Fifty-six leaders from across the state have accepted invitations to participate in the 2020 Class of Leadership West Virginia (LWV). Class participants were selected from a list of applicants submitted in late 2019.
- Christopher Applegate, West Virginia Army National Guard (Charleston)
- Cara Bailey, Marshall University (Huntington)
- Leslie Bicksler, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (Lewisburg)
- Ken Bissett, KeyLogic Systems, LLC (Morgantown)
- Greg Bolles, Residence Inn by Marriott (Charleston)
- Jennifer Bulger, Charleston Chiropractic Company (Charleston)
- Robert Burton, West Virginia American Water (Charleston)
- Katherine Capito, Hissam Forman Donovan Ritchie, PLLC (Charleston)
- Kellie Conklin, AEP – Appalachian Power (Scott Depot)
- Virginia Copley, BB&T (Charleston)
- Lisa Costello, West Virginia University (Morgantown)
- David Crumm, Bridge Street Middle School (Wheeling)
- Robert Cummings, CAMC Foundation (Charleston)
- Jessica Deshler, West Virginia University, Department of Mathematics (Morgantown)
- Christina Entenmann, Apprentice Network, Inc. (Union)
- Chris Griffith, Dow Inc. (South Charleston)
- Lee Ann Haley, National Energy Technology Laboratory (Morgantown)
- Scott Hanson, Boy Scouts of America, Mountaineer Area Council (Fairmont)
- Jason Harshbarger, Dominion Energy (Bridgeport)
- Erin Hurst, United Way of Greenbrier Valley (Lewisburg)
- Sean Hyde, Ideation Digital (Charleston)
- Brian Jett, Jackson Kelly PLLC (Morgantown)
- Nathan Kelly, David J. Patton MD Inc. (Scott Depot)
- Bethany Kinder, West Virginia State Medical Association (Charleston)
- Patrick Kirby, Brownfields Assistance Center at West Virginia University (Morgantown)
- Geoff Koch, American Public Education, Inc. (Charles Town)
- Taira Landavere, Elkins-Randolph County Tourism Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) (Elkins)
- Joseph Leonoro, Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC (Charleston)
- Natalie Luppold, Suttle & Stalnaker, PLLC (Charleston)
- Matthew McVay, Armstrong World Industries (Millwood)
- Susie Nelson, Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley (Wheeling)
- Erin Newmeyer, West Virginia University (Morgantown)
- Jorn Otte, Hartford Funds (Beckley)
- Shelby Paxton, Encova Insurance (Saint Albans)
- Suzette Raines Ashley, Ashley Insurance Agency (Spencer)
- Jenna Ramsey, The C.I. Thornburg Company, Inc (Huntington)
- Ceason Ranson, Adams, Fisher, & Chappell (Ripley)
- Jamie Remp, King’s Daughters Child Care Center (Wheeling)
- Michael Robie, Charleston Area Medical Center (Hurricane)
- James Runyon, Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso, PLLC (Charleston)
- Leigh Shepard, City National Bank (Point Pleasant)
- Terry Smarr, Shentel (Nitro)
- Jamie Smith, Alcon Research (Huntington)
- Arie Spitz, Dinsmore and Shohl (Charleston)
- Adam Stollings, Charleston Main Streets (Chapmanville)
- Ryan Stoner, Coalfield Development Corp. (Wayne)
- Lisa Stover, Arnett Carbis Toothman, LLP (Charleston)
- Becky Sullivan, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce (Oak Hill)
- William Swann, Frost Brown Todd, LLC (Charleston)
- Ryan Taylor, Pickering Associates (Parkersburg)
- Ronay Tenney, Mon Power (Fairmont)
- Melissa Wandling, Clearon Corp. (South Charleston)
- Stephanie Warino, The Thrasher Group (Bridgeport)
- Chris Weikle, Southwestern Energy (Morgantown)
- Chris Willits, WesBanco Bank (Charleston)
- James Yost, GAI Consultants (Charleston)
Leadership West Virginia (www.leadershipwv.org) celebrates 29 years as a statewide education and leadership development not-for-profit program in West Virginia. The eight-month program cultivates leaders from a variety of employers throughout West Virginia and enhances their knowledge not only of the challenges facing the state, but also its unique attributes and diversity. Recognizing that leadership is of utmost importance to West Virginia’s prosperity and progress, Leadership West Virginia works to develop and motivate a cross-section of leaders who can and should use their talents and abilities to inspire others and foster a new spirit of energy, enthusiasm and vitality throughout the state. LWV is affiliated with the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
“Each year, class participants are selected from a list of top-quality applicants from around the state,” said Pam Farris, executive director of LWV. “Individuals are selected into the program because demonstrate leadership skills and experiences in civic activities and in their professional careers.
We continue to see an increase in the number of applicants each year and we are very pleased the diversity of candidates in the 2020 class,” Farris said. She also noted that interest in being a member continues to be a very competitive process as the program now has more than 1,400 alumni
from across the state and graduates from 54 counties.
Throughout this year members of the class will travel to different communities in West Virginia to receive broad-based education on critical topics and, at the same time, have opportunities to improve their leadership skills.
The locations and topics for the training program for the Class of 2020 include:
Welcome & Leadership Orientation: March 19-20 – Charleston
Education: April 16-17 – Elkins
Economic Development: May 14-15 – Eastern Panhandle
Tourism: June 18-19 – New River Gorge
Justice System: July 16-17 – Wheeling
Energy: September 17-18 – Bridgeport
Healthcare: October 29-30 – White Sulphur Springs
Government & Commencement: November 19-20 – Charleston
“Leadership West Virginia provides graduates with the skills and the knowledge in making sound, informed decisions,” added Farris. Many of the participants serve as private citizen volunteers, and many seek and serve in public office. Among the many benefits that come with being a graduate of the program is the network of alumni throughout the state. Leadership West Virginia congratulates the individuals who were selected to this year’s class.
