reimagine greene county.
Building shared momentum for green county's future
Like many rural communities, Greene County is at a crossroads. As the economy continues to evolve, local leaders are working together to strengthen quality of life, support local businesses, invest in community assets, and position the county for long-term success.
Reimagine Greene County brings together community leaders, economic development organizations, institutions, businesses, and residents to explore what comes next. Through listening, learning, and collaboration, the initiative helps communities identify shared priorities, build stronger relationships, and develop practical paths forward.
At its core, Reimagine Greene County is about turning local knowledge and community pride into coordinated action. We believe meaningful progress begins with strong relationships, shared understanding, and a willingness to work together toward common goals.
why it matters
Greene County has tremendous strengths: dedicated local leaders, strong community connections, rich natural and cultural assets, and people who care deeply about where they live.
At the same time, communities across the county are navigating economic transition, population change, infrastructure needs, and questions about future growth and opportunity.
Reimagine Greene County was created to help local leaders step back from day-to-day challenges, identify shared priorities, learn from successful rural communities, and explore practical ways to move forward together.
The initiative focuses on building the trust, relationships, processes, and shared stories that make collaboration—and ultimately action—possible.
Our approach
Reimagine Greene County was built around a four-phase process designed to move from understanding local realities to identifying meaningful next steps.
Listening
Every community conversation begins with understanding.
To ground the initiative in local experience, we gathered input from community leaders, reviewed existing plans and reports, and examined data to better understand Greene County’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities.
On October 29, 2025, 41 community members gathered at the Greene County Career & Technology Center to share perspectives on the county’s future through a series of hands-on activities. Participants explored local assets and challenges while identifying the issues that matter most to the communities they serve.
The session also featured insights from Andy Walker of the Meadville Community Revitalization Corporation and Ben Bush of Forward Lawrence, who shared examples of how other Southwestern Pennsylvania communities are addressing similar opportunities and challenges.
Visioning
Understanding challenges is only the beginning. Building shared ownership around the future is what creates momentum.
On February 4, 2026, 33 community members gathered at the EQT Recreation Center in Waynesburg to imagine what success could look like for Greene County. Through a facilitated human-centered design process, participants refined community visions, explored potential partnerships, and identified opportunities for continued learning and collaboration.
Amanda Workman-Scott of the West Virginia Community Development Hub joined the conversation to share examples of how rural communities across the region are turning ambitious goals into action.
From this work, participants identified three core priorities for Greene County’s future:
- Investing in quality of life
- Building regional collaboration
- Supporting a regenerative local economy
Learning
With shared priorities established, participants looked beyond Greene County for inspiration, ideas, and proven approaches.
Throughout April 2026, more than 100 participants engaged in a series of learning opportunities designed around Greene County’s goals and interests.
These included:
- A learning journey to Buckhannon, West Virginia hosted by the West Virginia Community Development Hub
- An online collaboration clinic facilitated by ElevateNP of Southwestern Pennsylvania
- A webinar featuring national economic development experts Dr. Amanda Weinstein and Charles Buki
Together, these experiences provided practical examples, innovative ideas, and lessons from communities facing many of the same opportunities and challenges.
Action
The final phase focused on turning ideas into implementation.
On April 29, 2026, 23 community leaders gathered at the Greene County Career and Technology Center to identify immediate opportunities for action and map the relationships, assets, and resources already available to support progress.
Participants worked together to identify achievable “small wins,” strengthen connections across organizations, and create platforms for ongoing collaboration.
Three key implementation efforts emerged:
Step Up Greene
A new online platform spearheaded by local business owner Ben McMillan that encourages community engagement through small, high-impact projects and volunteer action.
Waynesburg Community Development Corporation Revitalization
A renewed effort focused on preserving historic downtown buildings, enhancing cultural assets, and strengthening community spaces throughout Waynesburg.
Reimagine Greene Collaborative
An ongoing regional collaborative that meets bi-weekly to support communication, coordination, and continued progress across Greene County.
Community resources.
Interested in bringing a similar process to your community?
Throughout Reimagine Greene County, participants used a variety of activities grounded in human-centered design principles. These tools were designed to encourage creative problem-solving, surface multiple perspectives, and help communities identify the challenges and opportunities that matter most.
Many of these resources can be adapted for use in other communities.
If you're interested in learning more about the activities used throughout this initiative—or exploring how a similar process could support your community—CoHub would be happy to start a conversation.
Explore Community Resources →
partners
Reimagine Greene County is a partnership between CoHub, the Community Foundation of Greene County, Waynesburg University, and the Greene County Industrial Development Corporation.
The work of Reimagine Greene County continues through local partnerships, collaborative action, and ongoing community leadership.
To learn more about this initiative, email Sarah Evi at sarah@swpahub.org.
Start the Conversation.
Every project starts somewhere. Help CoHub learn more about your community, project, or idea so we can better understand where support may be helpful. You do not need to have everything figured out to reach out. Whether you’re exploring funding opportunities, building readiness, developing a project, or simply trying to understand what’s possible, this is a place to start the conversation.
Field Day
3706 Butler St, #304
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
yinz@swpahub.org
412-532-6026