Catherine A. Wilt is a Research Director Emeritus with the University of Tennessee’s (UT) Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, and she currently serves as a co-facilitator of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachian Leadership Institute. She recently retired as director of UT’s Center for Clean Products, where she had 25 years of policy research and management experience. Her areas of expertise include urban and regional planning, community economic development, and environmental policy. She has worked extensively with state and local governments, manufacturers, schools and non-profits to develop sustainable environmental, economic and community development initiatives across the Appalachian region. Cat has served on many professional boards and committees, including serving as the President and Chair of the National Recycling Coalition. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and history and a master’s in environmental planning, all from the University of Tennessee.