Change in the Coalfields: A Podcast by Coalfield Development

Alex Weld

April 28, 2022 Season 2 Episode 2
Change in the Coalfields: A Podcast by Coalfield Development
Alex Weld
Show Notes Transcript

Original intro/outro music: 
"'Till I See Stars" by The Parachute Brigade

John F. Kennedy:

The sun does not always shine in West Virginia but the people always do. I'm delighted to be here.

Brandon Dennison:

These are historic times in Appalachia. A lot has changed. A lot is changing now and a lot still needs to change. In our podcast we talk with change makers right square in the middle of baldness working to ensure the changes for the good. You're listening to change in the coalfields podcast by Coalfield Development. I'm your host Brandon Dennison. Welcome to change in the Coalfields. My name is Brandon Dennison, I'm your host, and really excited this week to have Alex weld. Alex is the executive director of generation West Virginia. So Alex, welcome to the podcast.

Alex Weld:

Thanks, Brandon. Thanks for having me.

Brandon Dennison:

So maybe at the top real quick, just in case folks don't know tell us a little bit about generation West Virginia as an organization.

Alex Weld:

Yeah, generation West Virginia, we're statewide nonprofit, our mission is to attract, retain and advance young people here in the Mountain State. So we do a lot of community and economic development and workforce development work to make West Virginia a better place for young people to stay to move to and to thrive in

Brandon Dennison:

that it's really important work because West Virginia, we have one of the higher out migration rates in the country. Right?

Alex Weld:

Yeah. You know, we're the bottom of so many less than I think that's one that feels like we've been there for a while, but it is so within our reach to start to change that. Yeah. I think some of these, this incremental work that's been happening across the state. Yeah, I think that the work that we're doing or the coalfields doing all these partners that are coming together, yeah, I think we can start to change that young people are leaving, but they're starting to kind of be a different people are looking at things a little differently these days, I think,

Brandon Dennison:

yeah, I completely agree. And rather than feel overwhelmed by the statistics, I like, you know, we're honing in on here's one, we've got some solutions to some assets to build off of, it's really smart work that you're doing.

Alex Weld:

Thanks. Yeah. Likewise, Brandon, happy to be working with you and a bunch of different programs. And I think we're onto something for sure

Brandon Dennison:

that we're gonna get into some of the collaborations we have later on. But I'd love to hear the long version. The beauty of a podcast is it's more than just a soundbite. If we can have a real conversation, I'd love to hear the long version of how you got where you are with generation West Virginia, where did you grow up? What are some formative experiences that you've had that lead you to this point in your life,

Alex Weld:

okay? Tam shutter they get about how far back I should start. So I'm from Wellsburg, up in the northern panhandle. My parents are from here. My parents parents are from here. My dad's a construction worker, my mom dropped out of high school and was a homemaker. And we come from this, like, nice middle class, area and background. And it's interesting when I think about my parents, and how they grew up, and all of their friends still stayed here. And they had this, like, people worked in the mill, or they did things like, you know, worked in construction. And it was fine. If you know, like, my mom didn't want to work and like was a waitress and stuff like that. And so

Brandon Dennison:

I'm sorry to interrupt. But when you say first stayed here, primarily because they wanted to stay here did when growing up or with your parents? Did people feel stuck?

Alex Weld:

