester off from college to heal. This decision underscored the importance of prioritizing mental health and well-being over societal expectations.

- **Advocacy Can Create Change**: Sharing personal stories can be a powerful tool for advocacy. Annie's willingness to speak out about her experiences led to legislative changes and raised awareness about sexual assault.

- **Diversity of Experience Matters**: Transitioning from a small town to a larger, diverse environment like UVA challenged Annie's beliefs and expanded her worldview, demonstrating the value of diverse experiences in personal growth.

- **Relationships Matter**: Healthy relationships are built on trust, respect, and open communication. Learning to identify unhealthy behaviors can empower individuals to seek healthier connections.

- **Set Boundaries**: In fast-paced work environments, especially in startups, it's crucial to establish boundaries to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Your mental health should always come first.

- **Stay Committed to Your Values**: Annie's journey through business school reaffirmed her commitment to social impact. It's important to explore different paths while staying true to your core values.

- **Invest in Your Community**: Bringing outside capital and resources into underserved areas can foster sustainable growth and development. Annie emphasizes the importance of creating opportunities for local communities to thrive without losing their identity.

- **Rooted in Richlands**: Annie grew up in Richlands, Virginia, a small Appalachian town with deep family ties, where her family has resided for eight generations, fostering a strong sense of community and belonging.

- **College Departure**: Seeking broader horizons, Annie left her hometown to attend college, marking the beginning of her journey away from the familiar comforts of her small-town life.

- **Advocacy in NYC**: After college, Annie moved to New York City, where she became a relationship health educator and an advocate for the One Love Foundation, focusing on scaling relationship health education nationally.

- **Pandemic Return**: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Annie returned to Richlands, reflecting on her roots and the importance of her upbringing in shaping her values and perspectives.

- **Champion for Rural Communities**: Back in her hometown, Annie emerged as a champion for rural communities, advocating for education, health, and economic development in Appalachia and beyond.

- **Bridging Experiences**: Annie's journey from a small town to a bustling city and back again allowed her to bridge her personal experiences with the broader issues facing rural America, giving her a unique perspective on community needs.

- **Leadership at Fuqua**: At Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, Annie served as the Vice President of Health and Wellness and co-chaired the Impact Investing Initiative (CASE i3), furthering her commitment to making a positive impact.

- **Passion for Impact Investing**: With a vision for her future, Annie aims to pursue a career in impact investing, leveraging her education and experiences to create meaningful change in underserved communities.

- **Cultural Pride**: Throughout her journey, Annie has maintained a deep pride in her Appalachian heritage, advocating against stereotypes and highlighting the strengths of her community.

- **Personal Connection to Food**: Annie's quirky love for pizza, illustrated by her record of eating it for 21 consecutive days, symbolizes her connection to comfort and familiarity, reminiscent of her small-town upbringing.

- **Confronting Misperceptions**: The speaker reflects on the widespread misunderstandings about Appalachia, noting that people often demonize its residents, assuming they are uneducated or incapable of self-care, which perpetuates harmful stereotypes.

- **Impact of Extraction Industries**: They highlight the historical context of the region's struggles, emphasizing the long-term effects of industries like timber and coal, as well as the opioid crisis, which have compounded hardships for hardworking individuals wanting to support their families and communities.

- **Personal Connection to the Opioid Epidemic**: The speaker shares their personal experience with the opioid crisis, revealing that almost everyone in their community has been affected, whether through addiction or loss, stressing the generational impacts that will persist for years.

- **Transition to Higher Education**: Leaving their small hometown of Richlands for the University of Virginia (UVA) was a significant shift, exposing the speaker to a much larger, diverse environment that challenged their preconceived notions about the world.

- **Reevaluation of Identity and Beliefs**: At UVA, the speaker discovered new academic interests, particularly in women, gender, and sexuality studies, which helped articulate feelings they had long held but lacked the language to express.

- **Facing Trauma**: The speaker candidly discusses experiencing sexual assault during their first year at college, which profoundly affected their educational journey and led to a semester off to heal and reassess their path.

