Supported by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, TechConnect partnered with the Battelle Institute to create the West Virginia Blueprint for Technology-Based Economic Development, identifying four key sectors: advanced energy, chemicals and advanced materials, biometrics, and biotechnology. TechConnectWV focuses on fostering collaboration, research, and innovation to diversify and strengthen West Virginia’s economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
As we begin to redefine our own mission and vision, we are reevaluating the way that TechConnect fits within the existing tech and innovation landscape in West Virginia. Our goal is to find and fill the gaps that entrepreneurs currently face by working with other entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) in the state to accomplish our goals and support theirs, while ultimately keeping entrepreneurs at the forefront of our work.
Our Role in the Broader West Virginia Tech and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem:
Our Focus:
Champion and support tech-based entrepreneurship, starting with the earliest stages and to foster a thriving, innovation-driven tech ecosystem.
Our History:
The TechConnect team
Executive Director
Ariana Shives
Email: Ariana@TechConnectWV.org
Program Manager
John Golden
Email: John@TechConnectWV.org
Our board
Matthew Ballard
CEO - WV Regional Technology Park
James Carnes
Co-Founder - Iconic Air
Kel Cecil
Founder - Ramenopolis
Chris Deweese
Member, Director of the Audit and Consulting department - Suttle and Stalnaker, PLLC
Kevin DiGregorio
Executive Director - Chemical Alliance Zone
Kelley Goes
Member, Transaction Department - Jackson Kelly PLLC
Matt Harbaugh
Managing Director - Mountain State Capital
Matt Hartsog
Director of Capital Investments - NOVA West Virgina Investment Fund
Greg Henthorn
Executive Vice President of Business Development - Flat Rock Energy
Arria Hines
Founder, CEO - Allegheny Science & Technology
Robbie Morris
Executive Director - Randolph County Development Authority and West Virginia Wood Technology Center
Michele O'Connor
Director - INNOVA Commercialization
Scott Rotruck
Vice President of External Relations - Vertx Partners
Derek Scarbro
Director - Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center
Jeffrey Tucker
Sr. Principal Systems Engineer and Solutions Architect
Thomas Vorbach
Business Lawyer - Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC
John Ramsey
Senior Vice President, Energy Programs - KeyLogic
Roger Hanshaw
Speaker - WV House of Delegates