No, I don't think people felt stuck. I mean, that's not I don't want to, you know, of course, speak for a full group of people. But I think, you know, talking to my parents, that was just, of course, they would stay here. I don't think that I can say for my mom. Absolutely. She loved it here. You know, our family was here. She was a family. So and then same with my dad, right? He comes from his father and his grandfather both worked in construction. So it's like a family trade. And yeah, that's just what you did. Right? Like, I don't think it was ever, like, Should I leave? Or should I stay in what you know, let me weigh the options. It's like, of course, this is where my family is. This is where jobs are. This is where things happen. Right? Of course, I'll stay. Yeah. So yeah, I grew up here went to WVU for TV journalism, and worked in TV journalism for a few years. And so funny when you grow up, like knowing you want to do something, and then you get in in the job. And you're like, oh, no, that's not actually what I want to do. Yeah, that's so much. That pretty quickly. And when I went back and got my master's and integrated marketing communications, and started working in PR and worked for, you know, for Bethany College, and then for the health plan, and really what kind of started to shift things for me wheeling heritage, so really National Heritage Area Corporation, which is a national heritage area, congressionally designated region in West Virginia, it encompasses wheeling, but it's about preservation and revitalization, really great nonprofit, there was a marketing role. And I thought, well, this is interesting, a job that I actually, you know, passionate about the mission of that's great, right? I mean, I hadn't had that type of experience. And so that to me, is where everything kind of got its head and I thought oh my gosh, okay, like this is it this is what I you know, when I think back to what we were talking about my parents like is the decision to stay or go, I was always kind of like one foot in one foot out of West Virginia. Like if I want that experience if I want to feel like I I'm living to my full potential. And I'm getting all the experiences that I had envisioned for myself, I, eventually I think I'll have to leave. And then I found this decision that we all inherited. And I realized that oh, there is something here for me, what are the chances, right, and so I think that is when I realized that the nonprofit path is very near and dear to me. And I found this like very important niche that I've always cared about West Virginia, I've always cared about my community. And I've always been beating the drum on making this area better. And so I thought, oh, there's a job. There's a job that focuses on this. So you stayed, stayed there for a few years, and transitioned eventually to be the executive director before finding my way here at generation West Virginia.

Brandon Dennison:

So growing up, what were you involved in? Were you in sports? Were you in clubs? Are you in church? What were the formative experiences for you?

Alex Weld:

Oh, I was in like, the musicals. I was not a sports person at all at all. And I was in all the clubs, right? Like all the service clubs and Key Club and all that stuff really like to be involved. Just thinking back. I guess that makes sense. You know, being a very community minded person, just like naturally, I think that's, that's where I like to spend my time. So yeah, you know,

Brandon Dennison:

it's interesting. I think you might be the first guest, we've had a guest from the eastern panhandle. You've had a bunch from southern West Virginia, because that's where I'm based out of Wellsburg is that's like Northern Panhandle, right? So it's interesting, folks who aren't from West Virginia, there's so much State pride, but also within our state, there's some very different regions that feel different. So I guess my question is, is there a certain sort of pride for Northern Panhandle that's distinct from the rest of the state? Or is it really just West Virginia? All the way all 55? Counties?

Alex Weld:

Yeah, it's funny, I think that I have this very strong love for my town, like, I don't know, I would say there's a, there's a defining factor about the region, right, which is, we're West Virginia, because of our like, interesting geographical cut out

Brandon Dennison:

that we put out a lot of different directions.

Alex Weld:

Yeah, and so the Northern Panhandle like is an interesting place. Because, you know, I can look out my window right now and see Steubenville, Ohio, I can drive five minutes the other way and, and be in Pennsylvania, I can drive half an hour that way and be in Pittsburgh. So like, we're really connected, which I think is a blessing and a curse for this community. And for many communities, and in an area like this, because you know, me growing up, the closest I'd ever think I'd be living to West Virginia is Pittsburgh, right? I was like, why would never still stay in West Virginia. I'm gonna I'm gonna go live in the city. So I think people, you know, geographically it's difficult when, you know, why would you invest in a downtown building and redevelop it and put in a coffee shop or put in a sports bar or put in a boutique when Pittsburgh's right there like that all is right there. So how do you compete with that? How do you compete and it's been we've been conditioned, right that like, for generations, that's what we do. And so it's hard to break habits of that drive to Pittsburgh is nothing for people in our region. So I think that's been really challenging for the Northern Panhandle in terms of redevelopment, but also in terms of keeping people here, you know, like, I look at it as a positive. I, my husband and I were talking like, how great is it? We were in? We got dinner in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. And I said, I think that's like the coolest thing about living where we live is the culture, cultural experience. Half an hour away is hard. All right, you know, like people on the other side of Pittsburgh than us. It takes them just as long because of downtown Pittsburgh, as it does us from West Virginia. So I think that's pretty cool. But yeah, I think that's, that's an interesting thing about the Northern Panhandle. And I will say that everybody has that type of pride for their town in general. And I think the Northern Panhandle, we often like joke around that. Sometimes it feels so separate, right? It's like, well, that's up north, you know, that's people say, like, the northern part of the state, and they talk about Morgantown. And I'm like, that's not the northern part. Way more northern counties up there. Yeah. So I think sometimes we just feel like a bit on our own, and a bit like, you know, kind of excluded from things, especially when we're thinking about politics and Charleston, the hub of everything, and we're way up north. I'm sure the Eastern Panhandle feel similar? I'm not sure. But yeah,