- **Empowerment Through Advocacy**: Taking time off proved transformative, igniting a passion for activism. Upon returning, the speaker became deeply involved in efforts to prevent sexual assault and support survivors.

- **Community Support**: Living in a sorority provided a supportive network, fostering a sense of belonging that was crucial during their healing process and activism journey, demonstrating the importance of community in personal growth.

- **Viral Advocacy**: The speaker took a bold step by sharing their story publicly through Project Unbreakable, which garnered significant attention and allowed them to raise awareness about sexual assault, furthering their commitment to advocacy.

- **Commitment to Change**: Ultimately, the speaker's journey reflects a transformation from personal trauma to community activism, illustrating how individual experiences can inspire broader societal change and support for those facing similar struggles.

- **Initial Involvement in Policy Initiatives**: The speaker began their journey by engaging in policy initiatives, testifying before Virginia legislators to advocate for laws that were more survivor-friendly, highlighting the importance of sharing personal experiences in shaping legislation.

- **Confrontation and Allyship**: During a public hearing, the speaker faced skepticism from a senator who questioned their experience. This moment underscored the significance of allyship, as other senators defended the speaker, demonstrating that advocacy can come from various sources, not just those who have experienced trauma.

- **Transition to Full-Time Advocacy**: After a year working for their national sorority, the speaker transitioned to the One Love Foundation, motivated by a passion for relationship health education, which set the stage for their commitment to combating relationship abuse on a broader scale.

- **Move to New York City**: The speaker made a significant leap from Charlottesville to New York City, motivated by the desire to work at One Love. Despite initial fears and challenges, they embraced the city life, symbolizing their willingness to step out of their comfort zone for their mission.

- **Building Relationships at One Love**: Upon joining One Love, the speaker found themselves in a startup environment, learning the ropes of nonprofit operations, including funding and outreach, while passionately advocating for relationship education.

- **Frequent Travel for Advocacy**: The speaker flew back and forth between New York and Jacksonville to promote One Love's educational programs, showcasing their commitment to reaching underserved communities and building partnerships across various sectors.

- **Persistence in Outreach**: They faced skepticism about the necessity of relationship education, yet remained persistent, emphasizing the widespread impact of relationship abuse and the importance of making educational resources accessible to all.

- **Understanding Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships**: The speaker began to articulate the language surrounding healthy and unhealthy relationships, aiming to educate listeners about the signs and dynamics of both, which is crucial for prevention and support.

- **Engagement with Diverse Communities**: The speaker's outreach included schools, military bases, and community organizations, reinforcing the idea that relationship abuse affects all demographics and that education is a vital tool for change.

- **Commitment to Change**: Through their experiences, the speaker demonstrated a deep commitment to fostering dialogue about relationship health, believing that collective action and education can lead to meaningful societal change in addressing relationship abuse.

- **Initiation of One Love Foundation**: The foundation aimed to create a common language to identify and label unhealthy behaviors in relationships, such as manipulation and volatility, which often go unrecognized.

- **Personal Reflection on Relationship Education**: The speaker realized that they were not taught what healthy relationships looked like, highlighting the negative influence of media portrayals, like in "The Notebook," which romanticizes unhealthy dynamics.

- **Debunking Unhealthy Relationship Myths**: They emphasized the importance of recognizing and discussing healthy relationship behaviors, such as healthy conflict resolution, trust-building, and honesty, rather than idolizing unhealthy relationships.

- **Creating Educational Content**: The foundation produced high-quality video content to illustrate both unhealthy and healthy relationship behaviors, aiming to educate the audience on these critical distinctions.

- **Encouragement of Open Dialogue**: The speaker urged peers to engage in deeper conversations about relationships, challenging the notion that it’s not their business to intervene when they notice unhealthy dynamics in friends' lives.

- **Recognizing the Universality of Relationship Issues**: They pointed out that relationship abuse and unhealthy behaviors can affect anyone, regardless of gender or identity, emphasizing the need for awareness across all communities.

- **Experience in a Startup Environment**: After six years at One Love, the speaker reflected on the intense learning opportunities in a startup but also stressed the importance of setting personal boundaries to maintain mental health.

