Major General (retired) James A. Hoyer is Vice President for Economic Innovation at West
Virginia University. In that role, he has facilitated the sharing of ideas, technology and
innovation across the university and state. His work has promoted accelerated advancement in
fields such as public health and health care, technology, cyber security, agriculture and next-
generation economic development.
Hoyer also is Senior Mentor for the Civil Military Innovation Institute (CMI2), a nonprofit
organization that bridges the gaps in defense innovation. Hoyer provides strategic input to
CMI2 toward creating functional solutions for immediate impact on the frontlines of military
defense, modernization and workforce development in partnership with the U.S. Department
of Defense (DoD) and public safety communities. In addition, he serves on the Board of
Advisors for Fidelis New Energy LLC.
A West Virginia native and a military leader with a career spanning nearly 40 years, Hoyer has
led complex state and federal missions as a member of the West Virginia National Guard. For
the decade prior to his military retirement, he was appointed Adjutant General, West Virginia
Joint Forces Headquarters - West Virginia from 2011-2021, serving three Governors. In that
role, he provided command guidance and vision to the West Virginia Army and Air National
Guard of more than 6,500 Citizen Soldiers and Airmen and 2,500 civilians. In that capacity he
also led the state’s Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) unified command structure in response
to multiple state emergencies and major security events. His JIATF leadership ranged from
ensuring safety and security at large-scale state and national events; to leading the state’s
recovery from the thousand-year flood in 2016; to leading the West Virginia COVID-19
Response JIATF, for which he was appointed in 2020 and continued to lead as a civilian.
Prior, Hoyer led the development of the West Virginia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force
and the Joint Interagency Training and Education Center and its Center for National Response.
He also served as Director, Joint Staff, West Virginia Joint Force Headquarters before his
appointment as Adjutant General.
Earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Charleston, Hoyer was commissioned
in 1983 through a joint Reserve Officer Training Corps program with West Virginia State
University. He has a master’s degree in management and public administration from the West
Virginia Graduate College, a master’s in strategic studies from the US Army War College and a
Certificate in Identity Management from the Naval Post Graduate School.
Hoyer’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and
the West Virginia Distinguished Service Medal. In addition, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross
of Merit from the President of Poland and the Order of Merit from the Peruvian Army. His
greatest achievements in his estimation, however, are his roles as husband and father of two
sons who also serve our state and nation.
Ben Salango is the founder of Salango Law, PLLC. He has twenty-six years of experience in personal injury litigation and has tried approximately 50 civil jury trials in state and federal courts in West Virginia. Mr. Salango has argued numerous cases in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has proudly recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for 
victims of Charleston medical malpractice, personal injury, school abuse, and wrongful death. His cases have been featured nationally on CNN, Headline News, Fox News, ABC News, ESPN, USA Today, People Magazine, Becker’s Hospital Review, National Verdict Reporter, and Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Mr. Salango has been rated by his colleagues as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in the area of personal injury litigation and medical malpractice for eleven consecutive years. In 2023, 2021 and 2019, Mr. Salango was voted “Lawyer of the Year” by his peers.
Following a storied career as the head volleyball coach for nineteen years at the University of Charleston, Dr. Bren Stevens was selected to lead the Department of Athletics on January 23, 2012. Since being promoted to Director of Athletics, Stevens has taken the athletics program to new heights. Under her watch, the Golden Eagles captured the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup for the Mountain East Conference in 2014 and secured first-place finishes in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. This award goes to the institution with the best overall athletics program based on how each sport finishes during its conference season. Dr. Stevens was named the “Nike Executive of the Year” by Women Leaders in College Sports and recognized as the D2 Athletic Directors Association’s “Athletic Director of the Year” in 2022. These awards celebrate the respect and support that Dr. Stevens receives throughout the country as a distinguished leader.
Dr. Stevens has been highly involved with the NCAA, NACDA, and Women Leaders in Sports over the years and served as the NCAA II Vice Chair of Management Council as well as on numerous NCAA committees such as Planning and Finance, Championships, Administrative Council, Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects in Sports, NCAA II Branding and Identity Committee, NCAA Volleyball, and Softball RAC Committees. Additionally, Dr. Stevens is a proud Women Leaders in Sports Executive Institute graduate. In 2013, Dr. Stevens was appointed to serve on NACDA’s D2ADA Board of Directors, in which she continues to serve as a facilitator for the NCAA II and D2 ADA mentoring program for women and minorities. The National Association for Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced in July 2021 that Dr. Stevens would be serving as the President of the Division II Athletic Directors Association (D2ADA). Lastly, Bren was a highly decorated four-sport honoree at Morris Harvey College/UC as a competitive athlete, and later, she was inducted into the prestigious UC Hall of Fame in 2006.
With over two decades of progressive executive experience in intercollegiate athletics and specialized skills in strategic planning, budget management, culture building, emotional intelligence, diversity and inclusion training, and leadership cultivation, Dr. Stevens has restructured the department to function as a destination for the nation’s top DII athletes
Amy Shuler Goodwin was elected November 7, 2018 as the first female Mayor of
Charleston, West Virginia. Since taking office, Goodwin has prioritized fiscal
accountability, transparent and efficient processes, fairness, people-focused solutions, and
forward-thinking policies and programming.
In an effort to focus on creating safer communities, Goodwin prioritized infrastructure
improvements--doubling paving on City roads; making widespread improvements to City
parks, community centers, and recreational programs; and creating a more accessible City
through ADA improvements.
In 2019, Goodwin established the Coordinated Addiction Response Effort (CARE) to
address the impact of substance use disorder. The CARE Office was expanded to include
an equally strong effort to address mental health and homelessness.
Goodwin launched a comprehensive strategy focused on demolition and rehabilitation of
dilapidated structures.
In working toward a more efficient City government, Goodwin enhanced the city’s data
capabilities by implementing a customer relationship management system.
Goodwin established the first Charleston Youth Council, Charleston LGBTQ Working
Group and Charleston Council for Outreach and Empowerment (C-COrE) to engage
individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultivate relationships within the community, and
offer policy/programming recommendations.
Goodwin has served as the Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Tourism
for the State of West Virginia. Goodwin also served as Communications Director for
several governors, a congressman, a presidential candidate and former Charleston Mayor,
the late G. Kemp Melton.
Goodwin owned and managed a public relations firm, was a TV anchor and reporter, and
taught senior level public relations courses at the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at
West Virginia University and the University of Charleston. Goodwin graduated from West
Virginia University with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science.
Goodwin was honored in 2021 by the West Virginia Municipal League with the Lydia
Main Breaking Boundaries Award. In 2020, Goodwin was recognized as one of the
YWCA’s Women of Achievement. And, in 2019 and 2020, Goodwin was recognized as
Best West Virginia Mayor in West Virginia Living’s Best of West Virginia.
Goodwin was honored in 2004 and in 2014 with a Distinguished West Virginian Award
for her meritorious service to the state. In 2003, Goodwin was honored as a West Virginia
Young Gun, and in 2015 was selected as a member of Leadership West Virginia.
Goodwin and her husband Booth have two teenage boys—Joe and Sam.