Brandon Dennison:

Well, it's a distinctive little piece of the world that you have, which is, which is a strength. I think it's totally a strength. And so talk a little bit about, you mentioned your job with the wheeling heritage, what are some aspects of that heritage that are particularly important if someone's listening and they're in California, and they don't know about West Virginia or the North Northern Panhandle of West Virginia? What defines that heritage and makes it special?

Alex Weld:

Yeah. So we only was such an interesting, you know, the original gateway to the west is what wheeling was was known as it was the hub of industry, the hub of trade, the hub of transportation all the way back to I think back to when like this suspension bridge, right? There's so many things that pull wheeling up when you think about historical relevance. Entrepreneurship was always huge and wheeling, people getting together and like coming in with not a lot and inventing themselves jumping into an industry like brewing was huge beer brewing was was huge. tin tends to beautiful tin ceilings a ton of those were made in Wheeling. Like, there's just so much industry and entrepreneurship and ingenuity, they came out of wheeling that we're seeing more of right like I think wheeling isn't it has an interesting, we're talking about like, changes that are within reach. I think that wheeling is a great example its transformation is so within reach, there are things that are happening, catalytic things, buildings are getting redeveloped. People are staying people are reinvesting in their town and their community. And a lot of that's due to organizations like wheeling heritage and a bunch of others and wheeling the wheeling so lucky to have by the way, I think that focus, you know, there's a the EDA, there's really great wheeling heritage. Now, the chamber, there are all these organizations that do really work at high capacity to pull in resources and federal funding and, you know, broadband grants, and all these awesome things that think a lot, a lot of small towns just don't have that capacity. So I think they're really lucky. Yeah.

Brandon Dennison:

Just committed and willing to do the hard work.

Alex Weld:

Yeah.

Brandon Dennison:

When I look, in a lot of the activities you're speaking to today, the kinds of things that have been made and wheeling for generations that have been, you know, really, I was gonna say, nationwide, but sort of worldwide. And there's such a pride in that, you know, to make things and build things and create things. What a great foundation for heritage and for attracting new investment for the future.

Alex Weld:

Yeah, I think it got lost for a bit, I think. Sure. I think we tend to forget that. That's just for the whole state. Yeah, yeah. I think that's probably true. Yeah, that we just kind of we were we did a lot of the heavy lifting. I think you're exactly right. For like wheeling did it a lot for the region. I mean, and to be fair, I think a lot of small towns did it right. In my, in my town, there were like, four glass mills in our tiny town. I mean, I think we just forget that all of these industries, like this region really was a hub, a hub for that type of work.

Brandon Dennison:

Yep. And therefore, you know, it might not look exactly how it looked. But there's a DNA there, there's a foundation there a history that we can rebuild upon. That's the hope, right?

