ASP Alumni

LinkedIn

This ASP Alumni group is an excellent location to post job opportunities and connect with other alumni in your industry.

Visit us on LinkedIn.

Facebook

This is one of our primary modes of communication with staff alumni. Feel free to share articles or job opportunities, or post about your latest home repair project. Looking for a job or contact in a particular field? Post in this group to find out who you might connect with.

Visit the Facebook Group here.

Ani currently serves with ASP as the East Tennessee Regional Director. Ani, in her own words:

When people think of ASP, they often picture Central Appalachia — small mountain towns scattered through Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and beyond. But not everyone knows just how many corners of those mountains we touched. My own ASP journey began in 1996 in Chavies, Kentucky (Perry County), continued in Harts, West Virginia (Lincoln County) in 1997, then Hyden, Kentucky (Leslie County) in 1998, and finally Mountain City, Tennessee (Johnson County) in 1999. After that fourth summer, I joined ASP full-time in October 1999 as a Field Coordinator overseeing our Kentucky operations.

Looking back, I honestly can’t remember what my staff role was that very first summer in Chavies — I was just trying to keep up and soak it all in. In 1997, I served as Foods Coordinator, and then as a Center Director in both 1998 and 1999. Each summer brought new challenges, new communities, and new lessons in leadership, resilience, and grace.

My first center in Chavies was unique — it was one of ASP’s year-round centers at the time. The rest of my summers were spent in elementary schools that transformed into bustling ASP headquarters for a few short months each year. In both Hyden and Mountain City, we slept in elementary schools but had to travel across town to the high schools to shower. The trek wasn’t always worth it — my personal record for days without a shower was nine (not something I’m proud of, but definitely a badge of honor for 90s ASP staff!).

I never met Tex, but I did have the joy of working with Martha Harmon and Norma Dean. Martha was often accompanied by Travis, who was a ball of energy and personality, and Norma was full of stories, laughter, and — let’s be honest — a fair amount of staff gossip. She had this uncanny ability to keep everyone connected, whether it was through her storytelling, her deep faith, or her updates on who was dating whom across the counties.

ASP changed me in every possible way. As a volunteer, I fell in love with the feeling of helping others. As a summer staffer, I discovered my passion for leading change — and learned that when people with shared purpose come together, real transformation happens. That realization led me into a lifelong career in the nonprofit world: first in housing, then founding Girls on the Run of Northeast Tennessee, and eventually, back to ASP to work in disaster recovery.

But even more than the work, ASP gave me my people. The friends who met me when I was still figuring out who I was, who loved me through every version of myself, and who are still the ones I talk to every single day. Coming back to ASP after 24 years away, I’ve found another generation of “my people” — many of whom weren’t even born when I was on staff — and yet the spirit, the love, and the sense of family are exactly the same.

Some families have stayed with me vividly all these years. Eva and Sid, from my first summer in Kentucky, lived in a home along the train tracks in an old coal camp. They didn’t have indoor plumbing, but their house was overflowing with warmth, laughter, and hospitality. Sid had rheumatoid arthritis that made movement difficult, but he always greeted me with a smile and a story. I spent many Saturday nights there eating cornbread and green beans, feeling completely at home.

Then there was Dayton and Hilda in Mountain City. Their house didn’t look like a typical ASP project — it was brick and a bit larger — but years of health challenges had left it in need of repair. Dayton’s humor could light up any room, and their porch became my favorite place to be. When I moved to Johnson City after that summer, I visited often and became part of their extended family.

Over the years, I’ve watched ASP evolve — in some ways dramatically, and in others not at all. After leaving staff in 2001, I spent more than two decades nearby in Johnson City, keeping up with the organization from afar. When I returned as a volunteer with my daughter (and ASP legend Chris Doll) a few years ago, I marveled at how much had changed — the technology, the safety standards, the systems — and also how much of the heart remained untouched. Honestly, I’m still amazed that we all survived the 90s without any major injuries given how “wing-it” much of our work was back then!

In August 2024, I came full circle, returning to ASP as the East Tennessee Regional Director, overseeing home repair, new builds, and disaster recovery. Just six weeks later, Hurricane Helene struck our area. In those intense days, I found myself relying on every skill I’d learned as a summer staffer — adaptability, creativity, teamwork, and an unwavering belief in people coming together to make a difference.

ASP shaped who I am. It gave me a career, a calling, and a community — and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.

Adopt a Summer Staff

• Sign up as an individual or group to adopt a staff over the summer by sending care packages, gift cards, or notes/videos of encouragement.  
• Follow the county Facebook pages to see updates from the staff on projects, fundraisers, and more. See the Center pages for county Facebook links. 

Email us at hiring@asphome.org for more information and to sign up. 

Donate

• You know better than anyone that donations go a long way!
• Consider donating to a staff’s fundraiser throughout the summer, to ASP’s CCW fund, or to the general fund! Learn more about donating here.
• Help ASP continue serving families in Appalachia while also supporting the next generation of ASP staffers, who we all know go out to be incredible leaders across the country and world