January 14 & 15: 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM – Please join us for our 5th annual virtual strategy summit! ReImagine Appalachia’s strategy summit holds space to discuss all of the coalition’s various agenda topics and organize them into a work plan for the upcoming year.
In our efforts to transition Appalachia to a more environmentally sustainable, diverse, and just economy, we depend on input form our community members. In these strategy sessions, we incorporate cultural, storytelling, labor, and community benefits themes into our work plan priorities to ensure that ALL Appalachians benefit from the region’s economic development.
Help us shape our 2025 work plan and hear from experts from manufacturing, local government, federal funding, and more!
Summit Agenda
DAY 1, JANUARY 14TH
11am-12:00 pm: Public Investment in a Changing Environment
12:00-1:00 Pm: Doing It Together: Multi-Community Partnerships Driving Progress
1:15-2:15 pm: Breakout Sessions
Session 1A: Buy Appalachia: Purchasing with a Purpose
Session 1B: Appalachian Flood Policy and Priorities
Session 1C: Building Local Government Readiness to Take Advantage of Existing and New Opportunities
Session 1D: Communicating to a Broad Audience in order to Build Support for Sustainable Development
Session 1E: Turning on State Policies to Enable Community Solar Adoption
2:15-2:30 pm:Wrap Up and Conclusions
DAY 2, JANUARY 15TH
11 am – 12:30 pm Session What’s Next for Appalachia’s Clean Economy?
11am-12:20pm: Keynote Panel: What’s Next for Appalachia’s Clean Economy?
12:20-12:30pm: Break
12:30-1:30pm: Breakout Sessions
Session 2A: Making Appalachia a Hub for Circular Manufacturing: Building Out the Reuse Corridor
Session 2B: Eco-Industrial Parks: Transforming Shuttered Coal Plants and Former Steel Facilities into Modern Manufacturing Hubs
Session 2C: Developing Set of Win-Win-Win Community Benefit Principles for Appalachia
Session 2D: Communications in a Changing Policy Environment
Session 2E: Reconnecting Appalachia’s Disconnected Workers: Overcoming Barriers to Employment in Appalachia
1:30-2:30pm: Breakout Sessions
Session 3A: Building an Appalachian Manufacturing Action Plan
Session 3B: Turning Blight into Bright: Opportunities for Renewable Energy Expansion on Damaged and Degraded Lands
Session 3C: Workforce Development in a Shifting Economy: Reconnecting Disconnected Workers and the Role of Unions in the Transition to Sustainability
Session 3D: The Role of Arts and Culture in Sustainable Economic Development in Appalachia
Session 3E: What’s Next for Climate, Energy, and Economic Development Federal Policy?
