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About Us

Mission Statement

The National I-73/I-74/I-75 Corridor Association is a membership organization committed to enhancing the economic success and quality of life within the six-state corridor (Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina) by pursuing the planning, permitting, funding, construction, and maintenance of Interstate 73, Interstate 74 and Interstate 75, highways of national and regional significance that will facilitate interstate commerce, reduce congestion and improve safety in an environmentally sound way.

NCA LOGO Interstate 73 - 74 - 75

Leadership

Chris Chiles Headshot

Chris Chiles is a graduate of Marshall University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Master of Arts in Political Science. Chris is the Executive Director of two agencies – KYOVA Interstate Planning Commission, and Region 2 Planning and Development Council. KYOVA is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Huntington, WV-KY-OH Urbanized Area. Region 2 is the Appalachian Regional Commission-designated Local Development District and U.S. Economic Development Administration-designated Economic Development District for southwestern West Virginia. 

Chris is a proud member of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s Complete Streets  Advisory Board, serves as President of the Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA), Immediate Past President of the Ohio Association of Regional Councils (OARC), Treasurer of the West Virginia Association of Regional Councils (WVARC), and is an active member of the West Virginia Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (WVAMPO). 

Prior to joining KYOVA and Region 2, Chris worked for U.S. Senator Joe Manchin III. He has two daughters, Campbell (age 10) and Caroline (age 7).

Headshot of Leasha Johnson

Leasha Johnson serves as the Executive Director of the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority, where she has dedicated her career to fostering economic growth and diversification in southern West Virginia. A native of Appalachia, she embodies the resilience and work ethic of her West Virginia heritage. After graduating from the West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics in 1988, her professional journey began at the West Virginia Legislative Auditor’s Office, where she gained valuable insights into the intersection of public policy and fiscal management. Her career path then led through banking and thirteen years in the land management division of a major coal company, where her work on community development initiatives sparked her passion for broader community and economic impact.  This diverse experience equipped her with the unique perspective and expertise that serves her current role.

Since joining the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority in 2004, Johnson has distinguished herself as a skilled economic development practitioner. The cornerstone of her work involves innovative redevelopment of post-mined lands by virtue of Mingo County’s pioneering Land Use Master Plan, the first of its kind in West Virginia.  Her expertise in implementing the Plan and cultivating successful public/private partnerships has been instrumental in creating transformative opportunities throughout Mingo County and the broader southern West Virginia region, as well as mobilizing private sector investment in the county’s economic diversification efforts.

Johnson serves as a director on multiple non-profit boards, including the Coalfield Community Action Partnership and the Hatfield McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, where she influences policy development and program design that benefit vulnerable populations across southern West Virginia.

Leasha resides in Williamson, West Virginia, with her husband of 34 years, Ronnie Johnson. They are the proud parents of daughter Kristyn, and in 2023, they embraced new roles as grandparents to their first grandchild, Oliver William May, adding another generation to their proud West Virginia family.

Christy Laxton is currently the Executive Director of the Wyoming County Economic Development Authority (EDA) in Pineville, WV.  Christy has been with the Wyoming County EDA since 2001 and has served as the Executive Director since 2005.  Christy received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with majors in Accounting and Finance from Concord University in 2004.  She has been a lifelong resident of Wyoming County, and she has dedicated her professional and personal life to giving back to the community.  She serves as a member of over 20 Boards, Councils and Committees within and around the county, region, and state.  She serves as an officer on several of those Boards and is currently Past President of the WV Economic Development Council, President of MountainHeart Community Services, and President of the Wyoming County Planning Commission.  Christy is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional.  She has been an administrator of the Wyoming County EDA non-traditional small business loan program since its inception in 2001.  The loan program has since expanded from a Wyoming County loan program to a state-wide loan program.  A few of her accomplishments were recognized by awards for WV Brownfields in Economic Development, the WV Executive Magazine Young Gun, the WV State Journal Generation Next: 40 Under 40, the SBA WV Small Business Champion of the Year, and the WV Jaycees Outstanding Young West Virginian.  Christy currently resides in Pineville, WV with her husband Mike and their four children.

