Brandon is Ashley Dennison’s husband and father to their boys: Owen and Will. Born and raised in West Virginia, he is Founder and CEO of Coalfield Development. Dennison graduated from Shepherd University with a B.A. in History. He holds a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University. In 2017, Brandon was named West Virginian of the Year by WV Living Magazine. He is winner of the JMK Social Innovation Prize, is a DRK Entrepreneur, and is an Ashoka Fellow. In 2019, Brandon was awarded the Heinz Award for Economy and Employment. He recently testified before Congress on how the Coalfield model could be used to combat climate change, and he currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at Marshall University. For 10 years, he has tried to learn guitar but still only knows 8 or 9 songs (importantly, Country Roads is one of those songs).