We at The Hub are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our Executive Leadership Team, Katie Loudin. Katie will serve in a brand new role as the Director of Strategic Development to help grow the overall capacity of The Hub. Though she is just joining our team this May, Katie has a robust understanding of The Hub’s work, as a partner, resident of Buckhannon (a former Hub community), and board member. Katie brings extensive knowledge of leadership development to this new role, so she can assist our team and communities in stepping up to challenges and serving those around them with confidence and efficiency. In the coming months, you can look forward to content from Katie about identifying and fostering leaders in your own community. Though she is in a new role with The Hub, she is definitely not new to community development work in West Virginia. Learn a little more about Katie below.
I honestly can’t remember how I learned about The Hub, as, like many West Virginians, I’ve just probably been in The Hub’s orbit for as long as I’ve been in West Virginia. I knew that The Hub was instrumental in the formation of Create Buckhannon through HubCAP, and I became involved with Create Buckhannon when I began working in the Center for Community Engagement at West Virginia Wesleyan College about 10 years ago. As a community member, I saw the very real impacts of community development as they manifested themselves in my community through the transformation of Jawbone Park, Festival Fridays, public art through Art 26201, increased river and trail access, and more.
I joined the WV Hub Board of Directors in 2016. It was at this time that I got a more robust understanding of The Hub’s work across the state beyond my view in Buckhannon. I learned more about the community coaching program, as well as the policy and communications work.
I departed West Virginia Wesleyan College to join Barbara Wyckoff and Kent Spellman at the One Foundation, a WV Hub partner. As both a funder-partner and board treasurer, I had a unique view of The Hub’s work and organizational structures. I was engaged through the strategic planning and community development network processes, and I always felt like my input and perspective were valuable to The Hub’s strategy and vision for West Virginia communities. When the opportunity to join The Hub team manifested itself this spring, it seemed like a natural fit for my skills, interests, and my prior knowledge of The Hub’s work. I’ve always been an admirer and cheerleader on the sides, but now I have the opportunity to roll up my sleeves alongside the incredibly talented Hub staff, and I feel immensely grateful for the opportunity to join the team.
Even though I’ve been in and around this work for some time, this is still a hard question to answer. Community development can take many forms and the story is different for every community. Essentially, community development to me is about a group of people–people who are willing to step into a leadership gap without self-serving motivations–working together to increase the livability and inclusivity of a place. It can look like public art, access to local food, recreation opportunities, small business development and support, main street redevelopment, community gathering events, or something else entirely. It’s about looking at the assets that exist in your community and asking how they can be leveraged, lifted up, or expanded to increase quality of life for community members or even attract new residents to the community.
Leadership development is crucial to community development work because people are the heartbeat of any community. The work of community transformation isn’t possible without a group of people who are willing to take on the mantle of leadership responsibility.
Many community volunteers that I’ve met through this work are very humble, salt-of-the-earth people. They started doing something because they just saw something that needed to be done, and often, no one else was around to do it. They don’t necessarily see themselves as leaders at all. Eventually, good work gets noticed and other people will join you. At that point, a humble volunteer needs to learn how to lead with others in order to increase their impact. Empowered leaders empower others, and it is this kind of momentum that has led to great success in communities around the world throughout history.
Honestly, I’m really excited about increasing efficiencies in The Hub’s operations and financial management systems so the organization can reach new levels of impact and visibility in the region and on the national stage. I hope to bring my perspective and my years of experience in leadership and partnership development to The Hub. I do my best work when I can lift up others’ efforts, and that’s why I took the opportunity to work with an incredible team of thoughtful, determined, and compassionate leaders.
I see The Hub’s work every day as a citizen-leader in Buckhannon: I am engaged in Create Buckhannon; my family enjoys Festival Fridays throughout the summer; and I deeply appreciate our public art, bustling Main Street, local businesses, and recreation trails. When sitting in Create Buckhannon or Upshur County School Board meetings, I see people listening, trying to understand, compromising, offering solutions, and continually seeking opportunities to make our community better and stronger. This is what community is all about to me, and I hope that my work at The Hub will help others to feel as connected to their community as I am to mine.
Katie Loudin is The Hub’s Director of Strategic Development. You can reach her at [email protected].
The journey has begun! The Champions for Change 2025 Fellowship launched its first session in Buckhannon, WV, at West Virginia Wesleyan College, bringing together 16 passionate fellows from across the state.
Community teams who just graduated last month from the second cohort of the BRECC Action Challenge are hard at work ensuring the
The West Virginia Community Development Hub (The Hub) is hiring for an Executive Director to lead the organization’s administration and management, program
Our work is made possible thanks to incredible partnerships with other community development organizations across the state. From local economic development authorities (EDAs) to state level nonprofits working to uplift communities, all of our partners are crucial in making West Virginia the best it can possibly be by working together.One partner that made our work truly profound this year is Coalfield Development. For years, Coalfield Development has worked to rebuild Appalachian communities by inspiring the courage to grow, activating the creativity to innovate, and cultivating communities of opportunity in central Appalachia.We are proud to be part of Coalfield Development’s ACT Now Coalition, a broad network of organizations working hand-in-hand to uplift communities throughout Southern West Virginia. The ACT Now Coalition is infusing more than $63 million into programs to help communities using business development, building revitalization, and so much more.The Hub is leading the Community and Business Resilience Initiative as part of the larger ACT Now Coalition to bring other partners with us to build up community and business resilience in the Coalition’s footprint.“For decades, we’ve known the economy of southern West Virginia needs diversification. Some progress has been made on this goal, but not nearly enough,” Brandon Dennison, CEO of Coalfield Development, said about the ACT Now Coalition. “ACT Now constitutes a tangible opportunity to take a major leap forward in this generational challenge to become a vibrant, growing, diversified economy. In the wake of continued coal-job losses, nothing could be more important for our region.”Our partnership with Coalfield Development is giving us a chance to take our work to new communities and to build upon our years of experience. Working alongside Coalfield Development in this large undertaking to bring $63.8 million to communities in Southern West Virginia is validation that the work happening to uplift West Virginia communities continues to grow.
