West Virginia Kids Count
Jennifer Garner, award-winning actress, child advocate and Charleston native, has been named the 2021 West Virginia Kids Count Champion of Children. Garner clings to her West Virginia roots although she now lives with her family in Los Angeles, CA. She began her work with Save the Children, an organization that has worked with the country’s poorest communities since 1932, with a heartfelt plan to impact West Virginia’s children.
Riverhawk Farm
West Virginia University Parkersburg’s (WVUP) Riverhawk Farm is not just growing potatoes—it is growing an agribusiness program while simultaneously creating jobs and inspiring a new mind set about agribusiness in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Fintech
West Virginia is paving the way in a new sector of business and commerce called financial technology, or fintech—an emerging industry that uses technology to streamline activities in finance.
Though the average consumer may not be aware of this new term, fintech is already a part of many daily transactions by making financial services accessible from an app or website. The term includes any technology used in the financial services industry.
Reinventing the Collegiate Classroom
For the past two years, West Virginia’s two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities have been learning to navigate higher education during a global pandemic. The people, businesses and organizations of the Mountain State are known for their fighting spirit and innovative approach to problem solving, and through that lens, the staff at West Virginia Executive magazine decided to reach out to the education community to find out what unique solutions have been implemented.
Generation West Virginia
Fulfilling work, good wages, a strong connection to community and reliable internet service—these are just a handful of the things young workers want. While retaining young talent is on the wish list of many West Virginia companies and economic developers, there is one group with an inside perspective to make it happen and some dynamic efforts are already underway.
Introducing the Lawyers & Leaders Class of 2021
While those of us conducting our meetings over Zoom the past year may have struggled with background noise and technical difficulties, we knew the stakes of our calls were not all that high. However, leaders in the legal community have been meeting with clients, attending hearings and holding court through the eye of a webcam throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Their perseverance toward justice is unwavering, and the dogged determination that saw them through law school saw them through the pandemic as well.