Alex Weld:

Yeah. Yeah, I think people get stuck on right, like, well, it'll never be what it was like, our communities will never be what they were. And that is very valid and very true. And also, that doesn't mean they can't be just as good or better than they were there just be different. And I think that that mindsets, really hard to for people to think through, you know, when you come from, you know, when you when you are looked to as the leader, the leader of an industry, or, you know, we're lifted up in that way and the rug is pulled out from under you. And you're left kind of to have to reinvent yourself. I think it's it's difficult even trust that that's possible. So, yeah, I think that a lot of it is like the mind, the mindset shift, you know, close to two Weirton as well, and Rearden steel, was one of the largest employers in the state, if not the largest employer, and it's gone. Now there's like a little a little operation still still running. But it's for the most part, gone. And just a couple of years ago, the mill was torn down, it had been empty for decades, just sitting there, like this hulking giant building a group of buildings in downtown Washington that you had to drive, you know, in between to go through downtown. And, you know, I always think it's just a whole, it's just Yeah, and like, what an awful reminder that people had to see every single day. So it was sad to see it torn down, I think for a lot of people. But I also think it like, you know, it lets people turn the page a little bit that there there, there will be other hopeful things that happen. And we don't need that looming reminder like that industry is gone. And that's all weird and can be because that's just not true. And weird is like, you know, it's it's prime for redevelopment isn't a really great location. Things are happening there every day, a lot of great organizations that are driving that work forward. So yeah, I think a lot of it's just this, like, you know, it's really hard to not feel like that when you see stuff like that every day.

Brandon Dennison:

New things can't grow up if they don't have room and space to grow up, right? I mean...

Alex Weld:

Exactly.

Brandon Dennison:

So it's interesting. It's hard to move on sometimes, but it's just what has to happen. So how did you first get introduced to Generation West Virginia?

Alex Weld:

So funny, like I asked people, a couple of years ago, I've said like, oh, you know, generation West Virginia, and some some of my friends knew about it, some didn't. But I just feel like I've kind of always known about the organization. And you know, Natalie Roper, the founding executive director can be credited for incredible work and just making getting the name out there. My former boss, and I got hired at Wheeling heritage was Jake Daugherty, and he was a board member at generation West Virginia years ago. And so I knew about it through him as well. And I just, you know, community and economic development have always been very interesting to me and something I gravitated towards, and knowing there was a nonprofit that, you know, looks through that lens. And it's also geared toward keeping young people in the state. I don't know, it just became part of like, the way I thought about myself, like, you know, I was like, Oh, and there's this organization that supports people like me that want to stay here.

Brandon Dennison:

That's great. And you were part of a local chapter.

Alex Weld:

I was yeah, actually. It was called OB Connect. The group was called OB connect, and then we, like started to figure out affiliation could look like and change the name to generation wheeling when I was the chair of the organization. And we're still now you know, figuring out what local chapters need to be so, so interesting. It was a, it was a cool thing to go through that Natalie really led, which was, all of these groups across the state, there were local chapters, and some of them are really strong. Some, it was really hard, because as you I'm sure, well know, a lot of communities in West Virginia don't have a critical mass of young people. You know, there's the handful of young people that are really interested in being engaged. And we all have know, people who have left, you know, who were really excited about being here, and all of a sudden they leave. So some of the local gens were really strong. And typically, in the larger cities, a lot of them were having a difficult time, just keeping the ball rolling, because there are only a couple of people showing up to meetings. And plus, there was a pandemic, and there are other things happening in people's lives, it's really hard to ask people to commit to one more thing. So we're actually in the process of opening up the door. So if you're a young person that's not in an area where a local Gen exists, you can still engage with our work, right? So we're planning, you know, webinars and different panels in ways that young people can if you want to learn how to be involved in your, in your part of the state, if you want to be on a board of directors, but you've never done that before. Or if you want to start a community group, or you want to host a block party in your downtown, and you just don't know where to start and you you want to be engaged, we are really building out a program, I think that will address some of that. And so you are a young person, and you're like, I'd love to be a part of generation West Virginia, but how right, we're really, we're really expanding on opening those doors.

