Our People

Hidden River Cave Staff

We are so pleased to introduce you to our Hidden River Cave/American Cave Museum Staff!

These are the friendly faces that you will see at our front counter or on the property. Each is passionate about caves, caving and the outdoors and if you read our reviews, they all do an amazing job!

Please make sure to click on the “About” links under their photos to read more.

Linda Cook

Guest Relations/Gift Shop Manager
Send an Email to Linda!

Linda Cook is a Hart County native and grew up on the family farm, where they grew tobacco and raised Hereford beef cattle.

More About Linda

As you might imagine, sinkholes and caves were just part of the scenery! Living in other parts of the country, she couldn’t help but compare those landscapes to the beautiful rolling hills and dramatic cliffs of her Kentucky home. So in 2009, she finally made her way back home. Looking for a weekend job led her to Cub Run Cave. What a fantastic underground world! It literally took her breath away! Her job as a tour guide there would lead her to her life’s passion. After this cave closed, she took a brief hiatus and tried other things. But, the lure of the cool and mysterious brought her back to what she loves. She joined the staff of Hidden River Cave in 2018 and is so excited to be back doing what she loves! She has a genuine love for meeting new people and showing them them our spectacular cave. Where else can a small town country girl get to meet people from all over the world? She still lives on that same family farm in a little cottage tucked back in the woods, with her beloved daughter Courtney and two crazy cats! So, all in all, life is pretty good! Come see her at Hidden River Cave, she can’t wait to see you all again!

James “Jay” Pruitt

Tour Staff Supervisor/Collection Curator/Hidden River Cave Guide
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Jay Pruitt,Tour Staff Supervisor, Collection Curator

Jay is a Hart County native who’s had a passion for caves since a young age.

More About Jay

Jay picked up caving as a hobby towards the end of middle school and has run with it ever since.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in History with an emphasis in both Kentucky and military history and a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice as well. Jay graduated from Campbellsville University at the top of his class in 2021!

Joining the Hidden River Cave Staff in August of 2022, he has developed a keen interest in cave survey, cartography, cave rescue, and cave/mine gating.

Jay is also a member of Phi Alpha Theta and an avid outdoorsman so if he’s not in a cave, he’s out enjoying nature or studying history.

Fun Fact: Jay is a Salamander Shaman

Al Warren

Operations Manager/Hidden River Cave Guide
Send an Email to Al!

Al Warren is originally from Mount Vernon, KY. In recent years, he has become a local to Horse Cave, KY.

More About Al

AL is a musician, skilled in numerous instruments and has played with many touring bands throughout the last 15 years. Through traveling, AL eventually settled in Horse Cave where he found his love for caving. Soon after his very first cave trip, he began giving tours at Hidden River Cave. AL quickly found his passion for being a cave guide and is now an avid cave explorer. He is also a member of the Cave Research Foundation and is currently working towards becoming a cartographer.

AL’s main goal as a Cave Guide is to bring awareness to cave conservation efforts and share his genuine love for the cave with people from around the world.

Fun Fact: AL really loves Sloths. 🦥

Dylan Wilson

Environmental Education Specialist/Hidden River Cave Guide
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Dylan was born in and resides in Glasgow, Kentucky, just 20 minutes south of the Hidden River Cave.

More About Dylan

Having worked as a painter, a mover, and a nurse aide, he now works as a tour guide and environmental educator at the Hidden River Cave.

Joining the Hidden River Cave staff in June of 2022, Dylan had little interest in caves at first, but was curious about them. Now he spends a good portion of his free time reading about cave history and exploring both show caves and wild caves with his friends.

Cole Avery

Project Manager/Hidden River Cave Guide

Cole is a Hart County, Kentucky native.

More About Cole

He is interested in caves and conservation in Hart County and the Mammoth Cave National Park. Cole is currently going to school to become an archeologist and has a love for history of the world and the history of Hart County.

Bethany Neff

Building and Grounds Management / Hidden River Cave Guide

Bethany grew up in the Midwest, where a 6th grade class trip to the Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, MO sparked her love for the subterranean world.

More About Bethany

She has a background in environmental science and forest ecology. While attending college in Oregon, Bethany devoted her time to several environmental projects that include studies and group participation on improving geospatial technologies, research on lichen as a biological indicator for air quality, effects of wildfires on both old and second-growth forests, ecosystem restoration and constructing bioswales.

Over the years Bethany has explored several caves throughout the United States but Hidden River Cave is the one that stole her heart.She feels Hidden River Cave is the “Phoenix of Kentucky” as it shows hope and resilience as well as new beginnings emerging from devastation and destruction. She has been with ACCA since Spring of 2023. She enjoys tour guiding as well as completing various restoration projects around the cave and sinkhole.

In her spare time, Bethany enjoys working on a variety of independent research projects. Her current focus is on mycoremediation and identifying different types of fungus found in caves that could potentially be used for mycoremediation in a variety of cave environments. She’s an outdoor enthusiast, enjoys mycotourism and participates in and supports studies on autism and ADHD as well as other types of neurodiversity.

Brooklyn Brownlee

Hidden River Cave Guide

Brooklyn Brownlee is a Tour Guide at Hidden River Cave employed in the spring of 2023.

More About Brooklyn

Throughout her career, she has developed a reputation for conservation, as well as record of being an Officer of Green minds and Sigma Zeta, at Campbellsville University.Brooklyn is originally from Tompkinsville, Kentucky, going to school for a degree in Biology. She started Campbellsville in the fall of 2023 and will be graduating in the Spring of 2024. After Graduation she will continue to work at Hidden River in the summer while she starts her degree in Chiropractic.

Liam Tobin

Hidden River Cave Guide

Liam Tobin is originally from California however in recent years he has moved to Kentucky and has become a local to the area.

More About Liam

He has been a Project caver for 14 years and a cave cartographer for 8. Liam is extremely interested in conservation, management, and documentation of our natural cave environments. He is not currently going to school however he plans on going to Western Kentucky University for either Cave Archeology or Cave Hydrology.

The American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA) is a National 501 (c) 3 Nonprofit Organization.
Donations and Memberships are Deductible to the Fullest Extent Allowed by Law.