COMMUNITY ASSET BUILDER

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Karen Jacobson, Elkins

Executive director of the Randolph County Housing Authority

GETTING HERE

“I grew up in Michigan and went to college and worked there. I later moved to Boston and was living there when I came to West Virginia on a climbing trip. I just fell in love with it. I may not have been born here, but I got here as quickly as I could.”

COMMUNITY INVESTMENT

“Prior to coming to PCHA, I worked primarily in economic development, but housing soon grew into a passion. I feel like housing is the hidden asset that makes communities thrive or not. We don’t think about housing much day to day unless we don’t have it, it’s bad, or it’s taken away from us. There is a cascade of struggles that can come from not having affordable housing, be it rental or home ownership. When you can help people for whom it’s a stretch to own homes, you’re expanding people’s investment in the place where they live. And when you make good rental housing affordable, you’re supporting a stable workforce.”

HOME HEROES

“I am on the boards of two nonprofits that do work of which I’m really proud: The HomeOwnership Center, which helps people become homeowners, supporting them in that journey. And the Woodlands Development Group, which focuses on affordable housing development and downtown revitalization. I’m also a member of the Elkin Rotary Club and lucky to have local heroes who work with me every day at RCHA addressing housing needs for vulnerable people and helping at-risk youth.”

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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.