The Space Maker

Traci Strickland

Executive Director of the Kanawha Valley Collective

Traci Strickland grew up in St. Albans, where, she says, she was a typical suburban kid and until she struggled with substance abuse in her 20s. She’s thankful for her family, who helped her through recovery, and now she dedicates her time to helping those in similar situations.

“What I had was a chance, and what we try to give people every day is a chance,” Strickland says. For the past 19 years, she has worked with people experiencing homelessness. “I don’t ever see myself doing anything else,” she says.

Strickland is passionate about holding space for people, because she wants them to know that they have a place to go when they decide they are ready for housing. “Holding space is a huge part of what drives me,” she says. “If we can hold space for people, that helps make systems a little fairer. Housing shouldn’t be the luck of the draw—it should just be.”

Strickland plans to continue working alongside her colleagues and wife toward her overarching goal of housing people and keeping them housed.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER 2022 WEST VIRGINIA WONDER WOMEN

Learn more about our Wonder Women

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.