Brandon Dennison:

That's great. And um, you know, I'm remembering when I was, I guess I'm still younger ish, but getting closer to. But you know, growing up, certainly high school college, in the state, I just assumed that I would say most people in my social circles, we loved it here. But we just assumed we would have to go elsewhere, to have a decent job and to raise a family, you know, in a community that had fun stuff to do and culture and opportunity. And I think sometimes in West Virginia, you can feel isolated, if you don't have a community of people who are here are happy to be here, are engaged here are serving on boards here, then that that assumption that I'm going to have to go elsewhere, it just sort of reinforces itself. So you're working on sort of Creek, helping young people feel connected and in a part of community. Is that right?

Alex Weld:

Yeah, that's exactly right. And you're speaking to kind of another thing that we're working on, which is we've had this fellowship program for years, which the fellowship program, the impact fellowship, what it does is we've worked with employers who were hiring, and then we'd also kind of be you know, we'd help find the young people that are interested in those jobs and be kind of like the matchmaker, and it'd be a year long fellowship. So they would typically get hired after that, but only, you know, sometimes, but they're in this fellowship program. And then we also build out some like professional development, as well as peer networking as part of that program. So there's a year long program that helps pull those young people together. And it's a great program. And as we tried to work to scale it, we realized all of the things in that program are actually a couple of things that we were like, Let's pull that apart. So we're currently working to do that. So we're, the fellowship program will stand on its own without that job connection piece. So if you're a young person in West Virginia, that is like dying to be engaged in something right, we talked to so I don't know if you're familiar with leadership, West Virginia, we talked to those folks. And I said, you know, so it's, it's a year long program for people that are looking to kind of like, expand their, their networks in West Virginia, learn more about the state, state, etc. And I reached out to them, and I said, you know, let me paint you a picture of someone that's like maybe, in their early 20s, maybe early to mid level in their career interested in being more engaged, they don't have a ton of experience and like, they're like, Yeah, that's not leadership, West Virginia is for someone like farther along in their career, right? So what about those young people that if they don't get this type of opportunity, and they are isolated, and they they do feel like they work nine to five, with people that are not in their demographic, and they come home? And just like, Is this is this all there is, for me, this type of program, I think, can really pull them in and make them feel a part of something. So we're building out that, you know, different places around the state, bringing in people you know, one example that I've been using is like the Hatfield McCoy trails, you know, talking about, you know, what, what happened in that region, that coal really drove that entire economy and the extraction economy was really what what supported everyone that are nearly everyone that lived there, and now that so much of that industry is gone, and you know, tourism is kind of becoming more of a driver, you know, what lessons are there to be learned from those challenges and opportunities. So really pulling pulling young people in in a way that you know, if they're not from that region of the state, they might not know that much about it, and allowing them to like work together as a group to think about those challenges and opportunities and a new way. And you know, I think we have a lot of really great young thinkers in this state and invite them to the table to think think through those, those challenges. So that's the one piece that I think that fellowship program feels very, like a clear direction. And the other piece is the job, the job piece, which we're working on a separate program called the career connector, because we do get young people and employers reaching out to us a lot, asking, you know, can you help us? Can you help us find a job? Can you help us find a young person for this job? You have a great network of young people help us find someone? So we're building out that that process separately, too.

Brandon Dennison:

And then technology factors into this conversation as well, right. I mean, we're most folks I think, know, West Virginia, we've been a bit behind the curve, but we got some solutions to this problem as well. Right?

Alex Weld:

Yeah. So our new force program, which is the six month software development, training boot camp, it came out of those relationships with employers saying, you know, we need junior developers, we need people that know how to do this work and build websites and build apps. And there wasn't a clear pathway for young people to get into that, or anyone really to get into that work easily in West Virginia. But it was definitely a gap my predecessor worked with now. Now our new force director, Jordan Castillo to build out Nashville software school, a six month training programs, it's free and amazing. Like, it's, it's just amazing just to watch people go from having no coding experience to working incredible coding jobs. So that's been really, really great applications just open for our next cohort. And that'll start that'll start later this spring. So that's incredible. And then with that, of course, comes broadband access, right? If we're thinking about a changing economy, in a lot of regions in the state, if we're moving out from like an extractive economy into something like technology, we've got to have access to broadband for people to be able to access those jobs. So that's another thing that we work really hard on is getting federal dollars to these communities

Brandon Dennison:

Just got to have it. What is the potential for remote working in West Virginia, assuming we get the broadband thing fixed? How big a piece of our economic puzzle could remote working be?

