"Rural is Resilient: Rebuilding the Appalachian Economy from the Ground Up" is a presentation by Coalfield Development that explores how community-driven innovation, workforce development, and social enterprise are transforming central Appalachia.
Once a region known for powering the nation through coal and industry (yet often left behind in terms of reinvestment and opportunity), Appalachia now faces deep economic, environmental, and health disparities. Coalfield Development reverse-engineers solutions to these challenges by empowering people who have been cast aside, revitalizing places that have been left behind, and building long-term prosperity.
This presentation outlines Coalfield’s workforce development model, which integrates on-the-job training, personal development, and business incubation. Through training and employment initiatives like PATH and WRAPS, social enterprise development, and partnerships with organizations replicating their approach across the region, Coalfield has created over 1,000 jobs, supported 91 new businesses, and attracted more than $178 million in new investment. By turning abandoned mine lands and buildings once considered liabilities into assets to serve their communities, and equipping individuals with the tools to secure gainful, stable employment in a variety of industries, Coalfield is proving that rural communities can, and are, rebuilding the Appalachian economy from the ground up.
Our speaker, Jacob Israel Hannah, began work as Coalfield Development’s new CEO in January of 2024. Previously, Jacob held the role of Chief Conservation Officer at Coalfield Development with over five years in the organization. With three generations of coal mining in his family, and as a 5th generation West Virginian, Jacob integrates an empathetic and grounded approach to the strategy of triple-bottom line sustainability; balancing People, Planet, and Prosperity in harmony with each other with a lens towards a fair and just transition.
Jacob’s work intersects the through line of environmental considerations with social wellbeing and economic development. This primarily revolves around bringing renewable energy to underserved and coal-impacted communities, reclaiming abandoned mine lands, supporting a regional network of upcycling and reuse, and remediating brownfields and protecting water systems, all while centering this work around the people of Appalachia.