Rural Appalachian.

First-generation college graduate.

A hope dealer who works to ensure all Appalachian children have the opportunity to succeed.

An advocate for rural schools who brings the voice of rural children and rural educators into policy discussions.

Since 1999, Dreama Gentry has led Berea College’s educational outreach into Appalachian Kentucky as the executive director of Partners for Education, which has an annual budget of $36 million. Gentry designs and implements projects to that build on four core strategies: engaging families, lifting educational aspirations, building academic skills and connecting college and career. By leveraging funding from federal programs, such as GEAR UP and Promise Neighborhoods, Gentry has provided opportunities and support to more than 100,000 rural Kentucky youth.

An Annie E. Casey Children and Family Fellow, she also serves on the board of directors for the Pine Mountain Settlement School and Fahe, a community development non-profit. She is a citizen at large member of the Kentucky Early Childhood Advisory Council and a member of the equity coalition convened by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Gentry holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Berea College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky.