Chris Begley, an archeologist, Transylvania University professor and National Geographic Explorer, is a former reporter for The Mountain Eagle newspaper in Whitesburg and grandson of Joe and Gaynell Begley, former owners of the CB Caudill Store in Blackey, KY, which was something of a community institution in its day. Dr. Begley has reported and photographed for the WEKU documentary series “RISE” which focuses on the people and issues of Eastern Kentucky, and is a regular essayist for the station's current affairs program, Eastern Standard.

Tom Eblen, a journalist, writer and photographer, is literary liaison at the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning. He was metro/state columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader from 2008 to 2019 and the newspaper’s managing editor from 1998-2008. Tom returned to his hometown in 1998 after 14 years with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and five years with The Associated Press. He has won many awards, including the 2013 media award in the Kentucky Governor’s Awards in the Arts. He was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2016. Tom also has written articles for several magazines and contributed chapters to two books about Kentucky history.

Delia Gibbs, a Lexington native, is an enthusiastic reader, salad-maker, yoga teacher, and lover of beauty, nature, and the arts. A new contributor to UnderMain, she’s excited to explore and build connections within the central Kentucky arts scene.

Emily Elizabeth Goodman is an art historian, curator and critic and Associate Professor of Art History at Transylvania University in Lexington, KY. Her research focuses on issues of gender, labor, and food in American women’s art in the 20th and 21st centuries. (Photo by Kerri Sweet)

Zachary Hall is a graduate of Transylvania University and is currently a graduate student in the University of Kentucky's Curatorial Studies program. In addition to his work as a curator, Hall operates as an independent artist and writer. He is interested in bridging the gap between artist, viewer, and exhibiting institution, viewing the gallery as a possibility space where audiences can participate in artistic production and form community. Hall operates with the understanding that art has the potential to spark dialogue and create change.

Tim Kirkman is a screenwriter, director, teacher and podcaster. Tim Kirkman’s debut feature DEAR JESSE received Emmy, Gotham, GLAAD and Spirit Award nominations and was named Best Documentary by the Boston Society of Film Critics. He wrote and directed the Sundance hit LOGGERHEADS, and LAZY EYE (Netflix); directed the features THE NIGHT LARRY KRAMER KISSED ME and 2ND SERVE; and produced Joanna Gleason’s THE GROTTO. Recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Award, he co-directed the acclaimed documentary short FREEMAN VINES, which won audience awards at Tallahassee and 12 Lions Film Festivals and was nominated for an NAACP Award. Tim is the creator and host of Reel Lives, a podcast about films. He has taught at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, UCLA’s Department of Film and Television, Hunter College, BCTC, Vermont College of Fine Arts, and Transylvania University.

Trevor McChristian is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. He continues to explore his professional identity as an actor, writer, singer, and performer—having recently just completed a run of “Haunted” at the Cleveland Public Theater. Currently, he sits on the Inclusivity Advisory Collective with The Lexington Theatre Company in Lexington, KY. Additionally, he is a Senior Manager of Mail Programs functioning as a Native American Engagement Liaison at the Voter Participation Center.

David T. Miller's nonfiction has appeared in The Flannery O’Connor Review, Kentucky Humanities, Bench and Bar, and Appalachian Heritage, and he’s edited and contributed to books for Southern Illinois University Press and St. Martin's/Griffin, among many others. He practiced law for a few years before realizing he’d rather be doing a lot of other things.

Kevin Nance is a freelance arts journalist, photographer and poet in Lexington. He is the former art and architecture critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, the former theater and dance critic of The Tennessean (Nashville) and the former arts writer of the Lexington Herald-Leader. As a freelancer he has contributed to the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Poets & Writers Magazine and many other publications. His three books include EVEN IF: PHOTOGRAPHS AND HAIKU (University of Kentucky Arts in HealthCare, 2020), MIDNIGHT (Act of Power Press, 2022) and GENEVA'S GARDEN: FOUR SEASONS OF BEAUTY IN LEXINGTON'S GRATZ PARK (2024). His poetry collection SMOKE is forthcoming from Accents Publishing in 2025. (Photo by Larry Neuzel). Kevin is a contributing interviewer for the public radio program Eastern Standard