Superpower: Confidence to put herself out there
Program Development Manager, Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED)
Valerie Piko works not only to attract new business to northern West Virginia, but also to retain and expand the businesses the area already has. This means working with local governments and partners to know what resources are available to business owners as well as with the business owners themselves to hear about the challenges they face. “I kind of view myself as a concierge,” she says. “A connector of people. Whatever challenges they’re having, I’m able to say, ‘Hey, have you talked to this person or this organization?’”
Piko, a Pittsburgh native at then–Wheeling Jesuit University, was unsure whether a long-term stay in the state was in her future. But once she arrived, she fell in love, and she knew she could thrive here. “I realized how easy it was to connect with people here,” she says. “In West Virginia as a whole, but for me personally in Wheeling, it was just so easy to get involved and to feel like I was part of something and making a difference here.”
She feels best about her job when she sees someone she’s helping find that same confidence in the community—when she attracts a family to move to Wheeling for an opportunity, a small business hires its first employee, or a young person realizes they don’t have to leave after graduating high school if they don’t want to. “I think sometimes we can get caught up in the momentum of investment in the state, and it’s really exciting to see all these huge projects taking place,” Piko says. “But at the same time, it’s everyday people who are taking risks and starting small businesses and going out and following their passions. And I’m just so excited to be able to help support their work.”
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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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