FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July, 9 2026
CONTACT:
Bay Epperly, phone: 304-747-8031 email: [email protected]
PENNSYLVANIA – Today, economic development organizations ReImagine Appalachia, Mechanism, and the American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC), held a gathering to strategize how to strengthen workforce pipelines for advanced manufacturing in Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Ohio River Valley region of Appalachia.
“Allegheny County’s new ACT NOW Clean Tech Executive Order serves as a guiding rudder for the shift towards advanced and sustainable manufacturing that was already underway in the Appalachian region,” said Stephen Herzenberg, Co-Director at ReImagine Appalachia. “But the shift need not leave anyone behind. Most new economy jobs only require adaptations of traditional skills to new tasks. Existing assets and training programs in Southwestern PA can be leveraged to quickly upskill the youth and people with barriers to employment for good paying careers in advanced manufacturing. Today, we’re collaborating with local partners to define policy and funding priorities that will allow us to take full advantage of these resources and help to execute ACT NOW.”
With today’s event at Mill 19, ReImagine Appalachia and the American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative concluded their three-state Manufacturing Roadshow Discussion Series. Earlier this week, the duo presented their asset-mapping work in Huntington, West Virginia; in Marietta, Ohio; and in Pittsburgh. They gathered stakeholder feedback at each stop to build a roadmap for transforming the Ohio River Valley of Appalachia into a hub for sustainable manufacturing (West Virginia, Southeastern Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, and Southwestern Pennsylvania). This event was co-organized by Catalyst Connection, a local manufacturing extension partnership program.
Known as the “Paris of Appalachia”, Pittsburgh is the central hub of the Ohio River Valley of Appalachia and home to Allegheny County’s new Advancing Clean Technology for Neighborhood and Next-Generation Opportunity and Workforce (ACT NOW) executive order, which aims to position the region as a clean manufacturing and technology leader. At today’s event, county officials and partners weighed in on how the commonwealth and region as a whole could support the creation of workforce pipelines to execute the goals of the executive order.
ReImagine Appalachia will synthesize the stakeholder feedback from all three stops of the manufacturing roadshow to complete its Appalachian Manufacturing Action Plan (AMAP), which is now viewable in draft form. With this roadshow discussion series, the coalition aimed to gather input and buy-in from manufacturing stakeholders to strengthen the plan’s credibility and accelerate its adoption in state and federal policy.
About ReImagine Appalachia
ReImagine Appalachia is a coalition working to ensure Appalachia is a leader in the clean energy economy and that the new economy creates good jobs and strengthens communities.