AboutAFS Staff

TJ Smith

Communications and Outreach Manager
Contracted, June 2020–Feb 2022

T. J. Smith is an independent, public folklorist with research experience in the folklore of Southern Appalachia, urban folklore, foodways, and food security and has held faculty positions at rural and majority-minority-serving institutions (2006 – 2014). Most recently, T. J. served as executive director of The Foxfire Fund, Inc. (2017 – 2020), overseeing that organization’s rebranding, major program and museum improvements, and editing two Foxfire publications, The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery (UNC Press, 2019) and Foxfire Story (Anchor, 2020). Additionally, He was co-founder and branding consultant for design firm Braizen in Atlanta, GA (2011 – 2019), where he assisted dozens of businesses in developing brand strategies and identities. He holds a Ph.D. in folklore from the University of Louisiana.

A group of men and women posing for a group selfie, smiling and generally expressing joy towards the camera.
From the 2019 Summer Folklore Institute in Guangzhou China, from foreground to background, T. J. Smith, Jessica Turner, Lijun Zhang, He Yan, Nicole Musgrave, Michelle Stefano, Jess Larmar Holler Reece, Hu Xiaoyu, Jason Baird Jackson.

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