Meet some of the city’s young leaders who are building a brighter future for the Huntington region.
By Amanda Larch
HQ 127 | AUTUMN 2024
For Huntington Quarterly’s 35th anniversary edition, we sought to feature five young leaders who will have an impact on this city and their communities for the next 35 years and beyond. You are never too old to be inspired nor too young to inspire others.
Rebecca Gray
As the market director of The Wild Ramp, Rebecca Gray’s passion for farmers markets and local food brought her to Huntington from Wyoming. After completing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail last October, Gray applied for jobs all over the nation, taking the leap to move to Huntington.
“I wanted to be very respectful and come in from a place of learning and understanding,” she says.
Since Gray started her position in December, customers say she has already turned the market around. She has made several improvements, including — most importantly of all — increasing the selection of food items. She put on a Valentine’s Day mead (honey wine) tasting and oversaw her first Stink Fest, the market’s annual fundraiser that features ramps, also known as wild leeks.
In addition she has already organized six Summer Saturdays Festivals featuring tai chi, yoga, vendors and live music; offered community classes including beekeeping, cooking, cheese making, flower arranging, plant propagation and crochet; provided pop-up farmers markets at Woodlands, the Cabell County WIC office, Guyandotte Library and Gallaher Village; provided agricultural training that includes gardening, business, marketing and finance classes for Stepping Stones, an organization that serves West Virginia youth; and a FARMacy program where 30 patients with chronic disease are provided with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Future plans include expanding The Wild Ramp’s harvest kitchen program into a café.
“We have people in our community who need more access to affordable healthy foods,” she says. “We’re trying to find more funding, more initiatives, more partnerships to be able to meet those needs and to help our farmers.”
Gray served in AmeriCorps and has been volunteering since she was 12. She’s currently vice president of the Old Central City Association.
“A lot of praise should go to my staff who are all very passionate about our farmers, service recipients, customers and the community,” she says. “They work incredibly hard and their sacrifices do not go unnoticed.”
Jacob Israel Hannah
Jacob Israel Hannah, CEO of Coalfield Development, has been with the organization for close to six years and in his current role since January. The organization is known nationally for its workforce training program for displaced coal miners and other unemployed workers in Appalachia. It also provides on-the-job training in new, emerging industries.
Coming from a family of coal miners, Hannah says he’s proud of his heritage but has seen what the loss of those jobs can do to a community, a family and a region.
“There’s got to be more than one economic boom or bust option,” he says. “We want to help communities in Appalachia transition to a 21st-century economy. We don’t want to see anyone left behind.”
Hannah says his role today intertwines workforce development with socially, environmentally and financially responsible communities.
In July, Hannah participated in a “Rural Development in Appalachia” panel at The White House, citing it as one of the proudest moments of his career so far.
One of Hannah’s future priorities is to increase local awareness of Coalfield Development’s mission.
“More people outside Appalachia know about the good work we’re doing here than people down the street,” he says. “I want to change that. I want to have opportunities for interaction and engagement and get more of the Huntington community’s ideas of what they’d like to see in West Virginia.”
Rory Chapman
It’s no surprise that Rev. Rory Chapman, director of FaithHealth Appalachia, is inspired by two Bible passages in his life and work. Citing the parable of the Good Samaritan, Chapman says he views those he serves as neighbors rather than clients or referrals.
“At the end of the day, no matter what, we are all neighbors,” he says.
Founded in 2018, FaithHealth Appalachia brings together partners in the faith communities, medical facilities and social services systems to better address health inequities and improve the total wellness of all.
Born and raised in Huntington, Chapman has been the pastor at Redemption Church for 13 years and started working with FaithHealth, a program of Cabell Huntington Hospital, in 2020.
“When a patient surfaces with any sort of social need or anything that would hinder their health and healing, we connect them to churches and faith communities that offer a sense of community and belonging,” Chapman explains. “We even offer social services like transportation and food pantries. In doing so, we’ve found that people get better faster and remain more connected to their community.”
Reflecting on his work, Chapman cites Jeremiah 29 as his personal motivation for helping others.
“I want this community to benefit me just as much as it benefits anyone else, so I work for the well-being of this city, knowing that if it thrives, I too will find joy in it,” he says.
Brittany Ochoa
Harmony House Executive Director Brittany Ochoa ended up falling in love with West Virginia so much after moving here from California in high school that she decided to call Huntington home.
Ochoa was first introduced to Harmony House — a local charity that seeks to end homelessness in Cabell and Wayne counties — by volunteering for the organization during her time at Marshall University. Volunteering sparked her passion for helping others and for advocacy.
“While volunteering I really connected with both the staff and the people Harmony House was serving,” Ochoa says. “Getting to talk with people in the shelter about their stories and connect with them over things like the foods that they used to like, or the books that they enjoy, or seeing the art they created really impacted me in a way that’s almost indescribable. I knew after those conversations this was where I was meant to be and that this was home.”
September marked her seventh year working at Harmony House, during which time she has done everything from development and volunteer management to leading the operation of the COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Shelter during the pandemic. She landed her current role as executive director in 2023.
Ochoa also leads the Cabell-Huntington-Wayne Continuum of Care, a collaborative group of nonprofits, service providers and community members who spearhead efforts to address homelessness in the region through evidence-based practices.
Some of her goals at Harmony House include working with health care partners to make care accessible and stigma-free for individuals experiencing homelessness.
“Compassionate and free care are important when it comes to working with a group who has been stigmatized and treated like they don’t belong. They are our neighbors, and the only thing that makes us different from each other is the fact that we were dealt an entirely different hand and set of circumstances,” she asserts. “What really drew me to stay in Huntington is the sense of community and a willingness to help others. I want to help create that feeling for the people we serve.”
Julian Pecora
Julian Pecora is an associate attorney at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP specializing in litigation. He’s also the founder of Counsel Connections, a group connecting young professionals across West Virginia to influential decision-makers across the state, from members of the Supreme Court and the Legislature to key players in health care and higher education.
“Since joining Dinsmore & Shohl in June of 2023, I have enjoyed the variety of experiences and the chance to do work that truly helps people,” Pecora says. “The firm’s supportive environment and commitment to excellence have made it a rewarding place to grow my career.”
Pecora also co-founded Meet-Up 64, an initiative dedicated to fostering collaboration, partnerships and a unified community along the I-64 corridor between Huntington and Charleston. He is also working to connect Marshall’s pre-law program with WVU’s law school to help retain young talent within the state.
“My experience as an Atlantik-Brücke fellow, representing the U.S. in Germany and engaging with leaders across Europe, has further reinforced the importance of cross-border collaboration and has inspired me to bring that same spirit of partnership and innovation back to Appalachia,” he explains.
Pecora also serves on the boards of the West Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Section and the Huntington Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Committee and was one of the youngest honorees on The State Journal’s 40 Under 40 list in 2024.
“These roles allow me to give back to the community,” he says. “I believe in Huntington’s potential to become a hub for young talent and innovation; I see the unique promise that this community holds. I’ve witnessed incredible growth and change, and I believe Huntington can serve as a model for the entire Appalachian region.”
