We're identifying and cultivating people of all ages who want to prosper in a cleaner, greener environment. We are helping people move forward in bold, innovative ways that lead to financial independence and improved quality of life and community.  Everything we do is aimed at creating sustainable, green jobs in local communities – many that cannot be exported – while helping to improve the comfort, health, safety, sustainability and connectedness of West Virginia's communities.

Sarah Halstead Boland is executive director of WVGreenWorks, Inc. Her background in professional education, economic, community and workforce development drives our collaborative approach to helping communities revise, retool, and reinvent themselves for the new economy.

 

Vision
Working with schools, industry, government and community-based organizations, WVGreenWorks, Inc. will contribute to transforming West Virginia into a state that innovates, and is truly ready for 21st century opportunities.

Mission

WV GreenWorks helps existing initiatives with advertising their job and training opportunities. We identify gaps in training and educational opportunities, and collaboratively unite resources to create programs in:

Energy: Providing and supporting opportunities, career information and industry connectivity in alternative and renewable energy, and energy conservation. 

High Performance Building:  Providing and supporting opportunities for green building, weatherization, including partnering with US Green Building Council, BuildGreenWV, and community action agencies around the state to provide various levels of training and certification. 

Sustainable Agriculture:  Supporting buy fresh, buy local, and assisting with training efforts to make our growers more efficient, dependable, and productive. 

Sustainable Forestry: Supporting information for small land owners, timber industry workers and business owners, and wood manufacturers.

Air Quality:  Providing career information and advocacy for jobs related to air pollution and prevention.

Water Management:  Providing career training and information in the growing water management industry, including water distribution and wastewater management, and watershed advocacy.

Land Use & Community Planning:  Providing information to those interested in smart growth, community and economic development; working with planning organizations and communities to better understand land use and planning as it relates to smart growth for rural and urban communities.

Conservation: Providing public information workshops on emerging opportunities in energy and water conservation and general pollution prevention.
 

Sustainable Tourism:  Supporting and training companies and projects committed to making a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate income and employment for local people. Our aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development is a positive experience for local people; tourism companies; and tourists themselves.

Sustainable Transportation Planning: Sustainable transportation concerns systems, policies, and technologies. It aims for the efficient transit of goods and services, and sustainable freight and delivery systems. 
 

1.   Identify leaders/experts in each sector, who understand what they need to move forward, and position WVGreenWorks to assist through training and joint outreach activities.

2.   Build a coalition of industry, agency, and organizational advocates who can move things forward in ways we’ve not seen happen in the past.

3.   Build a network of public forums in the state through collaborative partnerships with educational, civic, faith-based, and governmental organizations. 

4.   Partner to make collective efforts go further working with community colleges and their contract education programs; career and technical education providers; universities as well as Workforce Investment Boards and other workforce development-oriented organizations with initiative and vision.

5.   Perform gap analysis to identify training, information and communication needs.

6.   Offer program development and outreach assistance to other organizations.
 

7.   Create and deliver green literacy workshops to inform and inspire others to consider green career options.

Non-Discrimination Policy