[ contributors | summer 2016 ]
Katie Allie
Katie Allie is a native
West Virginian and a
teacher by trade. Fascinated by maps, food culture and her students’ vacation photos, she took
every opportunity she
had to escape her classroom and explore one far-flung location after
another. One day, it dawned on her that travel
is what she should really be doing with her life,
and she has never looked back. Today, she owns
her own business as a travel consultant and loves
to write about food and talk adventure. She may
be reached at [email protected], and
you can read more about her adventures at www.
wvexecutive.com/category/executive-exclusives.
Anne Barth
Anne Barth is the executive director of TechConnect West Virginia,
a nonprofit organization
focused on economic diversification and prosperity. In her tenure with
TechConnect, Barth has
helped secure more than $1.7 million in state
and federal funding to advance programs and
initiatives that foster innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship. She organized the
first Women & Technology Conference in the
state, which occurs on a biennial basis. Before
joining TechConnect, Barth worked for 24 years
for the late U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd as his
state director. She received a bachelor’s degree
in journalism and a master’s degree in corporate
and organizational communications from West
Virginia University.
Samantha Cart
Samantha Cart is the production manager for Executive Ink, LLC and its
publications. A native of
Buffalo, WV, she holds
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from
West Virginia University.
She previously worked as an assistant editor for
Omnistream and a social media specialist for Atkins & Ogle Law Offices. In her spare time, she
works as a freelance writer and serves as a volunteer with the Church of the Nazarene, Jefferson
County 4-H and the Come and Serve Team. Cart
currently lives in Birmingham, AL, with her husband, Caleb, and their dog, Wednesday. She can
be reached at [email protected].
14
west virginia executive
Jessica Chambers
Jessica Chambers is a native of Charleston, WV,
and currently works for
the state. She received
her undergraduate degree from West Virginia
University in 2011 and
earned her master’s degree in interactive media from Elon University in
2014. In her spare time, she does freelance work
ranging from graphic design to digital communication strategies.
Alicia Elkin
Alicia Elkin is a manager
for the strategic communications team at McBee
Strategic Consulting in
Washington, D.C. She
graduated from West Virginia University in 2012
with a bachelor’s degree
in public relations and a minor in communications and has since focused on a career in public
health communications, corporate positioning and
reputation management. Before joining McBee,
she held a variety of positions, including program
manager for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation
of America and various positions at IQ Solutions
and GolinHarris. Her clients have included corporate, nonprofit and government organizations.
Jim Estep
Jim Estep is the president
and CEO of the High
Technology Foundation,
where he has worked since
2000 to grow the organization’s assets and recruit
and retain federal operations in northern West
Virginia. Estep also serves as chairman of the
Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex and is a former
board member for MATRIC, the West Virginia
NASA Space Grant Consortium and the West
Virginia Roundtable. Estep holds a bachelor’s
degree in computer science from West Virginia
University Institute of Technology and a master’s
degree from West Virginia University. A native
of Braxton County, he currently resides in Morgantown with his wife, Melissa.
Kensie Hamilton
Fauber
Kensie Hamilton Fauber,
a native of Charleston,
WV, holds bachelor’s degrees in corporate communications and journalism from Elon University.
She is one of three partners at Executive Ink, LLC, the publishing company for West Virginia Executive, Discover West
Virginia and Profiles magazines, where she also
serves as editor in chief. She is a 2015 graduate
of Leadership West Virginia and the FBI Citizen
Academy, and she is the current chair of the West
Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s small business
committee and a member of the 2016-2017 class
of Leadership Mon. Hamilton Fauber has been
riding and showing American Saddlebred and
Friesian horses for the past 27 years and helps
her parents operate Hamilton Farms, LLC. She
may be reached at (304) 941-0600, ext. 13, or
via e-mail at [email protected].
Jennifer Jett
Prezkop
Jennifer Jett Prezkop, the
managing editor at Executive Ink, LLC, has been
putt ing words to paper
since elementary school.
A graduate of Herbert
Hoover High School,
she received her Regents Bachelor of Arts degree from West Virginia State University and is
a graduate of Leadership Kanawha Valley. In her
spare time, she freelances as a manuscript editor,
and she enjoys creative writing, reading young
adult fiction and boating on Lake Erie with her
husband, Doug. A lifelong Mountaineer, she now
resides in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband
and their two cats, Jovie and Miles. She may be
reached by email at [email protected].
Lisa Johnson
Lisa Johnson is a cum
laude graduate from Marshall University, where she
received her bachelor’s
degree in graphic design.
In addition to designing
magazines, Johnson works
on a variety of projects,
including print advertising, business proposals
and websites. In her spare time, she is an active
member of the Nitro Moose Lodge, and she loves
couponing. She lives in Nitro with her husband,
Jesse, and their cats, Princess and Blackjack. She
may be reached by email at [email protected].