Meshea L. Poore, Esq.
“Diversity means something different to everyone. Diversity could mean your race, ethnic background, religious preference, sexual orientation, or your life experiences. At WVU Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion we focus on many aspects of diversity.”
Meshea L. Poore, Esq., a long-time champion of underrepresented people, serves as vice president and chief diversity officer for West Virginia University’s Division of Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion. In that role, she motivates the Mountaineer family to recognize the value of diversity and challenges all who interact with her to create transformational change.
Poore has been helping light the way toward equity throughout her career. An attorney who served in the WV House of Delegates from 2009-2014, she is an accomplished and sought-after motivational speaker, public and political leadership consultant, and strategist. She has been nationally recognized and named a ‘Game Changer’ in her professional endeavors. She has mentored and consulted with hundreds of elected officials nationwide as they seek higher office. Poore is an experienced educator who served as an adjunct professor at West Virginia State University, as a faculty member in residence at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University and has teaching privileges at WVU College of Law.
In 2017, Poore became the first African American woman named president of the West Virginia State Bar since its 1947 founding. Before operating her practice, she was an attorney in the Office of the Kanawha County Public Defender in Charleston, WV. Poore's influence and impact throughout WVU’s university system, the State of West Virginia, and nationally is evident through her roles as past President of the Big 12 Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (ADOHE), as a member of the executive committee for the Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) and as a Membership Committee member for the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE). Poore earned her bachelor's degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and her law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is a Yale University Women's Campaign School graduate, an alumna of the prestigious German Marshall Memorial Fellowship, and the FBI Citizens Academy’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Chapter.
Poore’s ability to facilitate insightful conversations with leading voices in social justice, such as Ibram X. Kendi, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and W. Kamau Bell, to name a few, has fostered a deeper understanding of equity and inclusion for others. Her influence extends beyond her professional roles. She has been a featured TEDxWVU speaker, inspiring people globally to embrace life’s moments of happiness, small victories, and the healing power of gratitude and joy.