Our Staff
Julie Archer
Deputy Director and Director of Democracy Programs
Julie is WV CAG’s lead lobbyist on election and campaign finance reform. She also serves as coordinator of WV Citizens for Clean Elections, a statewide coalition working to increase transparency and accountability in West Virginia elections. She has been a speaker and panelist at national conferences hosted by the National Institute on Money in State Politics and Justice at Stake. She has lobbied extensively on Clean Elections for West Virginia since 2002, and helped WV Citizens for Clean Elections win passage of electioneering communications disclosure and public financing legislation. In 2005, she served on the Secretary of State’s advisory committee to develop rules and regulations for independent groups that engage in electioneering. In 2016, she served on an another advisory committee to write rules for implementing Automatic Voter Registration, and, more recently, participated in a stakeholders group to help the Secretary of State develop an educational campaign about West Virginia’s voter ID law. She has served as a member of the board of directors for the WV Environmental Council and WV FREE, and currently serves on the board of the League of Women Voters of WV. She grew up near Parkersburg, attended Shepherd College and Marshall University, and holds a BS in Biology. She lives in Lincoln County with her husband Terry and their many pets.
Tyler Cannon
Climate Alliance Coordinator
Tyler Cannon started his life as an activist in 2011 after unknowingly accepting an invitation to the March on Blair Mountain, a protest march calling for the protection of Blair Mountain and Spruce Fork Ridge from surface mining. In the years since he has been organizing around various environmental and food security issues in the Appalachian region. His work includes support of the Paden City Water Crisis, implementing county-scale food security programs in Logan, Wayne, and Calhoun Counties, and helping to lead the West Virginia Clean water hub, which supported communities following the 2014 Elk River Chemical Spill.
Tyler split his education between Marshall University and West Virginia University, studying Trombone Performance, Horticulture, Soil Science, and Geography.
He currently serves as an At-large Member of the Board of Directors at the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. Outside of his time spent organizing, he likes to spend time with his child, skateboard, kayak whitewater, and climb trees. He is also a Certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture.
Tyler currently coordinates the West Virginia Climate Alliance and organizes around environmental and economic justice.
Mindy Holcomb
Organizing Manager, Healthcare Lead
Mindy Holcomb, Organizing Manager/ Healthcare Lead. Mindy was born and raised in West Virginia. She became a fierce healthcare advocate after a year of rationing insulin due to cost. Mindy started with WVCAG in 2024. Empowering West Virginians with the information and tools to fight for better conditions is a dream job. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Marshall University. Mindy currently resides in Morgantown and serves as the state representative for our Morgantown Chapter (Mountaineers Indivisible Citizen Action). She is also the co-chair of our national People’s Action Care Over Cost cohort.
Morgan King
Climate and Energy Manager
Born and raised in Charleston, Morgan is currently the climate and energy program manager at West Virginia Citizen Action working on petrochemicals, hydrogen, CCUS, and community air monitoring. Previously, she worked on climate issues in the state with the Climate Reality Project and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and she was selected for the carbon removal justice fellowship hosted by American University and the National Wildlife Federation which aimed to center environmental justice in carbon removal policy. Her academic background focused on improving access to clean water and energy and ensuring a just transition to address the climate emergency. Morgan is a Fulbright and Marshall scholar, opportunities which allowed her to live in Spain and England for three years after college. In Madrid she introduced the sustainable development goals to high schoolers. She earned a masters degree in environmental systems engineering from University College London and a masters in public policy from the University of Cambridge. She has a degree in civil engineering from West Virginia University.
Eve Marcum-Atkinson
Operations and Bookkeeping
Eve Marcum-Atkinson manages Operations and Bookkeeping for West Virginia Citizen Action. Eve shares her passion for community empowerment in most all of her endeavors. In 2008, she helped door-to-door canvass and phone-bank for the Obama campaign. From 2009-2012, Eve served as a Project Coordinator for the Huntington Community Gardens (HCG), growing food and green spaces within one of Huntington’s poorest food deserts. From 2010-2014, she spent several years assisting with both the DOJ funded Weed and Seed project and the River to Rail project, talking directly to community members, and collecting and inputting door-to-door survey data into custom spreadsheets for analysis and reporting.
Through her consultant, LLC, and volunteer work, Eve has helped numerous small businesses and nonprofits with their bookkeeping, operations, communications, grant writing, and more. She has served on numerous organizational Boards of Directors, including Create Huntington, the Huntington Area Revitalization Coalition, Unitarian Fellowship of Huntington, and the Cabell County Master Gardeners. She has served as Volunteer Advocate for the international organization CARE.org.
Dani Parent
Executive Director
A lifelong Appalachian, Dani grew up in Eastern Kentucky and moved to West Virginia for college. She attended Marshall University, earning Bachelors degrees in English Literature and Secondary Education and beginning a Masters degree in Leadership, during which time she was a volunteer for a number of political races. Dani was an active leader during the 2018 West Virginia Public Employees Strike, for which she credits her passion for organizing and her later career change. After leaving the classroom, Dani worked with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and the West Virginia Civic Engagement Table, and is happy to have found her political home at CAG, doing the work of organizing to improve the lives of West Virginians. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Sierra Club of West Virginia. In her spare time Dani enjoys gardening and gaming with her family, and leading her romance book club.
Shawn Phillips
Utility Justice Organizer
Shawn Phillips is a lifelong organizer and environmental advocate whose passion for sustainability began at an early age, earning her the title of Environmental Champion of her elementary school. She began her professional organizing career in the summer of 2024 as a Utility Justice Coordinator with West Virginia Citizen Action Group and West Virginians for Energy Freedom. Since then, Shawn has worked tirelessly to advocate for communities facing the burden of rising utility costs.
In addition to her professional work, Shawn serves as Vice Chair of the Charleston Green Team, helping to shape local environmental initiatives. She is a proud graduate of Marshall University and has previously worked for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and The Herald-Dispatch.
Outside of work, Shawn enjoys skating, hiking, and staying active in Charleston’s vibrant arts scene.
Jillian Welsh
Communications Coordinator
Jillian is a communications professional and environmental advocate who worked closely with West Virginia Citizen Action Group during multiple legislative sessions before joining us full-time. As Communications Coordinator for WV CAG and the West Virginia Environmental Council, she organizes events such as Environmental Day at the Capitol and collaborates with partners on various campaigns. Before moving to Charleston in 2022, she served as the Volunteer Coordinator for Green Light New Orleans, where she educated residents about stormwater management and green infrastructure. She also spent more than a decade as a visual journalist with outlets including The San Francisco Chronicle, The Orange County Register, and The Columbus Dispatch. A graduate of Ohio University, she enjoys hiking, volunteering at animal shelters, and spending time with her dog and cats.
Gary Zuckett
Strategic Advisor, Retired ED
Gary Zuckett, former Executive Director, has recently transitioned to be our Strategic Advisor. Gary started with WVCAG as a volunteer in 1989, joined the staff in the late 1990s and has been with our group ever since. He’s a graduate of WV Institute of Technology and grew up an Appalachian from the Hills and Hollows of the greater Pittsburgh area.