The Hub’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Journey

The Hub’s Reason for Racial Equity Work

The West Virginia Community Development Hub supports West Virginians with the tools and training they need to lead and spark positive change in their hometowns and across our state. 

In 2009, The Hub was founded by a small group of passionate, committed community development leaders who saw an opportunity to establish a new, innovative approach to create community growth and transformational change in rural areas of West Virginia. 

The Hub has walked alongside dozens of rural communities across West Virginia since our founding. We are proud of the many ways our partner communities have created the very change they sought. As an organization leading within the community development system, The Hub has experimented, adapted, and changed our programs while retaining our core values. 

"Having a dedicated internal staff group like the Equity Advisory Team ensures that The Hub is intentional in creating an organization that is representative of the communities we serve and that all staff members have a sense of belonging."

– Kalyn Obiozor-Dorey

Equity Advisory Team Facilitator

One of our core values is that “We believe diversity creates strength.”

At a local level, that looks like asking “Who isn’t here? Who should be?” when we are gathered with a community leadership team. Reflecting on our organizational history, we must acknowledge that by working in rural communities with populations of less than 15,000, we have not reached an inclusive and diverse cross-section of people in West Virginia. We began asking ourselves “Who isn’t here?” when examining our involvement with communities statewide. Social unrest in 2020 brought us to examine our own role in white supremacy, ableism, classism, gender discrimination, and the ways we have perpetuated unjust systems in our communities and across West Virginia.

Since 2020, The Hub’s 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. Outcomes of this journey are discussed in more detail below, and we see ourselves at the beginning of an on-going process of building a core commitment to racial equity that will guide the organization’s work in the future.

West Virginia thrives when all West Virginians are offered a seat at the table and welcomed into the community building process. The Hub is committed to walking alongside residents who want to create positive change and tell the stories of their community. The picture above features Sherri and Dorian James, two community leaders on the Monticello Ongoing Revitalization Effort (M.O.R.E.) Blueprint Communities team.

Community members are working together by developing a place to gather, learn new skills, and recreational activities at the Kelly Miller Community Center, located in the historically-Black neighborhood of Monticello in Clarksburg.

Our Commitment

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.

In order to disrupt these systems, we will engage in conversations that uplift communities and leaders of color, that move from talk to action on why race matters in West Virginia, and that are explicit in exposing how racism and racial inequity shows up in rural, majority white communities. We will support investment in Black-led organizations and in rural Black leadership in particular. And we are committed to driving public and private investments into these spaces, both organizational and geographic.

We believe there is an opportunity to start from the ground-up in this work and to commit to the long-term effort to build power through leadership development, through programmatic strategies, and through partnerships that commit to building power and advancing racial equity.

TEAMWORK

The 2021-2022 Equity Advisory Team consists of 5 staffers of The Hub, including (left to right) Jorge Rodriguez-Stanley, Katie Loudin, Kalyn Obiozor-Dorey, Kaycie Stushek, and Olivia McConnell.

As part of the overall Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) focus happening at The Hub, we are trying to be more intentional and mindful about building DEI and accessibility into all of our programs from initial development through completion. The screenshot above was from our Community Conversation: Building An Equitable Team where participants learned about the importance of intentionally bringing people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds onto their community teams.

MILESTONES

2018 – PRESENT

Learning about racial equity, implicit bias, and privilege for all staff, beginning in 2018 and continuing through the present in quarterly staff meetings and retreats.

2018 – PRESENT
2020

Completing a multi-month racial equity internal organization training in 2020.

2020
SUMMER 2021

Examining our internal policies, practices & communications through a Racial Equity Audit conducted by an external consultant in the summer of 2021.

SUMMER 2021
JULY 2021

Formation and operation of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Board of Directors Sub-Committee in July 2021. The DEI Sub-Committee works to move forward The Hub’s internal DEI Strategic Plan in partnership with Hub staff members.

JULY 2021
AUGUST 2021

Hiring a Racial Equity Fellow, Kalyn Obiozor, through Generation West Virginia’s Impact Fellowship program in August 2021 to advance the DEI goals of The Hub. Kalyn is moving forward the recommendations of the Racial Equity Audit, working alongside The Hub’s community coaching team to better serve systemically underserved people and communities in West Virginia, and supporting integrated diversity, equity, inclusion & accessibility planning and implementation across all Hub programs. 

AUGUST 2021
JANUARY 2022

Examining and changing our hiring process and practices beginning in January 2022. The Hub made significant changes to increase the number of diverse applicants we receive by changing our job announcement and recruitment strategies, re-structuring job descriptions to be more accessible, posting salary ranges in job descriptions, and sharing interview questions with all candidates prior to interviews. 

JANUARY 2022
MARCH 2022

Formation and operation of a staff-led internal Equity Advisory Team in March 2022. EAT meets twice a month to hold the organization accountable to the recommendations of the Racial Equity Audit, operate as a safe space for staff concerns, and mobilize new learning about DEI best-practices for The Hub.

MARCH 2022
AUGUST 2022 – AUGUST 2023

Bringing on a Racial Equity AmeriCorps VISTA member to serve with The Hub for one year, beginning in August 2022. The Racial Equity VISTA will continue to move forward the DEI goals of The Hub through the Equity Advisory Team and Hub programs.

AUGUST 2022 – AUGUST 2023
ONGOING

Inclusion of DEI goals in all team work plans, for which there are regular checkpoints throughout the year and in every program planning meeting.

ONGOING
ONGOING

Analyzing and revising the organization’s policies and procedures to be more equitable. This work has begun in 2022 and will be revisited annually.

ONGOING

Questions

Kalyn-Obiozor

Reach out to Kalyn Obiozor-Dorey with our team at The Hub. Find Kalyn at k.obiozor@wvhub.org.

Partner Feature:

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.

Community Feature:

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.

DEI Journey:

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.

Grafton

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.

Huntington

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.

Charleston

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.

White Sulphur Springs

Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.

Petersburg

Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.

Marlinton

Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.

Franklin

Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.

Elkins

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.

Cowen

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.

Parsons

Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.

New Martinsville

Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.

Monticello Neighborhood of Clarksburg

Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Watch their community documentary.

Meadow River Valley Region

Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.

Lewis County

Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.

Kingwood

Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.

Smithers

Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.

Montgomery

Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.

Message from our Executive Leadership Team

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,

– WV Community Development Hub
Executive Leadership Team

Stephanie Tyree

Executive Director

Amanda Workman Scott

Director of Community Engagement

Katie Loudin

Director of Strategic Development