Alex Weld:

Yeah, you know, I think about well, first of all, I think the pandemic changed that conversation, like my, my job wasn't remote before pandemic and I couldn't have taken this role if it had been offered. And it was in the Charleston region. So I think it has changed, you know, nationally, internationally, the way we think about remote work and the way employers are supporting people in remote work, and allowing it is just vastly different. And then roles like developers are again, as technology becomes a more integral part of everyone's lives that job, you know, a coder isn't just some, you know, in this, like, very niche market, like every industry is gonna be people that can do coding, like that is just universal. So I think yeah, as that as we really start to expand, and that mindset starts to shift sky's the limit.

Brandon Dennison:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, in our quality of life, a coding job that maybe used to be you had to live in New York, or LA, or even Columbus or Charlotte, you know, now, if you could live in West Virginia, and take advantage of our cost of living with a job that's based in that urban center, skip the two hour commute each day and go kayaking or mountain biking in our hills and hollers afterwards, not a bad life, right?

Alex Weld:

Yeah, not at all. Another thing, we're seeing employers, I think, realize all of us are realizing in real time that because those barriers are broken down, it's going to be harder, you know, a lot of our employers, like they looked at their the regional economy and it built their, their salary structure and organizational structure on the cost of living and you know, what, what their company can afford and what people who work for their company can afford. And I think as those barriers get broken down, we are going to see, I think some employers struggle with, what does that look like when someone can take a New York City coding job and work? You know, here in West Virginia versus, you know, a Huntington based coding job? What are the pay differences? And how do we make sure that West Virginia employers remain competitive, which we're working on a lot with, with those employers to make sure that those industries thrive here, too.

Brandon Dennison:

That's a big point. I hadn't really thought much of that needs like a whole day symposium. That's, yeah, that you're on to an important point there. So this leads up to something you and I have been sort of, given our lives over to the last few months called the act now coalition, Appalachian Climate Technologies coalition, really looking at climate resilience, environmentally sustainable technologies, remote working workforce development. I want folks to know I mean, you you're fairly new on the job at generation West Virginia, you sort of got thrust into this massive effort. It's a chance to bring in $108,000,000.75 of that being federal US economic development administration funds, the rest being private matching funds, to basically transform the economy of southern West Virginia through these eight component projects and you are the leader Have one of these projects. So because it's so much funding because there's so many partners involved, it's just been an intense effort. You've been a champ, you've been a great leader of your component, a great teammate, on the whole effort, it's, it's really just been so great to work with you. I've been so impressed with your leadership, your analysis, your acumen, we got it done last week, at least submitted. Hopefully, that was the easy part. The hard part will be when we win this, and we have to implement it all. But talk a little bit about your components specifically. And then also just as a major initiative on day one of this new job, what does this experience been like for you?

Alex Weld:

Yeah, it's been so incredible. So it's, it's interesting, I've tried to explain this to people that don't do work like this and haven't written any federal grants, let alone a federal grant like this. And it's so incredibly funny to me that all of this work, months and months of very intense, wonderful, innovative work is....

Brandon Dennison:

Budgeting time, writing letters of support, narrative writing...

