ABOUT THE ORIGIN PROJECT
ABOUT THE ORIGIN PROJECT
Every people has to have its own stories . . .
If we don’t have our own stories then we don’t have our own soul:
we don’t have our own deepest possession, which is ourselves and our own unfolding . . .
Unless we cherish and savour our own [stories],
then we’re not going to know who we are and . . . we’ll become strangers to ourselves . . .
We’ve got to hold up a mirror to ourselves and create our own stories.
Writing is a valuable, sometimes vital, tool in human endeavour.
Story writing is a particular talent: the memorialisation of personal experiences, tales, and narratives bequeathed by family or friends or teachers or mentors.
The Origin Project is an in-school writing program sprouted six years ago from the idea that Appalachia’s stories are national treasures and its children should celebrate their roots. Our program inspires young people to discover and liberate their inner voices through the craft of writing about their unique origins. It has been enormously gratifying that The Origin Project has evolved into a community of engaged learners focused on diversity and inclusion, capitalizing on the rare chance to expose young people to each other’s unique heritages and to galvanize their curiosity about, and respect for, each other.
The Origin Project has grown organically from 40 students in Big Stone Gap to more than 1,500 students in 17 schools. We regularly import renowned authors—so far, David Baldacci, Meg Wolitzer, Margot Lee Shetterly, Mary Hogan, and Laurie Eustis—to meet with the students and share their personal writing experiences.
Each fall, our students are given a personal journal and thereafter work on multiple projects or stories that speak of and to their heritage. Their work is professionally published year-end in this anthology, presented to each student and made available in school and public libraries. The Origin Project is integrated with the Virginia Standards of Learning curriculum and collaborates with each student at her/his skill level to conceive, develop, and hone ideas into short stories, poems, plays, interviews, or other art.
The students present their work aloud to their peers, parents, teachers, and guests, often at forums such as the Barter Theatre or Mountain Empire Community College. In past years’ anthology unveilings, our student-artists have been congratulated live or by video by Governor Terry McAuliffe, Senator Mark Warner, and Senator Tim Kaine. The First Lady of Virginia Pamela Northam joined us for a recent Kick-off Celebration.
We synergise community and schools to offer heritage-related presentations and incorporate libraries and museums to convey the rôle of history in the present and develop the skill of research. This year, we visited the Civil Rights exhibit at The Birthplace of Country Music Museum and an exposition on immigration at the Library of Virginia.
It is a joyful surprise to read our students’ work, witness their growth, and observe the budding of their self-esteem. Through their creative writing with The Origin Project, our students “hold up a mirror” to themselves and thereby reclaim their “own deepest possession”: themselves and their “own unfolding.”
– Nancy Bolmeier Fisher
– Adriana Trigiani
Mission Statement
The Origin Project (“TOP”) seeks to inspire young people to release their inner voices through the art of writing about their unique origins; when we connect to the stories of our past, we are able to build our dreams for the future. TOP is an in-school writing program sprouted from the idea that the stories and people of Appalachia are national treasures and its children should celebrate their roots. Founded in 2012 by bestselling author Adriana Trigiani and educational advocate Nancy Bolmeier Fisher, TOP develops and encourages the skills of writing and other artistic selfexpression to support the students in Southwest Virginia and beyond in their academic and professional endeavours.
TOP serves a diverse group of young people that includes disadvantaged students: foster children, low income and underserved populations, and children with learning differences. It is a community of engaged learners rejoicing in their heritages. TOP galvanizes the students’ curiosity about, and respect for, each other.
The Origin Project is a non-profit in-school writing program sprouted six years ago from the idea that Appalachia’s stories are national treasures and its children should celebrate their roots.
Biographies

Adriana Trigiani is the bestselling author of 17 books, which have been published in 36 countries around the world. She is a playwright, television writer/producer and filmmaker. She wrote and directed the film version of her novel Big Stone Gap, which was shot entirely on location in her Virginia hometown. She is Co-Founder of The Origin Project, an in-school writing program that serves more than a thousand students in Appalachia and beyond. She lives in Greenwich Village with her family.
Nancy Bolmeier Fisher is an activist and former Wall Street bond trader in New York and London. She is Co-Founder / Executive Director of The Origin Project and also manages various privately held companies that own commercial real estate. Nancy is a passionate education advocate and has served as trustee on several school boards in New York City and San Francisco. She also chairs Collective Impact, a non-profit organization bringing constructive change to children in San Francisco communities. Nancy lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.
Board of Directors
Officers
Nancy Bolmeier Fisher
President and Treasurer
The Origin Project
Collective Impact
Board Member Since 2014
Adriana Trigiani
Vice President and Secretary
Author and Filmmaker
The Origin Project
Board Member Since 2014
Board Members
Rhonda Early Carper
Educational Advocate
Retired Vice Principal
Stonewall Jackson High School
Board Member since 2019
Wendy Marquez
Wize Solutions
Congressional Hispanic Institute
100 Women Strong
Visitors of George Mason University
Board Member since 2016
Bonnie Fraenza
Instrumental Music Teacher and Director of Performing Arts
Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco
Board Member since 2019
Monica Hoel
Director of Alumni Affairs
Emory & Henry College
Board Member since 2019
Linda Woodward
Executive Assistant and Program Coordinator,
The Origin Project
Retired English teacher
Board Member since 2016
Margi Vanderhye
Retired Executive Director, Virginia Commission for the Arts
Former Delegate VA 34th District
Board Member since 2019
Emeritus Board Members
Grace Bradshaw
The Appalachian Writing Project
University of Virginia – Wise
Board Member 2014-2019
Dr. Amy Clark
The Appalachian Writing Project
University of Virginia – Wise
Department Chair
Professor of Rhetoric
Board Member 2014-2019