- **Transition to Business School**: Inspired by the smart leadership at One Love and their experiences, the speaker decided to pursue an MBA, recognizing the value of the skills learned in a fast-paced environment.

- **Return to Virginia During COVID-19**: The onset of the pandemic prompted the speaker to leave New York City and return home to Virginia, where they stayed with their parents, expecting a short visit that ultimately lasted two years.

- **Lessons from the Journey**: The speaker’s experiences underscored the importance of self-awareness, the need for healthy relationship education, and the necessity of maintaining personal boundaries in both personal and professional realms.

- **Craving Connection to Home (Late 2019)**: Annie felt a deep longing for her Appalachian roots, leading her to engage with the region through podcasts, books, and conversations, ultimately reaching out to her now-partner about a local club.

- **Reconnecting with Challenges (Early 2020)**: Upon returning to Richlands, she confronted the region's struggles, notably the opioid crisis and economic decline, but also recognized a resurgence of young entrepreneurs revitalizing the community.

- **Feeling In-Between (2020)**: As she navigated her dual existence—working remotely for an organization in New York while being physically present in her hometown—Annie embraced the complexities of belonging to two worlds.

- **Family and Community Bonds (2020)**: Living in her family’s home, she cherished the strong community ties and weekly family gatherings, highlighting the importance of place and connection in her life.

- **Pursuing an MBA (2021)**: Annie moved to Durham, North Carolina, to pursue her MBA with the intention of enhancing her leadership skills and testing her values against corporate America, while remaining committed to social impact.

- **Testing Personal Values (2021-2022)**: Throughout her MBA journey, she engaged with diverse experiences and people but ultimately reaffirmed her commitment to social impact over traditional corporate paths.

- **Future Aspirations (Post-MBA)**: With graduation approaching, Annie expressed her desire to return to Appalachia, seeking a job that aligns with her mission of fostering community and economic development.

- **Focus on Non-Extractive Capital (2022)**: She articulated a vision for attracting non-extractive investments to the region, emphasizing sustainable development and community empowerment.

- **Commitment to Education (2022)**: Annie highlighted her goal to enhance educational opportunities in Appalachia, aiming to retain talent and improve quality of life without forcing individuals to leave their communities.

- **Inspiration and Impact (2022)**: Throughout her journey, Annie remained passionate about enriching the lives of her community, embodying a deep commitment to place-based development and social equity.

Based on the provided transcript snippet, here are some inferred key beliefs and chronological steps that may have led to the life they are leading:

- **Desire for Impact**: Annie expresses a clear aspiration to work in impact investing, indicating a belief in the power of finance to create positive social change.

- **Networking Importance**: The mention of getting Annie a job in DC highlights the belief that connections and networking are crucial for career advancement in impactful sectors.

- **Appreciation for Support**: Annie thanks Thomas, demonstrating a belief in the importance of gratitude and acknowledging support systems in one’s career journey.

- **Community Engagement**: The call to action for listeners to help Annie signifies a belief in collective effort and community support to achieve personal goals.

- **Proactive Career Approach**: The urgency in finding a job suggests a belief in taking proactive steps and being assertive in pursuing career opportunities.

- **Value of Mentorship**: The interaction implies a belief that mentorship and guidance from experienced individuals can significantly influence career paths.

- **Optimism about Opportunities**: Annie's eagerness to secure a job indicates a positive outlook on the availability of opportunities within impact investing.

- **Commitment to Values**: The focus on impact investing reflects a deep commitment to aligning one's career with personal values and ethics.

- **Adaptability**: Engaging in conversations about job opportunities shows a belief in adaptability and the willingness to explore different paths to achieve one’s goals.

- **Long-term Vision**: The overall discussion suggests a belief in setting long-term goals and working consistently towards them, emphasizing persistence in the pursuit of meaningful work. 

These beliefs and steps illustrate a journey towards a fulfilling career in impact investing, driven by community, support, and personal values.