Alex Weld:

Yes, like coordinating amazing ideas across the state and synergizing it like it is incredibly delicate, and intricate, and wonderful. And turn to turn in something that six pages long. It doesn't reflect. So it is so interesting, but it's just it's just funny that, you know, I don't know how to articulate it to someone who's not worked in work on something like this, that right, you really are building organizational capacity and programmatic capacity to change and economy over four years, with key players around the state in a way that will be transformational in just a few months. So like, it's an amazing opportunity, it's been very difficult. And also, I am so thankful actually that it happened as I came into this role, because I think I had the like very, you know, very excited about it, I had the energy for it. And I think it just was a big lift that I was like Game on. But also I think it gave me a really, really great opportunity to work with people across the state that I, you know, would have taken a longer time to build these wonderful relationships like, Brandon, I don't think you would, I would be sitting here and have this like, awesome understanding of each other's of each other's work and why it's so important. Without this opportunity, and it's a great point, you know, no matter what, now looking back, I think we all have a clearer understanding of how our work can and should work together, that we're all working for something very clear in common. So yeah, I just don't, I don't think that all would have happened without this opportunity. So at times when it's felt very, you know, overwhelming or like a lot to take on, I am so thankful that that had happened at this time. So yeah, so And by the way, likewise, I noticed was, you know, I was, you know, heading up one component of eight, you were the main point of contact for all eight plus, you were heading up a couple of them yourself. So yeah, just like very honored to work with you. And I know it was a huge lift, and you did it because you care about it. And it's important to you, and it's very, very evident.

Brandon Dennison:

Thank you, it totally stretched me to, to my limit. But I agree with you. In the end, I feel a lot of joy, that so many of us from different backgrounds with similar work, but different in other ways. There was not a lot of ego, you know, that it was really people who really did care, wanted to get this right, really put in the time to do it. You it takes a lot of grace for you to have such a positive attitude, I think reflects on just a very positive outlook that you have. And and I have to say I mean, you know, it's hard to say how it'll turn out. But I think we've built something, I think we're well positioned, even if this this exact funding source, I think we built something pretty unique, pretty transformational. That's no matter what it's going to lead to good things.

Alex Weld:

I think so too. You know, I know there are some construction pieces and non construction and a little bit more about the piece that we were working on the growing resilient opportunities for West Virginia's workforce. So it's really the workforce development piece, right? Training, placing and retaining people and quality jobs in West Virginia. And what I think unique about this piece is not only there, you know, a bunch of different types of industries and types of career paths are represented in this proposal. But also we are this proposal and others in the coalition are building up the economy while training people for it and while building up that economy so employers can hire those people that are being trained. So there's this really like synergistic opportunity across the projects. And also things are tipping in that direction. But this type of transformative work doesn't happen on its own right. That's the whole point is that there needs to be this like approach of people this this groundswell of people driving force Yeah. So I think that that's that's a really unique piece piece of this of this component project for sure.

Brandon Dennison:

And it's it's been fun actually because We're moving towards our wrap up, we sort of got thrown into this work together, and there really was no chance to just like, know, your background, you know, like, where you grew up what you what you care about what you're interested in. So it's actually been really fun. Now that we got all that done to like, sort of go back to day one and say, you know, who are you actually? What's your name, again, just get to know you as a person a little bit more. So one of my favorite questions, you're born and raised in West Virginia, you've committed your career to making sure young people can feel connected here and have a good career here. And we can build our economy to finally reach its full potential. What are some of the biggest changes that you've seen in West Virginia? You know, since since your childhood growing up? And what are some of the big things that you still that haven't changed, that you think still need to change? And you hope to see change during your career?

Alex Weld:

Yeah, so I'll say like my group of friends, and most people I know, in in Wellsburg, that I went to high school with don't live here. Now. I think that that is not, of course unique. But I will say in places like wheeling, I've already seen that changing that people are understanding that there are career paths here. So I'm, I'm starting to see that shift, which is amazing. And I think that's it. That's a huge. I mean, yeah, yeah. And the fact that I think it's going to be great. Like if you think you can keep your eye on some larger, you know, population centers and places where there were jobs and you know, culture and community are really starting to thrive, and see what that's doing. It is possible to emulate it, right. If we're watching it happen in real time, we are watching what's changing, and we're seeing why it's working. So I think there's a very clear path for other communities in the state. I think more people are starting to think about reinvesting in communities in a way they had been in the past. I think entrepreneurship really is like getting a stronger foothold again, which I think is going to be paramount for communities for downtown's. You know, downtown's, a lot of these buildings, like three storey empty buildings in communities every community has, that typically is going to be a very difficult lift or a lift that doesn't feel worth it to an out of state or out of out of area developer, but it would feel worth it to someone that's from here and has that outlook on something to make it a reality because they they care about it. So I think entrepreneurship has to be the catalyst for that. And we're seeing entrepreneurship start to start to really drive some of that. I think, I will say that I don't know if this is true or not. But part of you know, I still hear people say that their friends have laughed, or they thought about leaving to be successful, to be successful.

