Small towns often struggle to grow new economic opportunities, especially if they lack enough employees who can focus on fundraising. An economic development program pairs students at the University of Virginia with communities in Southwest Virginia to help grow their local economies.
The Tadler program on impact investing in Appalachia began with undergraduate students and then grew to include fellowships for graduate students at UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
George Langhammer grew up in Roanoke, and he’d thought he wanted to work outside the U.S. after graduate school. But then, he applied and was accepted into the program, which led him to another path.
“And this fellowship has got me really excited about staying within the state of Virginia,” Langhammer said. “I would say that it has totally changed my perspective on what I want to do for a career.”
Langhammer has spent the past six months working with the town of Damascus, which is trying to rebuild after Hurricane Helene flooded their downtown in 2024. He’s raised money for festivals and helped update local ordinances.
“It’s essentially the process of applying for grants, and then leveraging that grant funding to access broader pools of capital,” said Nathan Gregory, another student who’s been helping in Damascus.
Graduate students have provided more than 16,000 hours of bro-bono work across Appalachia, explains Christine Mahoney, UVA Professor of Public Policy. “And this is pretty high-level consulting support,” Mahoney said. “These are masters of public policy students. Many of them have worked out in the world.”
One of the fellows, Sarah King, helped open a new substance abuse recovery center in Dickenson County. “The region’s going through a pretty substantial shift, as the coal economy has and is declining,” King said. “And compounding that with the fact that this population has disproportionately been impacted by the opioid epidemic.”
King was inspired by one of her mentors, Dana Cronkhite, the economic development director in Dickenson County, to think of ways recovery is connected with economic revitalization.
King has worked on similar projects in Richmond and has been through recovery for substance abuse herself.
“There’s a disconnect often between the folks with the lived experience and the people who are trying to help,” King said.
After three years, the Tadler fellowship program is now expanding, so students will be able to serve in more communities. Mahoney said they’re also hoping to hire a new economic development professor to teach students at UVA’s campus in Wise.