In this episode of the Fuqua Show, listeners are introduced to Annie Forrest, a passionate advocate for rural communities and a second-year MBA student at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Originally from Richlands, a small Appalachian town in Virginia, Annie shares her inspiring journey of leaving home for education and advocacy, only to return amid the pandemic, reigniting her commitment to her roots. The conversation delves into Annie’s experiences with the One Love Foundation in New York City, where she worked on relationship health education, and her efforts to combat the stereotypes often associated with Appalachia.

Through Annie's story, listeners can learn about the importance of community, the complexities of rural issues like the opioid crisis, and the value of healthy relationships. Annie's insights into navigating the transition from a small town to larger cities, and her reflections on the impact of her upbringing, provide a relatable narrative for anyone who has grappled with the concept of home. As a champion for social impact and economic development, Annie’s journey highlights the potential for positive change in underrepresented communities. Join Thomas Chang as he engages with Annie Forrest, a true embodiment of resilience and dedication to making a difference.

- Annie Forrest hails from Richlands, a small Appalachian town in Southwest Virginia, where her family has lived for eight generations.
- She has a strong connection to her hometown, emphasizing the deep ties to the land and community that are prevalent in Appalachian culture.
- Annie's childhood was shaped by traditional practices, such as growing vegetables during the summer and sourcing meat from local farms, which she initially thought were common experiences.
- She describes her hometown as a close-knit community where everyone knows each other's business, fostering a sense of care and accountability among residents.
- Annie holds a humorous view on how small-town life can lead to a lack of privacy, especially with family members working in local schools.
- She has a passion for outdoor activities, particularly hiking and biking in the mountains.
- Annie enjoys long road trips, which likely reflect her love for exploration and adventure.
- She has a unique love for pizza, boasting a record of eating it for 21 consecutive days, showcasing her playful side.
- Annie lived directly above a Little Caesars in New York City, which contributed to her pizza-eating streak during her time there.
- She expresses pride in her Appalachian heritage, countering stereotypes often associated with the region by highlighting its hardworking and kind people.

- The guest grew up in Richlands, a small town in Appalachia, and has a strong connection to the community despite its challenges.
- They experienced a significant culture shock when moving from their small hometown to Charlottesville for college, feeling that the latter was much larger and more diverse than what they were used to.
- The guest initially held misconceptions about diversity, believing that everyone in their hometown shared the same overwhelmingly Christian beliefs.
- They found a passion for women, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Virginia, which helped them articulate feelings of feminism and intersectionality that they had long held.
- The guest took a semester off during college due to a traumatic experience, which they describe as the best decision they ever made, allowing them to gain clarity and direction.
- They became actively involved in sexual assault and relationship abuse prevention efforts after their experience, highlighting their commitment to advocacy.
- Living in a sorority house provided the guest with a supportive community that helped them navigate their college journey and activism.
- They participated in a project called Project Unbreakable, where survivors share quotes from their abusers, which helped them find their voice and gain media attention for their story.
- The guest emphasizes the importance of belonging and community support, particularly in collegiate settings, for personal and collective healing.
- They recognize the long-term impacts of the opioid crisis on their community, noting that everyone is connected to the issue in some way, whether through family or friends.

- The guest initially moved from a small town, Richlands, to a larger city, Charlottesville, before making a significant leap to New York City.
- They moved to New York City with only two suitcases and a one-month sublet, initially sleeping on a friend's floor for five days.
- The guest experienced a culture shock and uncertainty about their decision to move to New York, despite having a strong desire to work for the One Love Foundation.
- Their family had limited exposure to New York City, making it challenging to navigate the city and its dynamics; they only visited once for Thanksgiving.
- The guest humorously noted that their family did not engage in traditional Thanksgiving activities, opting instead to dine at an Eastern European restaurant.
- They joined One Love at a time when the organization was still in its early stages, describing it as a startup vibe within a nonprofit context.
- The guest frequently traveled between New York and Jacksonville for work, emphasizing their commitment to building relationships and spreading awareness about relationship health education.
- At 23 years old, they took on the role of a "saleswoman" for a free educational program, highlighting the challenges of promoting a free service in a field that many are hesitant to discuss.
- They faced skepticism from potential partners about the relevance of relationship abuse education in their communities, indicating the need for advocacy and awareness.
- The guest is passionate about educating others on what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like, reflecting their commitment to making a positive impact in this area.

