The Appalachian Partnership, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 by a group of business leaders that had been meeting for several years to discuss how businesses in the 32 Appalachian Counties of Ohio could organize to improve the region’s economic prosperity. The impetus for incorporating at that specific time was the need for a business-led regional partner organization in Appalachian Ohio to work with JobsOhio, the state’s newly formed privatized economic development system.
John Molinaro
HRS recruited John Molinaro, a Washington, DC based rural economic development professional, in 2012 to lead this start-up organization. During his tenure, John and API have helped spur the creation of over 6,100 new jobs in a predominately rural region. As the founding President, John Molinaro, has become a recognized thought leader in the field of rural development and the implementation of the Wealth Creation Model which builds upon a regional natural resource supply chain.
API has grown into a multi-organizational entity with three subsidiaries for which it provides administrative services and serves as employer of record. Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, LLC (APEG) serves as the JobsOhio partner for the region. Appalachian Growth Capital, LLC (AGC) is a Community Development Financial Institution that does small business lending. Appalachian Wood Products, LLC (AWP) is a taxable nonprofit that generates advertising revenue from the supply chain database developed by API’s wood and forest products cluster initiative. Molinaro currently serves as CEO of API, AGC and AWP, and served as CEO of APEG until 2017, when its growth required naming a full-time CEO. A fourth subsidiary is under consideration to develop real estate for commercial and industrial development.