New Chamber of Commerce CEO Megan Archer is determined to hit the mark for local businesses.
By Jean Hardiman
HQ 131 | AUTUMN 2025
When Megan Archer walks into a room, a certain energy comes with her. It’s evident in her smile and excitement, and it comes from an honest place — a deep-set belief in the good that is worth discovering in the people she meets, in the goals they’re pursuing and in the state she calls home.
“West Virginia shaped me,” said Archer, a 37-year-old Parkersburg native and Marshall University graduate. “It gave me grit. It gave me heart. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the community, and I stayed because I want to be a part of the solution. We’re building something incredible here. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of it?”
As the new president and CEO of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, Archer hopes to spread that energy and excitement by fostering engagement, by sharing stories about the dynamic people and projects helping improve the business landscape, by forging new partnerships and by offering opportunities and tools to help local businesses thrive.
It’s the kind of work she’s always gravitated toward. Her career in marketing and public relations has centered on helping organizations solve problems, make connections and improve lives.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Marshall University and her master’s in corporate media from Marietta College, Archer began her career as an alumni and outreach coordinator in Marshall’s College of Health Professions. She went on to serve as a university relations specialist before stepping into the role of assistant director of communications.
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she took a position as communications and social media coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Education.
“There was a lot of uncertainty, and I learned to be efficient,” Archer recalled.
Prior to joining the Chamber, she served as digital marketing and media manager at Marshall Health Network.
“I worked for one of our region’s largest economic drivers, helping to support their mission of advancing health and inspiring hope,” she said.
Each of her previous roles helped hone the skill set she brings to the Chamber.
“All of those jobs involved storytelling in some way, and being a good storyteller means you must be a good listener,” she noted. “Being a good listener in this job is crucial. I need to be open-minded and ready to receive both good and bad feedback.”
She said she feels honored to be joining an organization that has been led by so many outstanding individuals throughout its 134-year history.
“Just being able to play a small role in that legacy was really appealing to me,” she said. “It’s humbling, too, to be amongst the long line of incredible leaders of this organization.”
Being on the front lines of community change is a tremendous opportunity, she acknowledged.
“It’s really exciting to be in a position to help this community thrive and grow,” Archer said. “I believe in Huntington. I believe in our region.”
It’s been refreshing to see how much local business leaders care about progress, she added.
“They’re some of the most dedicated, hardworking people that I’ve met in my career,” she said. “They genuinely do care about this community.”
Archer’s short-term goals include launching a small business roundtable to provide a space for local business leaders to connect and partnering with Chamber members to draw people to the region’s various shopping and dining areas.
As for the long-term, Archer said she hopes to further activate the Chamber Foundation with the ultimate goal of providing financial support to small businesses.
“I know it’s more fundraising and more relationship-building, but that doesn’t scare me,” she said. “It excites me.”
Archer said the Chamber is currently focused on four key pillars: workforce development; small business and entrepreneurship support; community investment, including downtown beautification efforts; and cultivating regional pride through storytelling.
Looking ahead, she said she hopes to build more partnerships with local students.
“These are skilled, capable young people,” she said. “If we engage them early on and connect them with businesses that could potentially hire them, that’s a win-win. I’m always looking for partnerships.”
When she’s not working, Archer loves traveling and spending time outdoors with her husband and their four fur babies.
Archer’s passion for connection and community-building has been inspired, in part, by the women who helped shape her own leadership journey — beginning with her mother, retired medical social worker Amy Harris, and her aunt, Dorothy “Dee Dee” Turner, and continuing with a number of female bosses who set a powerful example of women in leadership.
“It is so important for women, especially young women, to go after positions of leadership,” Archer said. “We bring a different perspective. I want more women to feel empowered to go after something that they might not even think is possible.”
She also poses a challenge to Huntington’s naysayers.
“We have so much here — beauty, resilience, generosity — but too often, the loudest voices online are the ones tearing it down,” she said. “It’s usually from people who aren’t even engaged, who aren’t even trying to make positive change. I would challenge those people who are our naysayers to step into the arena with us.”
The way we talk about our city and our region matters, she added.
“A positive outlook becomes a positive word, which builds a positive image, and that’s what attracts people here,” she said. “The future of West Virginia is being shaped by people who care enough to lean in, and I am proud to be among them.”
