Generation West Virginia forms in 2007. Young people throughout West Virginia interested in professional, community, and leadership development gather to identify the functions, purposes, and activities of the statewide organization.

In 2014, Generation West Virginia hires its first executive director. What started as a statewide networking organization quickly develops into something larger. Recognizing that policy and legislation directly impacts attraction and retention, GWV dives in head first.

In 2016, Generation West Virginia—alongside a diverse coalition of partners—informs state public policy wins including the the Crowdfunding Bill, the Brunch Bill, the Uber Bill, and defeating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Generation West Virginia also informs the passage of the Young Entrepreneur Reinvestment Act in 2016, which waives filing fees for entrepreneurs under 30 wanting to start their own business.

In 2017, Generation West Virginia works with AARP to bring together a diverse coalition of stakeholders to pass the first piece of comprehensive broadband access legislation in the state in decades. This legislation primarily enables the establishment of cooperatives in West Virginia.

In 2017, Generation West Virginia launches the Impact Fellowship program in response to a lack of clear pathways between job opportunities and job seekers. This program connects young people with jobs in the state while helping them pursue professional development, find opportunities to give back, and flourish with the support of a peer network.

Generation West Virginia identifies the tech sector as a rapidly growing industry with many high-growth jobs and not enough people to fill them. In 2019, in response to employer demand, GWV launches NewForce to bridge the training gap and enable West Virginians with no prior coding experience to make the jump and join the tech industry.

In light of lessons learned through our first five years of programming, as well as shifts due to the pandemic, Generation West Virginia’s workforce development programs—Broadband, Career Connector, the GWV Fellowship, and NewForce—evolve to better respond to the needs of young people and employers in the state.