Coalfield Development was founded in 2009 in southern West Virginia by West Virginians who believed that meaningful change must come from within. Our journey began in a small apartment in Wayne County, where our founder, Brandon Dennison, established an office to address the social and economic challenges facing Appalachia. From these humble beginnings, Coalfield has grown into a transformative force for empowering communities and rebuilding economies across the region. Through workforce training for individuals with barriers to employment, community-led revitalization of abandoned mine lands and real estate, social enterprise development, and nonprofit capacity building, we create pathways to well-paying jobs and thriving economies. We aim to inspire the courage to grow, activate the creativity to innovate, and cultivate communities of opportunity across central Appalachia. This work begins with building trust through tangible action.
We empower the people who have been cast aside to transform the places that have been left behind in order to generate lasting prosperity for our region.
By empowering people and transforming places, Coalfield Development is rebuilding the Appalachian economy from the ground up.
Resilient rural communities with socially and financially thriving economies which create the community conditions for all kinds of people to unlock their full potential, power, and purpose.
Our team principles help us set priorities and shape decision-making. They bring our organizational strategies to life and guide us in how to apply our theory of change day-in and day-out. As with all of our work, our principles are grounded in our values and vision, but they are more specific and tangible.
(Impact Statistic as of January 2023.)
“The people and places that have been left behind are the keys to unlocking the new prosperity ahead – and we’re transforming a century of generational challenges every hour, every day.”
— Jacob Hannah, CEO
This interactive timeline was created to give you a glimpse of accomplishments throughout our first 13 years.
(Impact Statistic as of January 2023.)
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Inspiring the courage to grow, activating the creativity to innovate, and cultivating communities of opportunity in central Appalachia.