Appalachians Building Capacity
Building the pipeline for talent
Appalachians Building Capacity (ABC) is developing an educated workforce through innovative pre-K to 12 programs such as early language and literacy programs in the homes of infants and toddlers, professional development for early childhood teachers and innovative college and career advising.
Program Leads
- Victor Luftig, Director, Center for Liberal Arts| e-mail
- Joy Pugh, Program Director, Virginia College Advising Corps | e-mail
- Paige Pullen, Associate Professor, Curry School of Education | e-mail
Some of our current initiatives include:
- Virginia College Advising Corps addresses the widening gap in college access for low income, first generation, and under-represented groups through college advising. The Corps places recent UVa-Wise graduates in two high schools in Southwest Virginia to work alongside counselors and other college access organizations.
- DreamWakers connects volunteer speakers with classroom flashchat opportunities through videoconference technology.
Healthy Appalachia Institute
To improve health outcomes
Healthy Appalachia Institute brings together health providers, employers, higher education, and government to build a healthy workforce and increase access to healthcare. We are using creative and innovative methods, including new approaches to telemedicine, to bring the resources of UVa’s Health System and surrounding healthcare providers to the people in Southwest Virginia.
Program Leads
- David Gordon, Director, Office of Telemedicine, UVa Health System | e-mail
- Margie Tomann, Director, Healthy Appalachia Institute | e-mail
Appalachian Ventures
For new and existing business development
Appalachian Ventures seeks to increase prosperity and diversify the economy through entrepreneurship, increased management capacity, and thoughtful development of place-based assets.
Program Lead
- Shannon Blevins, Associate Vice Chancellor,
Economic Development & Engagement at UVa-Wise | 276-889-8184 | e-mail
Some of our current initiatives include:
- Clinch River Valley Initiative
Since fall 2010 UVa’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation and community leaders have convened a series of meetings with 75 stakeholders from 30 different state and local agencies to explore new ideas for building local economies that leverage the Clinch River Valley’s unique assets.
- My Southwest VA Opportunity
Southwest Virginia communities work together to build a prosperous region through targeted support of entrepreneurship.
Academic Research
Building the pipeline for talent
The APP Research Center provides evidence-based research to Planning Districts 1 and 2 to guide community economic development strategy, inform priorities, assess impact, and create a compelling asset-based narrative that helps attract new jobs to the region.
Academic Lead
- Susanne Moomaw, Associate Professor, School of Architecture – Urban + Environmental Planning and APP Academic Lead | 434-924-6459 | e-mail
Some of our initiatives include:
- Students in a Collaborative Planning class worked on a community center in Pound.
- Summer fellowships in support of oral history collection in the town of Appalachia.
