JW: There’s been a lot of work involved as you were starting from scratch. What has been your biggest joy?

LP: Oh, it’s easy. The biggest joy is, you know, the kids. Like kids at Ironwood, for example, just seeing them in community with their own peers and knowing how hard that is to come by for them. My kids were raised in a Montessori environment, right, so they both exhibit the kind of self-awareness and self assurance and comfortability within their own skin. I really value that because that’s what I really wanted for them as kids growing up which I didn’t have. With Gurney Norman’s recent passing, I just reread my father’s poem about him and Gurney’s early life, you know, and others grew up in horrific environments. You know, so this I feel like, something that I can do to help others along the way. This is what I can do. Give back, payback to help. I would say the biggest regret is that my Dad isn’t here.

JW: At the Foundation, we certainly don’t do this alone. Talk a little about what the support of the community has meant as you have been trying to get this off the ground.

LP: We couldn’t be where we are today without the support we have found, really, statewide. We have had so many people invest their time and talent to help us get started. The gift of wisdom and advice has been invaluable. We have just started to do a little fundraising for our programs and continue to spread the word about the good work we do. We have been fortunate to find really top-notch partners. Melissa Helton, Sherry Cook Stanforth, Christopher McCurry, Amy Richardson, Bobbi Buchannan . . . they are dynamite and all artists in their own right. We received early advice to “support the supporters” and we have such great partners who align with our mission.

JW: As we enter 2026, what is ahead for the James Baker Hall Foundation? What about long term plans?

LP: We continue to look at what opportunities are out there. Coming up in March is The Northern Kentucky Equinox Celebration with Sherry Cook Stanforth and we will be a sponsor there. We will be doing Kentucky Writers on the Road with our 2025 winner Willie Davis and of course, kicking off the 2026 Book Award which will be for Creative Non-fiction. We have two new communities we are looking to explore in Berea and Hazard. Long term, we continue to work toward the five-year goal of a public charity actively involved across the Commonwealth. And of course, working toward growth for viability.