Welcome to Asheville, NC, where the best beer in the country flows from the oldest mountains in the world. The initial non-native inhabitants of Asheville were Scotch-Irish who fled the UK from organized religion, then the US northeast from government taxation and ultimately, the rest of Appalachia from corporate exploitation. With a “don’t fuck with me” culture, Asheville has grown into a hotbed for social innovation and experimentation. From urban farms to micro-homes to cutting edge educational experiments, Asheville’s rogue nature continues to lead the way in resilient living and social innovation.

Walk down the street and it wouldn’t be odd to see two college graduates dumpster diving, Colin Farrell vacationing with his wife, or a nun riding a 6 foot kitted-out bicycle. Asheville is many things, but predictable it is not. Change is a way of life. Ask anyone who has lived here for more than five years… And good luck finding one of them. ;)

City Ambassadors

Matthew Abrams

Matthew Abrams is a public speaker, writer, photographer and a professional agitator within the field of disruptive education. His work as a photojournalist and entrepreneur took him to 40 countries. These experiences offered the inspiration that gave form to Mycelium, an experimental learning laboratory for social change agents. He has facilitated workshops on Innovative Education Models, Social Entrepreneurship and Personal Purpose across the US in partnership with the Sullivan Foundation, AshokaU, GOOD Magazine, Generation Waking Up and others. He’s also offered keynote talks at conferences and event such as Sustainable Brands, the Innovation Exchange, TEDxYale, TEDxFurmanU and others. Matthew also writes on the future of education and social entrepreneurship for publications including the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Guardian of London, GOOD Magazine and the Matador Network.

Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

Good is:
A person knowing they are part of a community. A community knowing it’s part of a bioregion. A bioregion knowing it’s connected to something greater than itself. We live for meaning and we find meaning in relationship. If we can feel connected to nature we will more readily act on its behalf. If we feel connected to people that are different than us, we will have the opportunity to dissolve the stories that keep us separate. That’s good.

Rochelle Hudson

Rochelle is an Asheville-area 20-something working on several projects for alternative and emerging technologies in education (the Learning Revolution Project and Agile Learning Centers) and collaboration (Center for Collaborative Awareness).

She has undergraduate degrees in Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Biology, and has studied human non-verbal communication, created research paradigms on social cognition for patients with Alzheimer’s, and built metabolic models for brain metabolism.

Rochelle has worked as a warehouse supervisor (forklifts—woo), Japanese fast-food sample distributor, and once ran a business selling rocks out of her very own Radio Flyer wagon.

She has a general background in the fine arts (mom’s an art teacher), moderate musical abilities (she plays viola in the Blue Ridge Orchestra), and is very, very close to completing her 225-hour yoga teacher training.

Website | LinkedIn

Good is:
Asking the people around you what’s good so that you can make more of it together.

Header image: Kristin Fellows Photography

© HWGI? 2017 | Created and designed by Marc O’Brien.