- The guest is involved with the One Love Foundation, which aims to create a common language for identifying unhealthy behaviors in relationships.
- They emphasize the importance of recognizing both unhealthy and healthy relationship behaviors, advocating for open conversations about these topics.
- The guest believes that media often glamorizes unhealthy relationships, using examples like the movie "The Notebook" to illustrate their point.
- They encourage individuals to ask open-ended questions about friends' relationships rather than taking social media representations at face value.
- The guest has spent six years with the One Love Foundation, which has influenced their decision to pursue an MBA.
- They highlight the learning opportunities in startup environments, contrasting them with more structured job roles.
- The guest emphasizes the importance of setting personal boundaries while working in a fast-paced startup culture.
- After spending years in New York City, they returned to their hometown of Richlands, Virginia, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Their decision to move back home was partly driven by the need for more space while working remotely, as their apartment was crowded with roommates.
- The guest reflects on the unexpected length of their stay at home, which began as a two-week plan but extended to two years before attending business school.

- The guest has a strong emotional connection to their hometown of Richlands, Appalachia, which they describe as a place where their heart has always been.
- They have actively sought to engage with their roots by listening to podcasts, reading books, and connecting with others about the region.
- The guest experienced a sense of "living in the in-between" when they returned home, balancing their ties to both Appalachia and their professional life in New York.
- Family plays a significant role in their life; they have a close-knit family structure with regular Sunday lunches at their grandparents' old house.
- They have a desire to return to Appalachia, highlighting a longing for community and connection to their origins.
- The guest is committed to social impact and wants to work on rural community and economic development in Appalachia.
- They are interested in creating non-extractive economic opportunities in their region, focusing on sustainable development and education.
- The guest has a partner who works in environmental policy, which influences their current location and future plans.
- They express a strong belief in the importance of high-quality education and job creation within their community to prevent outmigration.
- The guest finds beauty in the experience of straddling multiple cultures and places, appreciating the diverse perspectives they bring to their understanding of home.

- Annie is currently seeking an impact investing job in Washington, DC.
- She expresses gratitude towards Thomas for hosting her on the podcast.
- Annie values the opportunity to share her insights and experiences with the audience.
- She is passionate about making a difference through her work in impact investing.
- Annie appreciates the support of the podcast community in her job search.
- She emphasizes the importance of networking and connections in finding new opportunities.
- Annie is open to exploring various roles within the impact investing sector.
- She enjoys engaging in conversations about social and environmental issues.
- Annie is motivated by the potential of impact investing to create positive change in society.

- **Eighth Generation Roots**: Annie Forrest's family has deep ties to Richlands, Virginia, having lived there for eight generations, fostering a strong connection to the land and community.
  
- **Small Town Life**: Growing up in a town of 5,000, Annie experienced a close-knit community where everyone knew each other, highlighting the importance of small-town values and neighborly support.

- **Cultural Pride**: Despite stereotypes about Appalachia, Annie developed a sense of pride in her heritage, appreciating the hardworking nature and distinct culture of her region.

- **Norms of Rural Living**: Annie's upbringing included practices like growing vegetables and sourcing meat locally, which she later realized were not common to everyone outside her community.

- **Education and Advocacy**: After high school, Annie pursued higher education, which opened her eyes to different lifestyles and perspectives, ultimately leading her to become an advocate for relationship health.

- **Move to NYC**: Annie relocated to New York City, where she worked with the One Love Foundation, focusing on strategic partnerships and national initiatives in relationship health education.

- **Pandemic Shift**: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted Annie to return to Richlands, allowing her to reconnect with her roots and the community that shaped her.

- **Championing Rural Communities**: Back in Richlands, Annie became a vocal advocate for rural Appalachian communities, addressing issues related to education, health, and economic development.

- **Pursuing Impact Investing**: While studying at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Annie served as Vice President of Health and Wellness and co-chaired the Impact Investing Initiative, aligning her career with her passion for community development.

