This month’s Member Spotlight is a double feature! Maria Russo and Dani Parent have both been invaluable WVEC members for several years. I hope you enjoy getting to know them a little better. Enjoy!
Maria Russo, Policy Specialist at West Virginia Rivers Coalition
Maria Russo was raised on a small farm in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia and earned bachelor’s degrees in Public Policy and Latin American Studies from Brown University. She is passionate about thoughtful, community-centered policymaking and ensuring that directly impacted people have a meaningful voice in decision-making processes. Prior to joining West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Maria worked with the Drug Policy Alliance, the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office, and the WV Environmental Council, where she led strategic initiatives, managed complex projects, delivered legislative wins, and engaged diverse stakeholders. As Policy Specialist at WV Rivers, Maria combines policy expertise with community engagement to advance solutions that protect West Virginia’s waters and empower people to help shape the future of their communities.
How did you get into environmental work & what work are you most proud of?
I grew up in West Virginia and have always had a deep connection to this place and the natural environment. I spent a lot of my younger years barefoot, in the garden, and playing in the woods. When I left West Virginia to go to college, I studied Public Policy because I wanted to take a systems-level approach to solving complex problems and creating meaningful change. My early career focused on restorative drug policy and criminal justice reform, where I had the opportunity to contribute to impactful initiatives and learn how policy can improve people’s lives. When I moved back to West Virginia, a friend encouraged me to apply for an environmental lobbying position with the West Virginia Environmental Council. It felt like a unique opportunity to combine my policy skills with my lifelong connection to the place I call home. One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is helping advance the PFAS Protection Act during the 2023 legislative session, an important step toward reducing “forever chemical” contamination in West Virginia’s waterways. While policy victories are rewarding, what means the most to me is having found my way back home and being able to dedicate my work to protecting the people, places, and natural resources that will shape our shared future.
What part of West Virginia’s ecosystem/environment is most special to you?
What I find most special about West Virginia is the deep connection many people have to the land and water that make this place home. Through my work at the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, I have the privilege of supporting efforts to protect our waterways. To me, water is not just a natural resource, but it is also a sacred life force that sustains all living things. Whether I’m swimming in a river or paddling in my kayak, I’m reminded of how closely our work is tied to the health of our ecosystems and communities. That connection makes this work deeply meaningful and keeps me motivated to show up every day.
When you aren’t doing things for WVRC, what do you do for fun?
No matter what I am doing, you can often find me outside. I love to spend time swimming or paddling the river, working in the garden at my family’s operation called Sistermoon Farm, seeing live music, and laughing with my pals. I enjoy doing activities that make me feel grounded and alive and connect me to my community.
Dani Parent, Executive Director of West Virginia Citizen Action Group
A lifelong Appalachian, Dani Parent grew up in Eastern Kentucky and moved to West Virginia for college. She attended Marshall University, earning bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and Secondary Education and beginning a master’s 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.
How did you get into environmental work & what work are you most proud of?
Going all the way back, I was one of those elementary students deeply affected (read: scarred) by a timely school presentation on water quality and finite resources, and spent literal years nagging everyone in my vicinity about turning off the tap while they brush their teeth and shortening their showers for the planet. I really dialed in during my time with WVEA when we were fighting for a secure funding stream for PEIA—suddenly, I had to become an expert in natural gas severance taxes across the country. That led me down the rabbit hole of WV’s history of exploitation by extractive industries at every level, with an extra special interest in campaign finance. That in turn set me on the path to leaving teaching and working for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, fighting back against the old coal playbook, defending democracy, and organizing as a career.
The work I’m most proud of during my time in the movement is definitely WV Citizen Action’s Organizing Revival. Our organization began as canvassers in the 1970’s, but had lost the practice of real relational organizing. We’ve built something I’m so incredibly proud of: establishing chapters and bases across the state, knocking on thousands of doors, and having tens of thousands of conversations. There is no real political power without an engaged base, and we can’t win by only organizing with the people who already agree with us. I truly believe the Organizing Revival was the missing piece, and I’m so excited to bring more people into the movement for affordability, dignity, and democracy.
What part of West Virginia’s ecosystem/environment is most special to you?
Find me playing in creeks, taking (easy) hikes, gardening, and getting outside every second that I can. That said, the part of West Virginia that is most special to me and that I will always consider the greatest resource in our ecosystem is our people. West Virginians are resilient, inherently kind, and so civic-minded—our neighbors are just waiting to be invited into community, and they make this a truly special place.
When you aren’t doing things for CAG, what do you do for fun?
When I’m not doing things for CAG, I’m reading escapist fiction, attempting to convert everyone I meet into fans of my underdog hockey team, and starting but rarely finishing knitting/crochet projects. I also recently moved to Charleston, so I’m enjoying getting to know a new town—please send your recommendations!
