Kayla is the Rural Center’s communications associate. She came to the NC Rural Center in July 2016 as an AmeriCorps VISTA and became a permanent member of the team in August 2017. A Raleigh native, Kayla has spent most of her life living in this state trying to discover what really is the best way to eat barbecue. She loves living in a place that has easy access to both the mountains and the beach—tons of options for travel!
Kayla returned to her family’s rural roots by graduating from Carson-Newman University in 2016 with a communications degree. Located in East Tennessee, the university was just a few miles from her Papaw’s dairy farm and the high school where her parents met. While there she learned to always #EatLocal and #ShopLocal.
Since moving back to Raleigh, Kayla spends way too much time scrolling through social media (#RuralCounts), volunteering with the youth group at her church, and fulfilling her life dream of working for a nonprofit.