About Create WV and the Conference
Create WV is a service of the Creative Community Network, a West Virginia corporation currently seeking 501c3 non-profit status. Create WV was launched by and is an affiliate of Vision Shared (www.visionshared.com).
The Create WV Conference is a statewide training conference and celebration of creative community building designed to spark new economy growth in West Virginia. The "new" economy is defined as those industries that generate income from the development of intellectual property and innovative entrepreneurship. Examples include software and IT, research and development, media, design, arts, cultural and education industries and job categories.
The purpose of the Conference is to work towards achieving Create WV’s objectives to
- Enable West Virginians to live within the most innovative and prosperous communities in the world
- Propose and support statewide policies and programs that will support creative community development
- Promote West Virginia as "a great state to create," thereby retaining and recruiting more talented people to live and create here
- Create commercial and social entrepreneurial programs and organizations (“startups) that bring new economy opportunities to communities throughout West Virginia
The Create WV Board of Directors includes:
- Keith Pauley, CEO, Mid-Atlantic Technology Research and Innovation Center (MATRIC)
- Mayra Ruiz-McPherson, CEO, Charles Town Marketing
- Bob Coffield, Attorney, Flaherty, Sensabaugh and Banasso
- Crystal Good, Affrilachian Poet; Activist; Chief Mythologist, Mythology LLC
- Jeff James, CEO, Mythology LLC
The first Create WV Conference was held November 2007 at the Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, WV, and attracted 254 attendees. Last year’s conference, held in Huntington in partnership with Create Huntington, drew over 420 attendees.
This year, experience Create WV in Wheeling, a traditional industrial center that is transforming itself into a new economy center of innovation and new economy growth. We are grateful for the Create Wheeling team for their co-planning support and hospitality!
If you have ideas or feedback about this year’s conference, we’d love to hear from you. Send us a note at info@createwv.com.