- **Future Aspirations**: As she nears graduation, Annie aims to continue her work in impact investing, striving to create positive change in rural areas while cherishing her Appalachian heritage.

- **Growing Up in Richlands**: The speaker reflects on their upbringing in Richlands, a small town in Appalachia, where misconceptions about the region and its people are prevalent, often leading to stereotypes of uneducation and ignorance.

- **Impact of External Industries**: The conversation highlights the long-term effects of extraction industries like timber and coal, as well as the opioid epidemic, which have compounded issues in Appalachian communities, creating significant socioeconomic challenges.

- **Opioid Epidemic**: The speaker shares personal connections to the opioid crisis, noting that nearly everyone in their community has been affected, either through addiction or loss, and emphasizes the ongoing generational impact of this crisis.

- **Transition to College**: Leaving Richlands for the University of Virginia (UVA) marked a significant shift, exposing the speaker to a larger, more diverse environment that contrasted sharply with their hometown.

- **Challenging Beliefs**: At UVA, the speaker's worldview expanded, particularly through studies in women, gender, and sexuality, which helped articulate feelings of feminism and intersectionality that they had previously sensed but could not express.

- **Personal Trauma and Advocacy**: The speaker experienced sexual assault during their first year at UVA, which profoundly affected their college experience and led to a period of reflection and activism focused on sexual assault prevention.

- **Taking a Semester Off**: Recognizing the need for a break, the speaker took a semester off from school, a decision they describe as transformative, allowing them to gain perspective and return with renewed passion for advocacy.

- **Activism and Community**: Upon returning to UVA, the speaker became involved in advocacy efforts, particularly through a group called One Less, which focused on raising awareness about sexual assault before the mainstream emergence of the #MeToo movement.

- **Sharing Their Story**: The speaker took a bold step by publicly sharing their story of sexual assault through the Project Unbreakable initiative, which gained significant attention and sparked conversations around the topic.

- **Empowerment Through Community**: Throughout their journey, the speaker emphasizes the importance of community support, particularly from their sorority, in fostering a sense of belonging and empowering their activism and personal growth.

- **Origin in Richlands**: The journey began in Richlands, Virginia, where the speaker's understanding of relationship health and advocacy was initially shaped.

- **Transition to Charlottesville**: Moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, for college, where exposure to new ideas and experiences sparked a passion for policy initiatives and advocacy related to sexual assault and relationship abuse.

- **Involvement in Policy**: Actively engaged in legislative processes by testifying in front of Virginia Senate committees, sharing personal experiences to influence survivor-friendly laws.

- **Public Testimony Challenges**: Faced a challenging moment during testimony when a senator questioned the validity of their experience, highlighting the importance of allyship as other senators defended them.

- **Year with Sorority**: Spent a year working for a national sorority, further developing advocacy skills and connections before transitioning to a more focused role in relationship health education.

- **Move to New York City**: Made a significant leap from Charlottesville to New York City, moving with just two suitcases and a one-month sublet, driven by the desire to work with the One Love Foundation.

- **Family Dynamics**: Encountered challenges in getting family to New York, illustrating the cultural shift from a small town to a bustling city environment.

- **Joining One Love Foundation**: Joined One Love at its early stages, contributing to the development of relationship health education programs and focusing on scaling initiatives on a national level.

- **Building Relationships in Jacksonville**: Worked intensely on relationship-building efforts, flying frequently to Jacksonville to promote the foundation's free curriculum to schools and community organizations.

- **Advocacy for Healthy Relationships**: Engaged in teaching about healthy and unhealthy relationships, emphasizing the importance of awareness and education in preventing relationship abuse and fostering community support.

- **Introduction to One Love**: The organization aimed to create a common language for recognizing unhealthy behaviors in relationships, addressing issues like manipulation and deflection of responsibility that often go unrecognized.

- **Personal Reflection**: The speaker shares their personal experience of not being taught what a healthy relationship looks like, highlighting the negative influence of media portrayals, such as in the film "The Notebook," which romanticizes unhealthy relationship dynamics.

- **Educational Initiatives**: One Love focused on debunking unhealthy relationship myths and promoting healthy behaviors, including effective conflict resolution, responsibility, trust-building, and the importance of happiness in relationships.

