THROUGH THE LENS
West Virginia Coalfields
Misty Appalachian mornings greeted Frontlines in America (FIA) students while they traversed the region in October. The team visited local entrepreneurs as part of their work with partner organization Coalfield Development. The four MBAs, a Notre Dame Law student and two alumni advisors were one of three FIA teams exploring economic stability in U.S. communities affected by poverty, violence and exclusion. Coalfield asked the students to assist with the evaluation of dozens of social entrepreneur applicants for a seed fund that the 2023 FIA team helped them establish. Frontlines in America is part of the Meyer Business on the Frontlines program.
Photos by Matt Cashore (ND ’94)
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Frontlines in America team members visit Bear Wood Company, another seed fund finalist, in Hurricane, West Virginia. The company, whose motto is “Always Home,” makes furniture and decorations out of locally reclaimed wood.
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Coalfield Development renovated a former clothing factory in Huntington, West Virginia, to become its offices and a hub for the businesses it supports.
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Jonathan Lapshan (MBA ’24), left, and Bryan Silver (MBA ’24) visit Highwall, a former mountaintop strip mine in Mingo County, West Virginia, that Coalfield Development transformed into an organic farm.
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Wayne, West Virginia is one of the several communities the students visited to hear from entrepreneurs who exhibit Coalfield’s values of gumption, grit and grace and want to build resilient communities and a thriving Appalachian economy.
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Jonathan Lapshan (MBA ’24), Josephine Emanuelli (MBA ’24), Bryan Silver (MBA ’24), Gautier Tonongbe (MBA ’24), advisor Katie Rossi (MBA ’14), Notre Dame Law student Bree Hall and advisor Braden Weldy (MBA ’14) raise the flag at the Highwall farm in Mingo County. Their evaluation work helped award seed funding to entrepreneurs based on business plan viability, job creation and community impact.
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A highway disappears into trees and mist in the Appalachian mountains.
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