Executive Director, Generation West Virginia
Jennifer Jett Prezkop
Growing up in Richmond, VA, Natalie Roper didn’t know what she wanted to one day be—only that it would be something through which she could make an impact. Her family encouraged her to follow her passion for people and let the details work themselves out. Her grandmother, in particular, has been a major source of inspiration.
“She never waited for the world to be a certain way but instead actively shaped the world around her,” says Roper. “She is someone who sees the possible in all things and works to make this potential a reality. This has influenced how I see myself and reminds me to go after creating the world as I know it can be.”
Roper found her calling when she moved to West Virginia and accepted the position of executive director at Generation West Virginia, an organization whose mission is to attract, retain and advance young talent in the Mountain State. The task at hand is not easy, but Roper, a transplant who is firmly committed to her adopted home, is invested and enjoying the wild ride.
It was during Roper’s first professional job as an intern to the executive director of the National Farmers Market Coalition that she learned the value of teamwork, a lesson that has come in handy with her work in the Mountain State.
“I saw firsthand that when people work together, they can make big things happen,” she says. “I also learned the power of asking people to join my team. Everyone plays a role if we can help them see themselves as part of the solution.”
This lesson was of particular importance when Roper faced what she considers the greatest challenge of her career: assisting with the passage of broadband legislation in 2017 to expand high-speed internet access in West Virginia. A dismal 2014 statistic stating almost every other West Virginian lacked access to high-speed internet spurred her to action, resulting in a three-year campaign to educate policymakers and the state on the importance of internet access in attracting and retaining young talent.
According to Roper, her success to date is a result of looking for opportunities to bring people together instead of focusing on things that create more division. “I’ve found that we all want many of the same things,” she says. “This has allowed me to build coalitions around the issues I care about, like broadband expansion, and build the momentum needed to create change.”
Creating change isn’t a practice she leaves at the office at 5 p.m. It’s an effort she takes into her community as well. “Volunteering is one of the best ways to be a good neighbor,” she says. “Through volunteering, we can stand up for the things we believe in and be a part of making our communities the best they can be. There’s always an option to do nothing, but choose to do something instead.”
Roper serves as a board member for Covenant House, where the organization’s mission is to eradicate homelessness and hunger in the greater Kanawha Valley. At the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition, she is an advisory board member who contributes to the organization’s efforts to improve the health of children and families, and she is an advisory committee member for the Community Leadership Academy, where programming helps emerging and established leaders develop their leadership skills. She has also volunteered as a foster dog caretaker at the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association and as a board member of the West Virginia Center for Civic Life.
Roper has embraced every element of the Mountain State: the good and the bad. Despite the hurdles, every day she makes the decision to stay and fight, and her motivation comes from young West Virginians.
“Every day I am inspired by the incredible young people who choose this place,” she says. “They are choosing West Virginia, where they are a part of reimagining what’s possible and investing in making our communities the best they can be.”