- **Advice for Young Adults**: The speaker encourages peers to engage more deeply with friends' relationships, emphasizing the importance of asking open-ended questions and not taking social media at face value.

- **Awareness of Relationship Issues**: The conversation stresses that unhealthy relationships can affect anyone, regardless of gender identity, and challenges the notion that it's not one's business to intervene in a friend's relationship.

- **Experience at One Love**: After spending six years at One Love, the speaker reflects on the invaluable learning experiences gained from working in a startup environment, particularly the necessity to adapt and hustle.

- **Desire for Further Education**: The inspiring work environment at One Love motivated the speaker to pursue an MBA to enhance their skills in scaling organizations.

- **Work-Life Balance**: The speaker emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries in a startup culture, advocating for mental health and recognizing that no job is worth sacrificing well-being.

- **Relocation During COVID-19**: In March 2020, the onset of the pandemic prompted the speaker to leave New York City and return to their hometown of Richlands, Virginia, seeking more space and support from family.

- **Extended Stay at Home**: What was initially intended as a brief visit turned into a two-year stay, allowing the speaker to reflect on their journey and prepare for the next chapter in their career, including attending business school.

- **December 2019**: Annie begins to feel a deep longing for her Appalachian roots, leading her to engage with the community through podcasts, literature, and conversations about the region.

- **December 2019**: She reaches out to her future partner on LinkedIn about joining the "Friends of Appalachia" club at UVA, expressing her desire to reconnect with her home.

- **2020**: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Annie returns to her hometown of Richlands, experiencing a bittersweet homecoming as she confronts the region's challenges, including the opioid crisis and economic decline.

- **2020**: Upon her return, Annie observes a significant decline in small businesses on Main Street but also witnesses a resurgence of young entrepreneurs revitalizing the local economy.

- **2020**: Annie grapples with feelings of being an outsider, balancing her Appalachian roots with her experiences in urban environments, symbolized by a photo of her fishing while carrying a New Yorker bag.

- **2020**: She cherishes family connections, participating in Sunday lunches with her extended family in her grandparents' old house, reinforcing her community ties.

- **2021**: Annie moves to Durham, North Carolina, to pursue an MBA, aiming to enhance her leadership skills and explore her professional values beyond the nonprofit sector.

- **2021-2022**: During her MBA, she engages in various initiatives, including health and wellness programs and social impact internships, while reaffirming her commitment to social impact over corporate America.

- **2022**: As graduation approaches, Annie reflects on her experiences, recognizing that while she gained valuable insights, her passion for social impact remains unchanged.

- **Post-Graduation**: Annie plans to work on rural community development in Appalachia, focusing on non-extractive capital investment and improving education, with the goal of enhancing the quality of life in her hometown.

- **Introduction to Impact Investing**: Annie expresses her interest in impact investing, highlighting its importance and relevance in today’s economic landscape.

- **Networking Support**: Thomas, a key figure in the conversation, offers to help Annie secure a job in DC, showcasing the power of community and connections in career development.

- **Recognition of Skills**: Annie’s qualifications and experiences are acknowledged, emphasizing her readiness and potential to contribute to the impact investing field.

- **Call to Action**: The conversation serves as a rallying cry for listeners to support Annie in her job search, illustrating the collaborative nature of professional advancement.

- **Gratitude and Reflection**: Annie expresses her appreciation for the opportunity to share her journey, indicating a positive mindset and openness to new possibilities.

- **Future Aspirations**: The discussion hints at Annie’s future goals in impact investing, suggesting a clear vision for her career path.

- **Engagement with the Audience**: The podcast encourages listeners to become involved, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose.

- **Closing Remarks**: The conversation wraps up with a hopeful tone, leaving listeners motivated to support one another in their professional endeavors.

- **Lasting Connections**: The interaction between Annie and Thomas illustrates the importance of mentorship and relationships in achieving career goals.

- **Inspiration for Others**: Annie’s journey serves as an inspiration for others in the field, highlighting the possibility of making a meaningful impact through one’s career.