In the Central Appalachian region, energy and natural resources present a range of potential economic and community development opportunities, as well as complex challenges. The two sectors are inextricably linked. As the region faces continued decline of its traditional industries, communities are seeking strategies that will facilitate a just economic transition through responsibly managed natural resources, widespread energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
The Energy & Natural Resources Working Group (ENRWG) is exploring these opportunities and challenges in the region and has released a report from its first learning meeting. Click here to download the report.
The ENRWG welcomes other regional and national funding partners interested in bringing greater focus and impact to future energy and natural resource investments and programs in the Central Appalachian region. The group will also continue to incorporate practitioner and community insight into activities, investments, and ongoing dialogue about these sectors.
Strategies
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Convene
Convene diverse stakeholders & build relationships.
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Learn
Exchange information as a learning network of practitioners and funders.
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Support & Facilitate
Provide leadership and serve as champions for advancing the energy and natural resource sectors.
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Leverage
Leverage additional private, public, and philanthropic resources.
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Collaborate
Align resources for greater impact and provide a regional voice for the energy and natural resources sectors role in the economic transition.
Co-Chairs of the Energy & Natural Resources Working Group
Beth Wheatley, The Nature Conservancy-West Virginia
Heidi Binko, Just Transition Fund
Members of the Energy and Natural Resources Working Group
Funders
Cuong Hoang, Chorus Foundation
Mary Hunt, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Matthew Klesta, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Christine Laporte, Sacharuna Foundation
Julie Lawhorn, Appalachian Regional Commission
Jeff Mansour, Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Foundation
Mikki Sager, The Conservation Fund
Lora Smith, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Jesse Stock, Athens Foundation
Arturo Garcia-Costas, New York Community Trust
Caitlin Hamood, Chorus Foundation
Eli Flournoy, Sugar Bush Foundation
Ivan Frishberg, Amalgamated Bank
Rich Stonestreet, ACF West Virginia
Rudi Navarro, The Solutions Project
Sandra Mikush, Just Transition Fund
Sarah Smith, Mercy Investment Services
Vince Paumier, USDA Rural Development
Stephanie Randolph, Cassiopeia
Practitioners
Thomas Minney, The Nature Conservancy-West Virginia
Hannah Vargason, Natural Capital Investment Fund
Marten Jenkins, Natural Capital Investment Fund
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