David Lieving has served as the President & CEO of the Huntington Area Development Council (HADCO) since 2015.

HADCO is a public/private partnership tasked with the mission to attract new businesses to Cabell and Wayne Counties, West Virginia, to retain existing employers, and to help all employers expand their businesses.

Previously, Lieving was a 25-year employee of the West Virginia Department of Economic Development, where Lieving worked in the Governor’s Workforce Investment Division as well as having marketing responsibilities in the active recruitment of businesses considering either expansion or relocation in the state. He was also responsible for business retention and expansion working with existing businesses and public and private organizations involved in economic development efforts.

Lieving is currently serving as President of the West Virginia Economic Development Council, the state’s association for local, regional, and state economic development professionals and organizations. He is also an active member of the Southern Economic Development Council, where he serves as the Alternate State Director for West Virginia on the SEDC Board of Directors.

Lieving also serves on many other boards including the Tri-State Airport Authority, Advantage Valley, West Virginia Manufacturers Association, Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Polymer Alliance Zone.

He is also engaged with the Huntington community currently serving as President of the Rotary Club of Huntington.

Lieving earned his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University and a graduate degree from Marshall University.

James Owrey, a native of Mercer County with McDowell County roots, lives in Charleston where he manages business development and customer growth for Mountaineer Gas. Mountaineer is a regulated utility that provides natural gas service throughout portions of West Virginia. Prior to Mountaineer, James worked in nonprofit fundraising and later in economic development with the West Virginia Department of Commerce. At Commerce, James recruited and assisted manufacturing and energy companies.

He attended West Virginia Wesleyan College earning a degree in economics and an MBA. When not working James enjoys skiing, traveling, Appalachian history and, most of all, spending time with family.

Bob Plymale currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives for the Marshall University and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Appalachian Transportation Institute (ATI) and the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER). Bob is a proud graduate of Marshall University.

In addition, Bob is a highly effective and well-regarded public servant. He is currently serving his eighth and final term in the WV State Senate, District 5. He has served as Chairman of the Senate Education, Pensions, and Transportation Committees and also chaired the Select Committee on Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) that led to the numerous changes and the current solvency of the system. Currently he serves on the Finance, Education, Pensions, Banking and Insurance, Health and Human Resources, Broadband Council, and Transportation committees.

In 2003, Plymale was appointed by Governor Bob Wise to the Board of Control for the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). He was reappointed by Governor Joe Manchin in 2006 and Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in 2010 and 2014, Governor Jim Justice 2018 and 2022 and continues to serve on the Executive Committee. He served as Treasurer of SREB from 2018 to 2022 and presently is the Vice-chair of the Legislative Advisory Council (LAC). In 2004, Plymale was named to the National Council of State Governments (NCSL) National Task Force on “No Child Left Behind” and from 2005-2006, he was Chairman of the NCSL Education Committee and a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education. In 2008, the Marshall Community and Technical College awarded him the “Community College Champion Award” and in 2009 he was awarded the West Virginia Speech and Hearing Association “Legislator of the Year” for outstanding service to those with speech and hearing impairments. In 2009-10, Plymale Co-Chaired the NCSL Federal Education Policy Task Force. He was selected to serve twice on the NCSL Executive Committee in 2008 – 2010 and in 2012-2015.

He is a recipient of the Presidential Citation from Glenville State College, a Distinguished Service Award from the West Virginia Athletic Directors Association, and the Michael Prestera Award of Excellence in recognition of his efforts to improve the lives of individuals living with behavioral health issues. In 2005, Plymale received the Distinguished Service to the Community Award from Marshall University.

The Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) elected him as President in 2009, having served on the Executive Committee and all other offices from 2004 to 2008.

He received the West Virginia Future Farmers of America (FFA) Honorary Degree (2009), the Southwestern District Labor Council ‘Labor Hall of Fame’ (2010) the Legislative Leadership for Arts in Education Award (2010), the American Trail 20th National Public Service Award (2010), the West Virginia Board of Education Office of Early Learning Champion of Pre-K Education (2013) and the West Virginia Brownfields Visionary Award (2015).