Brandon Dennison:

What still needs to change? Yeah,

Alex Weld:

That was just how it felt like, you know, I had to leave, I had to get those experiences, but I'm going to come back. And a lot of a lot of times people often do come back. But I think that that's something that we're still that, I think it's more of a it's less of an opportunity thing, right? I think the opportunities as the opportunities happen, those mindset starts to shift. But there are still some mindset, barriers that we're facing in terms of helping people really understand that might not be the case, you know, there really are great opportunities here and like, no one's going to look down on you for staying somewhere that you that you love and that you're from, and it's your hometown. So I think that's something that we're like, still in the middle of figuring it out. But I think that there's a clear path. Now I think, like there is a path being made. And you know, there is there is this shift and out migration that, you know, forever. For decades, there has been the trend that we've lost, we've lost people have moved out of the state versus moving in. And that's changed for the first time. And I mean, at least decades, probably longer than that. So there is something to capitalize on there, too. Right. But what an opportunity, and I'm sure there are tons of things, tons of reasons why that happened. But that is that is not accounting for, you know, births and deaths that is solely the people that live here, more people moved in and left. And I don't know the last time we've been able to say that. So I think that's something if we can really think about how to how to capitalize on that understand where that's happening and why. Yeah, we have an interesting opportunity in West Virginia right now.

Brandon Dennison:

Totally agree in the entrepreneurship thing ties with that, I think, you know, certainly like in the southern part of the state, with the extractive industry being so dominant. You know, most of our education, K through 12 is about getting a job, you're getting the skills to get a job. And I think in a modern economy, there's more chances to make our own jobs for ourselves or even like as a remote worker, maybe we're employed by someone else. But we can sort of put our career together and in a non traditional way. That's not exactly your nine to five in an office. And so I think this increase in entrepreneurship in this city Changing mindset that's that's slowly happening that needs to happen faster of I have to leave to have a good life. Those two things tie together, don't they?

Alex Weld:

They do. And if so, back to back now coalition there, you know, the high of an advantage Valley thinking about the skills they bring in terms of entrepreneurship training, we are excited to pull that into new force. You know, we've employers come and speak to our new force graduates. But one thing we've not really entertained a lot is the idea of a new forest graduate, creating a pathway to their own their own role, their own job, their own business. And so really helping to kind of support the training of or at least support people in understanding that that is possible. So not only could you work remotely for a company, but you could work remotely for yourself for for clients anywhere, right? Like you could, you could build out an entire entire client base as a coder, as a website developer, or software developer, from anywhere now. And so yeah, I think not only are we thinking about remote work in terms of working for our company, which is a whole new world, really, but also building out your own company. And that was something that was not on the immediate horizon for me until we all got together and started talking about this.

Brandon Dennison:

That's really exciting to think about. Well, thank you for your leadership in the state. Thank you for your leadership with the act now coalition. I think we're gonna be working together for many years to come and I look forward to it.

Alex Weld:

I mean to Brandon, thank you so much.

Brandon Dennison:

All right, Alex, take care.

Alex Weld:

You too. Change in the Coalfields is a podcast created by Coalfield Development in the hills and hollers of West Virginia. This episode was hosted by Brandon Dennison, and produced and edited by JJN Multimedia become a part of our mission to rebuild the Appalachian economy by going to our website coalfield-development.org. To make a donation, you can email us anytime at info at coalfield-development.org and subscribe to our newsletter for more information on the podcast. You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn by searching Coalfield Development. Check back soon for more episodes.