Zoe van Buren is the Folklife Director at the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. She oversees grants and programs in support of the folk and traditional arts across North Carolina, including the Heritage Awards, Traditional Arts Programs for Students, and the “In These Mountains” Appalachian Folklife Apprenticeships. Zoe lives in Durham, NC, but spent two years working from the DNCR offices in Asheville, next door to the Blue Ridge Parkway, where she had the opportunity to work closely with constituents in the western region of the state. Before joining the North Carolina Arts Council, Zoe received her MA in Folklore from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked with the Music Maker Foundation, where she co-wrote and edited the book Hanging Tree Guitars with the visionary luthier Freeman Vines. She spends her free time working on craft projects and camping, hiking, and canoeing across North Carolina’s state and national parks.