Campus News

Hannah to be March JCLS presenter

Garrett College graduate is CEO of Coalfield Development

Garrett College graduate Jacob Hannah, who is now chief executive officer of Coalfield Development, will be this month’s Joan Crawford Lecture Series presenter. His presentation is entitled Rural is Resilient: How Appalachians are Empowering Our People, Places, and Prosperity from the Ground Up!

McHenry, MD – Jacob Hannah loves returning to his Garrett College roots.

"It’s really encouraging," said Hannah, a 2015 Garrett College graduate who serves as chief executive officer of Coalfield Development. " I see a lot of community colleges in the region trying to determine how to pivot and stay relevant. It’s so amazing seeing Garrett College grow, expand, and serve the community so well."

Hannah returns to the College on Wednesday, March 12th at 6 p.m. as this month’s Joan Crawford Lecture Series presenter. His presentation – Rural is Resilient: How Appalachians are Empowering Our People, Places, and Prosperity from the Ground Up! – will take place in the conference center of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) at Garrett College.

"I love the PAC, the new programs, and I love seeing the SING [Students In Need Group] Food Pantry continuing to thrive," added Hannah, a 2017 graduate of Bucknell University. "Garrett College is such a strong model of community support in rural education."

Coalfield Development is a Huntington, WV-based non-profit with a mission that emphasizes building and supporting resilient rural communities in partnership with community colleges.

"We’ve trained 3,500 people in new and sustainable sectors, revitalized 300,000 square feet of formerly dilapidated property, and incubated or supported 92 new social enterprises at a local level," said Hannah, who was the featured speaker at Garrett College’s 2019 commencement, where he was presented the Distinguished Alumni Award. "And we’ve done that in a region very similar to Garrett County."

Hannah, a fifth-generation West Virginian who became Coalfield Development’s chief executive officer in 2024, served six years as the organization’s chief conservation officer.

"The model we’ve been developing is built on the premise that you can have a high-quality job, a good quality of life, and you don’t have to move to a sprawling metropolis to do so," said Hannah. "We strive to combine people, place, and prosperity."

Hannah said collaboration and partnerships are necessary to overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities in rural communities.

"We know the challenges rural areas face," said Hannah, "but if you build a critical mass of partners at a rural level, you can empower the people who have been left behind."

Hannah said his initial connection to Garrett College was sheer happenstance.

"I saw a poster in my post office talking about a really great reciprocity program that offered in-state tuition for [Garrett County’s] neighboring counties," said Hannah, who was a Tucker County resident working as a lineman at the time. "I talked with my family and became the first of my family to go to College. I found the joy of learning through Garrett College’s resources and infrastructure."

Hannah observed he is "one of the few folks I know who graduated with zero debt."

"I absolutely would not have gone to college if not for the support I received," said Hannah, whose brother, Josiah, also graduated from Garrett College in 2015.

Jacob Hannah has presented his work at the White House, the World Bank, and NPR, and is an upcoming presenter at SXSW in Texas.

The Joan Crawford Lecture Series honors dynamic educator Joan R. Crawford, who died in 2010 after serving the Garrett College community for 30 years in a variety of faculty and staff roles.

For more information, contact Stephanie Miller at stephanie.miller@garrettcollege.edu.