Maximizing with Michelle: Stephanie Tyree, Executive Director, WV Community Development Hub

A native of Charleston West Virginia, Stephanie Tyree is the Executive Director of the WV Community Development Hub (The Hub). 

 

With fifteen years of experience in policy, community development and community organizing, she has dedicated her career to advancing community-based, systemic solutions for rural, coal-impacted communities in Central Appalachia. Her primary area of expertise has centered around developing tools to drive community collaboration, leadership engagement, and community-driven change to build strong resilient rural communities.

 

Since joining the WV Community Development Hub in 2012, Stephanie has created the organization’s community-based policy program, expanded the organization’s footprint to better serve communities in southern West Virginia, led research and evaluation processes relating to rural community development in West Virginia, including publishing the WV Community Development Innovation Report and the 6 Best Practices of Rural Community Building, and has elevated the leadership of the organization within regional and national community economic development fields. She has secured over $20 million in funding over the past 8 years to support The Hub’s work, helping to funnel significant resources to WV communities served by Hub programs. 

 

Stephanie is passionate about identifying innovative strategies to address barriers to community investments for rural downtown development in West Virginia. She is inspired by the leadership growth and local transformations she has seen West Virginia communities achieve when they are provided with the tools, support, and resources to execute their vision for development and when rural development barriers are collaboratively addressed.

 

Stephanie has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a law degree from NYU School of Law. She was recognized as a “WV Wonder Woman” by WV Living Magazine in 2016, was a recipient of The State Journal’s “Next Generation: 40 Under 40” award in 2018, was a 2016 BALLE Fellow, and a 2021 Fulcrum Fellow with the Center for Community Investment. She currently serves on the WV Community Development Advisory Boards for Wesbanco and Truist banks. Additionally, she is a member of the Fayette County West Virginia Library Board, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation Board of Directors, and is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Invest Appalachia, a regional impact investment fund serving rural Appalachia. 

 

Stephanie lives with her husband and two young sons in beautiful Fayette County West Virginia. When she’s not at work, you’re most likely to find her at Summersville Lake or hanging around a local bookstore.