Cynthia Elliott
After completing a nationwide search, The Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky (AppalRed) has selected Cynthia Elliott as its new
Executive Director, making her the first-ever African-American leader of a Kentucky legal services program.
Elliott led AppalRed�s Breathitt County office from 1990 to 2001 before going to work for Kentucky�s Department
of Public Advocacy. She later served as Managing Attorney for Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, a non-LSC
funded legal services program serving 32 northwest and western Ohio counties.
History of AppalReD
AppalReD provides free civil legal services to low-income families and individuals who live in Eastern and
South Central Kentucky. AppalReD began in 1970 and had three operating offices in Prestonsburg, Barbourville,
and on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexingtion, with a staff of 15, including 8 attorneys.
AppalReD has expanded to 37 Eastern Kentukcy counties and has a staff of 33 attorneys, 3 paralegals and 24 supprot staff.
Today we are housed in 9 offices throughout the region and serve a poverty population of approximately 250,000.
In the early days, AppalReD addressed many devastating environmental and coal mine related issues such as black lung disease,
abusive land use practices and disfigured mountain tops caused by strip mining. AppalReD clients still face some of these
same challenges, but even more devastating to the region are the socio-economic challenges which promote instability and threaten to
keep the region mired in poverty.
AppalReD is committed to address these challenges and helping those who lack the financial resources to address legal issues
related to inadequate health care or insurance, lack of education, elder abuse, domestic violence, consumer issues, homelessness,
unemployment, income maintenance, divorce, and child custody and support.