He serves or has served on many state, community and philanthropic boards including the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center, Inc. (KAPAC) from 2006 to 2019 as Co-President and 2020 to present as President, Huntington Museum of Arts (HMOA), Wayne County Economic Development Authority (WCEDA), West Virginia Forestry Association (WVFA), Western Gate Land Development Corporation (WGLDC) and Tri-State Airport Authority.

Bob’s most recent efforts include the development of Thundercloud, a non-profit, middle-mile broadband infrastructure provider, that strives to provide the city and broader region with affordable, gigabit internet speeds for residents and businesses. Thundercloud’s partners include the City of Huntington, Marshall University and Marshall Health Network, and to date Thundercloud has received $9.3 million. He has also been instrumental in the restoration of the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center, the redevelopment of the Prichard Hotel and numerous other entities in our region. His continued dedication to the inland port in Wayne County has led to a burgeoning partnership with RJ Corman.

Working closely with regional leaders, especially including President Smith and the entirety of Marshall University, he continues to focus on making his state, his alma mater, and his home a place we can all be proud of.

Headshot of Nancy Ritter

Nancy Ritter is the Chief Operations officer for Marshall University Aviation.  In that role she leads operational teams at the Bill Noe Flight School, the Aviation Maintenance Technician program, the Unmanned Aerial Systems program, and the emerging FAA dispatcher and flight attendant career pathways at Marshall Aviation. Nancy’s 35 plus year career in aviation is rooted professional air crew training. She has worked closely with global airline partners, as well as hundreds of aircraft owners, operators, and large-scale air carriers to provide the highest qualified pilots, technicians and crew members to growing organizations. She led on the country’s largest flight schools as well as a state-of-the-art simulation learning center which provided type rating training to pilots in the full line of Textron corporate aircraft.

Optimizing processes, programs, and teams remains a hallmark of Nancy’s career, as is her dedication to improving the customer experience as well as the employee experience. Her initiatives include, modernized client- and employee-facing protocols, and change management programming that augmented operational excellence and employee satisfaction.  She has assisted several organizations in process-based improvement including ISO 9001:2015 certification and SMS implementation on an organizational scale. She is certified in lean Six Sigma and as a system auditor for process improvement.

Nancy holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from the University of Arizona, Forbes School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science from St. Francis College. She is a graduate of the Executive Training Program with the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business and is a Certified Human Resource Management Professional and Certified Change Management Leader. A pilot, Nancy also has a U.S. FAA Airline Transport Pilot Multiengine Certificate with 10K+ total flight hours executed. Throughout her career, she has been deeply embedded in the aviation industry as a STEM speaker, leveraging her passion and technical expertise to mentor the next generation.

Jason Roberts, MS, GISP, serves as the Executive Director of the Region I Planning and Development Council. Jason graduated from Concord College in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and in 2003 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) with a Master of Science degree in Geography. He has worked for the Region I Planning & Development Council since 2001, serving as the Executive Director since 2014.

Jason is a Certified GIS Professional, a member of the West Virginia Association of Geospatial Professionals, and serves on the West Virginia GIS Steering Committee. He has also served as an adjunct instructor in Geography, Appalachian Studies, GIS, and GPS at local colleges and universities.

Graduating from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Marvin Woodie began his career with Conn-Weld Industries in 1986.  During his tenure, he has worked as a project engineer, including product development; he served as Vice President of Field Operations playing an instrumental role in developing Conn-Weld’s global footprint and he now currently serves as President of Conn-Weld Industries, LLC.

Marvin has a passion for education, community, and manufacturing serving on several boards contributing to the advancement of West Virginia’s future including Bluefield State University’s Board of Accreditation for the Mechanical Engineering Department, The Wade Center, WVU’s Visiting Committee for the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, The Graham High School Foundation, and West Virginia Manufacturing Association.