SUPERPOWER: Doing bold things with kindness
Reporter, West Virginia Watch
Amelia Ferrell Knisely knew going into college that she wanted to find a career that helped her serve vulnerable people, especially children. She majored in political science and toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer, but after writing for the student newspaper at Shepherd University, she found her passion for writing. Now, as an investigative reporter for West Virginia Watch, she covers poverty, child welfare, social services, and government.
“I always aim to be fair and accurate,” Knisely says. “I’m not an advocate—I’m a journalist. But I do believe that we can use our platform to show how policies are either going to help or hurt the people who live here.” She notes that one of the many essential aspects of local journalism is that those who produce it are intimately familiar with the communities they report on and have a unique empathy for the people they cover. “This is my community. I am a mother, I have children who play soccer in the community, I go to church here, and so I have a stake in making our state better, too.”
Knisely often covers subjects that can be difficult, but her empathy and her mission keep her steadfast. “There are times that I leave interviews, especially interviews where I’m at a food pantry and there’s a line wrapped around the building, and I will sit in my car and cry,” she says. “I no longer see that as a weakness. I see that as a driving force behind every story.”
That drive extends to her focus on the West Virginia foster system, one of her biggest areas of coverage. “I believe that the thousands of children in foster care deserve to have eyes on the system that is supposed to be helping them, not hurting them,” she says. “I am going to stay with it, because I live here, and it’s what I’m called to do.”
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Since 2014 WV Living magazine has been honoring West Virginia Wonder Women, amazing women who are raising the bar in their communities, serving as beacons of light in their industries, and forcing change for the greater good. WV Living is proud to celebrate these Appalachian mothers, millennials, and mavens proving that in a time full of uncertainty, divisiveness, and hate, love for one another is all we really need. No need for bulletproof bracelets or a golden lasso of truth—these women are creating a better West Virginia with their can-do attitudes and Mountain State spirit.
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