About the organization.
The West Virginia Civic Engagement Table (WVCET) was started in 2020 as a loose network of aligned organizations. In 2021, those organizations decided to formally incorporate the project. We are charged with the mission to build a more equitable, just, and engaged West Virginia by strengthening the progressive advocacy ecosystem through building infrastructure, fostering collaboration, and supporting education and empowerment. This is accomplished by the provision of services to progressive-aligned groups and organizations throughout the state, and fundraising in conjunction with For West Virginia’s Future, the state’s Donor Alliance and WVCET’s current fiscal sponsor.
Meet the Team
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(they/them)
Ashir has been active in politics and advocacy work across the country for over a decade. Originally from North Carolina, they moved to West Virginia in 2018 and are dedicated to fighting for a better future for Appalachia. Ashir is particularly devoted to intersectional social justice causes, and is a passionate abolitionist. They are also the resident spreadsheet nerd of the civic engagement table, working to improve the accuracy and accessibility of voter and elections data and to empower organizers statewide through better data.
Ashir lives with their wife, Caitlin, and their two young kids. Ash is a fiber artist and a gamer geek, as well as a retired rugby player and an amateur actor. You’ll rarely find them without knitting in their hands and they spend their free time in their weaving studio or playing D&D with friends.
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Dani has always been involved in politics and advocacy work in her native Kentucky and later in West Virginia, but her participation in the West Virginia Teachers/Public Employees Strike of 2018 was a turning point for her career trajectory and priorities. She now serves as the Engagement Director for WVCET, bringing folks together on issues that make a difference in the lives of regular West Virginians and connecting people with services to make their work easier and more effective.
Dani lives in Huntington, WV with her husband, their two children, two dogs, two cats, and an absurd number of house plants. She enjoys fantasy and sci-fi media, hockey, and is the the Table’s resident GIF enthusiast.
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Renée started her political career at 11 years old, working to institute new recycling programs and pass school levies. She has continued to found and develop new projects as a community organizer, campaigner, and most recently, the first Executive Director of West Virginia's donor alliance: For West Virginia's Future.
In her current role as the founding Director of the West Virginia Civic Engagement Table, she supports West Virginia's advocacy groups and organizations as they work to create a shared plan to win a more progressive future in the Mountain State. Mostly that looks like envisioning big goals, pursuing fundraising to support them, developing strong relationships with partners, and aligning other stakeholders to the cause.
She lives with her partner Adam in a 100-year-old home they are renovating themselves.
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Katie began working in communications advocacy in 2017 and has worked on multiple websites, communications plans, and social media strategies for nonprofit organizations, including GOTV work in both the 2018 and 2020 election cycles.
Katie spends her free time hanging out with her pets, enjoys crafting with glittery mediums, and considers herself to be a pop-punk lesbian & elder emo.