Linda Cowan

Linda Cowan joined the SOCM staff in 1993 as the Finance and Office Manager. She currently fills the position of Operations and Finance Director, a fine fit since she loves to raise and spend money. The passion of SOCM’s incredible members keeps her motivated. Linda grew up a Navy brat, the oldest of seven children, and moved to East Tennessee when her father retired in 1974. She is the proud aunt of six nieces and four nephews who work really hard to keep her young.  Email:linda@socm.org 

Katie Stokes Greer

Katie Stokes Greer joined SOCM as the Green Collar Jobs Organizer in October 2011. Previously, she worked as a coordinator for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy where she facilitated the Tennessee Valley and Eastern Kentucky Wind Working Group, one of a national network of state Wind Working Groups that are part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America initiative, and managed Tennessee's Anemometer Loan Program. She currently sits on the board of directors for Community Shares. Katie was raised near Memphis before she moved to East Tennessee for college, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering with a minor in environmental engineering from the University of Tennessee. Katie and her husband, Steven, live in Knoxville along with their two dogs and two cats. Email: katie@socm.org 

Parker Laubach

Parker Laubach joined the SOCM staff as the E3 Organizer in September 2012.  Prior to working at SOCM he was involved with Students for Environmental Concerns at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where he helped students start a campaign against coal power generation on campus along with various other coal, energy and environmental issues.  Additionally at UIUC he worked as a research assistant on a research project dealing with uranium groundwater contamination in Western Colorado, presented at conferences and was the lead author on an academic paper concerning isotopic effects due to uranium groundwater contamination.  From UIUC he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Earth Systems, Environment and Society.  He recently moved to Knoxville, and loves the hills and forests of East Tennessee.  Email: parker@socm.org

Kathy Nix

Kathy Nix

Kathy Nix has been on the SOCM staff since June 1996. She began as clerical support staff, and then about ten years ago became the SOCM Office Manager. Before coming to SOCM, Kathy graduated from the Jacksboro Technology Center with a General Secretary Diploma in Business Systems Technology. Kathy had worked in the health field for fourteen years, both at a nursing home and in private duty, before she returned to school. Currently, she lives in LaFollette, Tenn., with Dale, her husband of twenty-six years. She is the mother of two adult children, Wesley and Shayla, and “Gramma” to three grandchildren, R. J., Kristiana, and Jayden.  Email: kathy@socm.org

Amelia Parker

Amelia Parker joined SOCM as the Executive Director in November 2009. Originally from Floyd County, Ky., her roots are in the South and in coal mining country. At a very young age, Amelia's grandfather died of black lung, giving Amelia her first glimpse into the devastating effects of coal mining on the miners as well as their families. She knew then that she wanted to do something to empower her community and others like it to fight for a better quality of life. In college, she was introduced to the field of human rights, and since then she has spent her career advocating for social justice and human rights at home and abroad, tackling issues such as genocide, refugees’ "right to work," the human rights implications of water privatization, racial inequalities in public education and government contracts, and the domestic implementation of human rights law. Amelia received a B.A. from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) with a double major in comparative studies of race and ethnicity and Italian. She received both her JD and LLM degrees from American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, DC.  Email: amelia@socm.org

Casey Self

Casey became the Communications Director in September 2011 after three years as the communications manager for a health insurance broker. She came to Knoxville in 2002 from Alexandria, Va., to attend the University of Tennessee where she received her B.S. in sport management with minors in business administration and journalism/electronic media. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations while working as a graduate assistant with the UT Lady Vols Media Relations office. Casey currently serves as the Communications Chair for the League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County and is on the leadership team for Slow Food Knoxville. She enjoys live music, gardening, cooking, and all the fun things Knoxville has to offer. Casey lives in Knoxville with her partner Ben and their two dogs. Email: casey@socm.org

Kazi Wilkins

Kazi Wilkins joined the SOCM staff as Organizing Director in October 2011. She has over a decade of experience working as an organizer in communities across the country.  She has worked in communities from the Central Valley in California to Washington DC, to inner city neighborhoods in Miami, Florida and beyond.  She is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a B.S. in culture and politics. She is originally from Knoxville, Tenn., where she has recently returned and currently resides. Email: kazi@socm.org

Brad Wright

Brad Wright has spent the last 10 years working on issues of social, economic, and racial justice in rural and urban communities in Arkansas and Tennessee. He was a local pastor in the United Methodist Church in the Arkansas Conference from 2003 to 2008, where he helped develop food assistance, literacy, and civic participation programs in response to the needs of low-income families and immigrants. He's worked as a community organizer for grassroots organizations of immigrants and people with disabilities and has experience campaigning against social injustices such as racial profiling and discrimination in housing. Brad holds a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Arkansas and will soon complete his Master's in History from Middle Tennessee State University, with an emphasis on the history of social movements. He lives in Smyrna with his wife Alicia, and they share three children, a beagle, and a black cat that brings good luck. Email: brad@socm.org