Owner, Russell Resource Solutions
by Kensie Hamilton
Kasey Russell has been passionate about the environment since birth. She spent her youth in Atlanta, in the cove of the lake by her house, collecting frogs and turtles and gazing at her surroundings.
Not surprisingly, growing up Russell wanted to be a marine biologist. Her passion was redirected to forestry during college while attending a clear cut demonstration. In 2003, Russell founded Russell Resource Solutions and has been providing professional consulting services statewide ever since.
It is difficult for Russell to single out one person who has been influential in her life and success. “I have had lots of mentors,” says Russell. “Every phase of my life has had one. They have been seamless through the different jobs and locations. I have always had a very strong mentor to take me to the next level.”
With the help of these mentors, Russell has been the executive director for the West Virginia Land and Mineral Owners Council for over three years. One of her most exciting current projects is being the project manager for a 300-unit residential subdivision in Raleigh County, as a post-mine land use plan for Beaver Coal Company.
Energetic and driven, Russell has never met a stranger. “Everyone tells me I have an ability to connect to people,” she says. “I like people and enjoy getting to know them. I find something I like in everyone.”
Russell and her husband moved here and planned to stay for one year, while he was in law school at West Virginia University. They decided to stay when they fell in love with the state. “There are so many opportunities to affect change here,” says Russell.
Russell is so passionate about West Virginia and glows as she explains her vision for its future. “The key to capitalizing on West Virginia as not only the playground of the East Coast but as the resort of the East Coast, is to do things differently. We have the chance to do things differently, not just talk about it but, legitimately affect change.”
Her ability to never give up and to keep pushing for what she thinks is right even in the face of many challenges makes Russell the ambitious and successful individual that she is. “Getting people to leave their personal agenda behind and see that they don’t have to be threatened by a different way of thinking is very hard,” says Russell.
People have a hard time accepting a new voice, “especially when that new voice sounds different,” she says. “It is tough to be a woman in my job. It is hard to walk into a room full of 300 people and there is only one other woman. It is a fine line to walk.”
Russell continues to have a positive effect on West Virginia as vice president of the Charleston Land Trust. Russell is also the vice president of Mountaineer Montessori School, a lead mentor of St. John’s Episcopal Church and a past chair of the West Virginia Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council.
She is also a member and past vice president of Mothers & More, a group dedicated to women who are transitioning from professional careers to raising children or returning to professional careers.
Photography by Rick Lee
