WEST VIRGINIA WONDER WOMEN
COMMUNITY ASSET BUILDER KAREN JACOBSON, ELKINS Executive director of the Randolph County Housing Authority
or raft or kayak down a river or hike to one spot to get a good shot. And that’s something that I can do, that I love to do, that not all photographers are willing to do.” BEHIND THE SCENES “I’d say my life is a big balancing act. I’m a mother of two kids, and only a few years ago I was diagnosed with a really serious autoimmune disease. My life has been a lot of juggling motherhood with career and vision and also being an advocate and a voice for people with chronic illness. I also love reminding people that there is a space for all people in the outdoors.” WHY SHE CARES “It’s travel, tourism, and a love of wild adventure that brought me to West Virginia, and those same things keep me going.”AB THE FISHERWOMAN PAMELA DUNLAP, HURRICANE Founder of Women Wine & Waders and co-founder of International Women’s Fly Fishing Day IT ALL STARTED ON A DATE “I was never an outdooor girl but accepted a fly fishing date. With his help, I reeled in my very first fish, a beautiful rainbow trout. From that day forward, my confidence grew with every catch.” AND BECAME A PASSION “In 2015 my positive growth prompted the development of Women Wine &Waders, a unique organization that contributes to the health and well-being of women through fly fishing. This group is a diverse mixture of like- minded women of all ages and skill levels.” IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN FISHING “The Annual Spring Fly Fishing Festival is our most significant trip of the year. Each year a lady dealing with a health adversity is chosen to receive a complimentary getaway with the group.The group strives to inspire, educate, and support others to be the best they can be.”AB
THE HOMETOWN MAVEN HARRIET JOHNSON, MARTINSBURG Mayor of the City of Martinsburg Mayor Johnson passed away shortly after her selection for this year’s class of Wonder Women. However, we still wanted to celebrate her beautiful life and honor her career and accomplishments. We spoke with the newly selected mayor—Kevin Knowles—about her life and legacy. AN UNFORGETTABLE IMPACT “Mayor Johnson was a lifelong resident of Martinsburg. She grew up in the city, she went to the city school, and there are still childhood friends here that she stayed close with throughout her whole life. She was bigger than life. She was very passionate about our downtown corridor and its revitalization. She served here for about a year, and we are going to continue to move forward with her vision to the best of our ability. She was taken from us too quickly. ” CHEERLEADER “She put us on the map when it came to social media and the internet. Everything that Mayor Johnson did was very public. She publicized it well, and she was able to grow a great following for the city.” COMMUNITY COMES FIRST “I think what drove her is just the community itself. She held so many relationships here locally throughout her life, and she was determined to take Martinsburg in a positive direction and continue to guide that during her tenure. Just the fact that she was from Martinsburg drove her—anything she could do to highlight the positives here locally, that was her mantra.”MM
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.”DL THE SHUTTERBUG MOLLY WOLFF, SCARBRO A photographer and champion for showing the beauty of West Virginia HOW IT STARTED “I grew up playing hard and loving the outdoors. In college, I got into whitewater and photography. I think that I have a unique perspective, and photography gets me synced up with that. It’s my favorite creative outlet, where I get to marry the outdoors with art and self-expression.They often need someone who can get into the nitty-gritty places or shoot in bad conditions
“It’s travel, tourism, and a love of wild adventure that brought me toWest Virginia, and those same things keep me going.” MOLLYWOLFF
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