Fairness West Virginia is governed by non-partisan Board of Directors who volunteer their time and energy to working to better our state and protect our fellow citizens. Our board members are gay and straight, black and white, young and old, Democrat and Republican or Independent, who share a common commitment to fair treatment for all West Virginians.
Brian Ball
Snowshoe, WV
Ball is a graduate of Davis & Elkins College and the Moraldo Culinary Academy in Italy. He has distinguished himself as an acclaimed restaurateur, creating unique restaurants and resorts throughout North America. In addition to being a chef/proprietor to five restaurants at Snowshoe, West Virginia, Ball is a consulting professional Storyteller with Envisioning and Storytelling, a Vancouver-based envisioning firm. Brian has created events ranging from hosting an international group of diplomats in a Native American tee pee, to Inaugural Events for 15,000 guests. Brian is a Charter Member of The James Beard Foundation, a member of The American Society of Wine Educators, and serves as the West Virginia Regent of the National Restaurant Association. He Serves on the Board of Directors of The West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, Fairness West Virginia, The Snowshoe Foundation, and The Board of Trustees of Davis and Elkins College.
Scott Crichlow, Ph.D.
Morgantown, WV
Crichlow is an Associate Professor of Political Science at West Virginia University. His research focuses on decision making, political psychology, and foreign policy. He was graduated from Louisiana State University (M.A. 1996, Ph.D. 2001) and Georgetown University (B.S.F.S. 1993), and moved to West Virginia in 2001. His forthcoming book, Groupthink Vs. High-Quality Decision Making, will be published by Columbia University Press. He resides in Morgantown.
Coy Flowers, M.D.
Lewisburg, WV
Flowers is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who is in private practice in southern WV. Born and raised in Huntington, Coy received both his B.A. and M.D. degrees from West Virginia University. He then completed his residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Coy served in the US Navy for ten years and left active service as a Lieutenant Commander. In addition to being a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology and President of the Greenbrier County Medical Society, he is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Currently, he resides in Lewisburg with his partner and son.
John Hagen
Morgantown, WV
Hagen is manager of Institutional Repository (IR) programs and coordinator of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) program at the West Virginia University (WVU) Libraries, where he has provided counsel since 1989. He has served as Chair of the WVU ETD / IR Task Force and he has served on the Board of Directors for the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, an international consortium of thousands of universities since 1998. He founded the Appalachian Regional ETD Consortium in 2003. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the U.S. ETD Association. Hagen is Co-chair for the WVU Council on Sexual Orientation and he is a member of the WVU Social Justice Council. He also served on the Caritas House Board of Directors from 2003-2009 and he was elected Board President (2008-09). Originally from Flint, Michigan, he studied sociology at Michigan State University where he launched his career at the MSU Libraries. He is an evangelist for the open access and social equality movements.
Donald E. Hall, Ph.D.
Morgantown, WV
Hall is the Jackson Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of English at West Virginia University. He has a BA from the University of Alabama, an MA from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D from the University of Maryland. Professor Hall is the author or editor of ten books in the fields of gender studies, higher education studies, and literary studies. He resides in Morgantown with his partner Bill.
Pepe N. Johnson
Clarksburg, WV
Johnson was born and raised in Clarksburg, West Virginia. After graduating from Liberty High School, he attended Fairmont State College where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree (summa cum laude) in Business in 1999. Deciding to "take the road less traveled," he enlisted in the United States Army prior to graduation from Fairmont State. Pepe served as an artilleryman at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was selected "Soldier of the Year" in 2001. While still serving at Fort Sill, he came out and was discharged under the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy. He resides in Clarksburg.
Andrew Michael
Hedgesville, WV
Michael is a partner in The Woods Resort, located in Hedgesville, where he has served as general manager for over 26 years. He served as a board member of the Contemporary American Theater Festival for nine years, as president of the board for five years and is currently a member of their honorary board. He is a former member of the Theater Communications Group's (TCG) National Council for the Arts. He is a past member of the boards of Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce, Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Eastern Panhandle, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Eastern Panhandle. He currently serves on the boards of the Gateway New Economy Council, the Shepherd University Board of Governors, and the Shepherd University Foundation.. He has served as a grant review panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and for the TCG/NEA Playwright's Residency program. He holds a degree in Social Work from Shepherd University. He resides at the Woods in Morgan County.
Stephen Skinner, Esq.
Shenandoah Junction, WV
Skinner was raised in Charles Town, West Virginia, and graduated from Jefferson High School, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and the West Virginia University College of Law. He is admitted to the bars of West Virginia, New York, the District of Columbia. Before returning to the West Virginia in 2004, Mr. Skinner practiced law in New York City. Mr. Skinner handles catastrophic injury and consumer law cases across the country. He is a member of the American Association for Justice, the District of Columbia Trial Lawyers Association, the West Virginia Association for Justice, where is a board member. He just stepped down after three years as President of the Board of Trustees of the Contemporary American Theater Festival. Skinner is an alumni of West Virginia Boys State and the West Virginia Governors Honors Academy. In 2008, Skinner was elected as a pledged Barack Obama Delegate to the Democratic National Convention representing West Virginia's Second Congressional District. Governor Manchin recently appointed him to the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
Christopher Turman
Moorefield, WV
Turman is Senior Vice President of National Strategies Inc., a twenty-five-year-old nonprofit and business strategy and consulting firm. Over his career, he has worked as an advocate for families and children in the public policy, political, issue campaign and communications arenas. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Smart Television Alliance, a not-for-profit collaboration working to improve the quality of children's media. In 2004, Turman was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in West Virginia's Second District. From 2000 to 2003, he directed a national education campaign on Social Security reform for the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO), the coalition of the nation's leading women's groups. Earlier, he was the Director of Public Policy for Business and Professional Women/USA (BPW/USA). He is a past member of the Democratic Seniors Steering and Coordinating Committee of the Democratic National Committee and the National Task Force on Violence Against Women. He has also served as Co-Chair of the National Committee on Pay Equity's Legislative Task Force. He is a graduate of the George Washington University cum laude with a B.A. in political science. He resides in Moorefield.
Kevin Waldo, Esq.
Charleston, WV
Waldo is an attorney in the Business Law Department of the Jackson Kelly PLLC's Charleston Office, where he practices business and commercial law, concentrating on commercial litigation, intellectual property and mergers and acquisitions. Though Kevin has lived in various locales, including Ohio and Kentucky, he considers West Virginia home. He resided for several years in Wheeling and Hurricane and now lives in Charleston. Kevin holds a B.A. in English.
Vickey Wilcher
Martinsburg, WV
Wilcher spent 15 years in the Washington, DC political arena, establishing an irrefutable presence in the areas of campaign and community organizing management, before relocating to West Virginia and becoming the Executive Director for CASA-EP (Court Appointed Special Advocates). Ms. Wilcher holds B.A. degrees from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. in communications and human relations, a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from Georgetown University, and plans to graduate from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2010. She is active in several civic and community organizations and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and the Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society.
Adam Smith
Washington, DC
Technical Advisor
Smith grew up in Parkersburg, WV. After graduating from Parkersburg South High School, he attended college at Elon University in North Carolina. After a short stint at a PR firm, he moved to Public Campaign, a national nonprofit organization working on campaign finance reform. At Public Campaign, Smith worked in all areas of communications, including research, writing, graphic design, and online advocacy. He also assisted state based organizations across the country on legislative and communications strategies, including in West Virginia. Today, he is the Web Content Editor at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He lives in Washington, D.C.