ZMM CEO Adam Krason, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, ALEP, is mentioned in this story as an officer on the board of directors for Advantage Valley.

Advantage Valley, a nine-county regional economic development organization, welcomed 10 new members to its board of directors recently. The new board members are:

• Kristin Margolin Anderson, vice president of marketing, WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals
• Tamara Fuller, chief strategy officer, Vandalia Health
• David Gilmore, principal, Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc.
• Alicha Hunt, plant manager, Arclin Amines
• Jim Linsenmyer, director of the Innovation Center, University of Charleston
• Chad Riley, vice president, The Thrasher Group
• Andy Skidmore, Putnam County commissioner
• Darian Smith, market business director, Optimum
• Charles Walker, special projects manager, Cabell County Commission
• Scott Wyman, president, West Virginia American Water

Toney Stroud, chief legal officer and vice president for strategic initiatives and corporate relations at Marshall University, was elected chairman of the board of directors.

Other officers are Adam Krason, principal at ZMM Architects and Engineers, vice chairman; Wayne Morgan, executive director of the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council, treasurer; and John Stump, a lawyer at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, as secretary.

In addition to expanding its board of directors, Advantage Valley has hired Sasha Strader as a new
FASTER WV business coach, bringing the total number of coaches to three on staff. Sasha’s focus
will be business development in the entire Elk River Trail region, including all of Braxton and Clay
counties, with a special focus on the trail towns of Clendenin, Sutton, Gassaway, and Clay. Strader
is the former owner and founder of Appalachian Tea in Charleston.

The FASTER WV program offers a variety of technical services, counseling and financing
assistance to individuals starting or growing small businesses. Services are free of charge. Since its
inception four years ago, the FASTER WV program has served hundreds of clients with business
coaching and lending.

Advantage Valley’s mission is to grow economic opportunity in the Charleston and Huntington metro
areas of West Virginia by increasing investment in the region, leveraging resources, and building
collaboration among community stakeholders. Its coverage area is composed of Cabell, Wayne, Putnam, Mason, Kanawha, Lincoln, Boone, Clay and Jackson counties.