The Hub works alongside communities across West Virginia coaching community teams as they come together to make transformative changes in their towns. In 2022, one town stands out for its continued work and unwavering commitment to making its community a place where people want to live, work, play, and visit.Petersburg, located in Grant County at the northernmost point of the Mon Forest, is filled with community members who want to make their town a destination. Not only have businesses opened, and stayed open, the town has transformed the way they present to the world through rebranding and outdoor recreational development.As part of the HubCAP IV program, Petersburg utilized its technical assistance to push forward with projects to bring transformative change to its community. Part of the work Petersburg worked towards was creating plans to pave a hike and bike trail that runs along the Petersburg dike. The proposed trail will run approximately three miles along the Petersburg dike and will include multiple entrances for walkers and bikers. The group secured a $25,000 grant from Senator Hamilton, which was matched locally by the City of Petersburg, the County Commission, and the Board of Education, each adding an equal share to bring the total to $50,000.This year, Petersburg witnessed a major upgrade to one of the town’s most iconic and historic structures: The Hermitage Inn. The hotel, which dates back to 1841, has been renovated and once again welcomes guests to stay the night and have a nice dinner in the restaurant.The Hermitage Inn is the first project initiated and completed as part of the Downtown Appalachia: Revitalizing Recreational Economies (DARRE) program. Seeing the old hotel returned to its majesty has been an incredible development for Petersburg adding another jewel to the downtown area.Seeing Hub communities come together to create transformative change thrills us. Community members are the subject matter experts on what their towns need. Our commitment to accompaniment and walking alongside communities as they do the hard work guides us in our work. Celebrating their victories with them gives us a moment to uplift those making the work happen.
Since 2018, The Hub has been working diligently to bring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into our work. For years, the organization has been working internally to expand on one of our core values: “We believe diversity creates strength.”We believe that now is a time when we must work from the ground up to commit to long-term efforts to build power through leadership development, programmatic strategies, and partnerships that commit to building power and advancing racial equity.Looking back at our organizational history, we acknowledge that our work in rural communities with populations of less than 15,000 has not reached a diverse cross-section of people in West Virginia. Because of this, we began to ask, “Who isn’t here?” when examining our involvement in communities. The social unrest in 2020 led us to examine our role in white supremacy, ableism, classism, and gender discrimination, and the ways we have perpetuated unjust systems in our communities and across West Virginia.Since 2020, our equity journey has included a staff racial equity learning series, making internal commitments to increasing our hiring and retainment of diverse staff including creating full-time Racial Equity Fellowship and VISTA positions, committing to increased coaching for rural communities of color across the state, and tackling the inherent challenges of advancing equity across the community development field within a highly rural, majority white state where Black and brown leadership has been historically marginalized and under-invested.Our belief in the power of local people to see the value and the potential of their place, and of each other, is at the core of our belief in the potential we have to build power in West Virginia to advance racial equity, inclusion, and accessibility while disrupting systems that have historically excluded some communities.We are committed to engaging in conversations to uplift communities and leaders of color to move from talk to action on why race matters in West Virginia as we work to disrupt these systems. We will support investment in Black-led organizations and rural Black leadership. And we are committed to driving public and private investments into these spaces, both organizational and geographic.
A core team led by Unleash Tygart, Inc participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Core teams led by Thundercloud, Inc. and the City of Huntington participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support community development projects located in Opportunity Zones.
A core team led by Crawford Holdings, LLC participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
A core team led by Woodlands Development Group also participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Watch their community documentary.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
It has been a year of abundant opportunities and partnerships across the state, and a year that has pushed all of us to work harder, faster, and smarter – together.At The Hub, we say that “the work works when you put in the work.” This means that our approach to community-based development, and individual leadership development, really does transform local communities, especially when we all work together for the same goal, and stay committed to working together for the long haul.In 2023, we continued to be amazed at the local leadership, drive and innovation we saw in communities throughout the state that are building locally-driven development from the ground up. Our network of community leaders, partners and opportunities keeps growing and shows no signs of slowing in 2024!
We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone for being part of the larger Hub community as we reflect on this year’s deep impact in West Virginia communities through our work. We are thrilled to have champions who believe in our mission that every community in West Virginia can achieve economic growth when they are supported with the tools and training they need to lead and spark positive change.
We believe strongly in the fact that putting in the work yourself to improve your neighborhood, your town, and our state is where true transformational change happens. With strategic partners and thought leaders like you in the work with us, we continue to be able to walk alongside community teams as they do the work to uplift their communities.Thank you to all of the community teams and leaders who are brave enough to keep showing up every day, and putting in thousands of hours of volunteer time to support your communities and the entire state. Your determination in the face of difficult work and far-off successes is something to applaud yourself for – and to celebrate.Whether you’re volunteering on the ground in your community, sharing our stories of hope with your friends and neighbors, or attending a virtual event with The Hub, your participation in our work is what keeps it going. Thank you for all your work and support this past year, and we are excited to continue in the work with you in 2024!In Continued Accompaniment,