Who could have predicted that Hurricane Helene would carry her fury from the Gulf of Mexico and the coast of Florida hundreds of miles north into Appalachia? While there were forecasts calling for the hurricane to be downgraded to a tropical storm and drop quite a bit of rain in the region, the extent of damage in western North Carolina has been breathtaking.

Jacqueline Harp had her hands full when she took over as CEO of Smokies Life, a nonprofit organization that works with the National Park Service to develop educational and interpretive materials for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She had barely settled into that job when Helene reached North Carolina.

We’ve invited Jacki to join us today both to learn how recovery efforts are going in the national park, and to discuss her new role and ambitions with Smokies Life.