Staff Spotlight: Meagan Coneybeer
When Meagan Coneybeer talks about western North Carolina, her words carry both expertise and affection. As NCInnovation’s Western Regional Innovation Network Director, she brings decades of experience in agriculture, education, and entrepreneurship—and a deep personal connection to the land and communities she serves.
“I love western North Carolina and my community,” Coneybeer said. “I want to see us thrive as a region. I want my children to see a future here.”Coneybeer’s path to NCInnovation began in the lab. With a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Denison University and an M.S. from NC State University in horticultural science, she spent her graduate years studying the reproductive behavior of invasive plants in small fruits and vegetables. Working with agricultural commodity groups across North Carolina, she learned early on how innovation and economics intersect in the state’s farming ecosystem.
After earning her master’s degree, she ran the Sustainable Agriculture Program at Western Piedmont Community College for nearly a decade, where she taught agricultural production, small business development, and workforce skills. She later became an agricultural consultant for the SBTDC, helping producers with business planning, value-added product development, and marketing.
Her leadership journey also included serving as Director of Mentorship and Research at the NC School of Science and Math in Morganton, where she placed students in real-world internships across medicine, manufacturing, archeology, and advanced STEM fields. “I’ve spent my entire career helping others connect their skills to meaningful work,” she said. “NCInnovation allows me to do that on a statewide scale.”
For Coneybeer, her professional story can’t be separated from her roots. She grew up in rural Appalachia, the grandchild of immigrants and the daughter of a chef.
“I was surrounded by people who maintained connections to their culture through food,” she said. “We grew what we ate, made our own cheeses, canned produce, and found value in what we created together. That connection between tradition and innovation still drives everything I do.”
Her father’s career as an executive chef showed her the power of food to bring people together. “He taught me that food can bridge cultures and elevate ordinary ingredients,” she said. “That’s where my interest in AgTech really began—understanding how science, tradition, and innovation can work together to improve food production and preserve heritage.”
Coneybeer’s Western Hub covers Appalachian State University, UNC Asheville, and Western Carolina University—each with distinctive strengths.
At App State, she highlights the honeybee health and livestock production projects supported by NCInnovation, which use AI microscopy and computer science to tackle multi-billion-dollar agricultural challenges. “These are projects that could transform how farmers operate, reducing losses across multiple sectors,” she said.
She’s also excited about the university’s 369-acre century farm, protected by the Blue Ridge Conservancy, which she believes could become a hub for interdisciplinary AgTech innovation. “It’s a living laboratory,” she said. “A place where science, sustainability, and entrepreneurship can meet.”
UNC Asheville and Western Carolina University also stand out for their unique contributions. “UNC-A is visionary in how it ties experiential learning to entrepreneurship,” she said. “They’re redefining what faculty innovation looks like.” Meanwhile, she credits WCU’s College of Engineering and Technology, led by Dean Randy Collins, for “bold, entrepreneurial-minded faculty who are elevating both their institution and the region.”
Coneybeer works closely with the Prosperity Zones, NCWorks, and the Outdoor Business Alliance to tie research and workforce development together. “We’re helping connect educational credentials to careers—so that innovation leads to opportunity for everyone,” she said.
She’s particularly proud of App State’s Center for Entrepreneurship, which developed a proprietary training curriculum for faculty interested in commercialization. “It’s the first of its kind in the state,” she said. “It’s been so successful that other UNC campuses are now using it to train their own faculty.”
Looking ahead, Coneybeer sees the Western Hub as both a catalyst and a connector. “Our universities are producing groundbreaking work,” she said, “but often from within traditional departments—chemistry, physics, fermentation sciences—rather than dedicated colleges of agriculture or textiles. That’s what makes WNC so exciting. Innovation here grows out of creativity and cross-discipline collaboration.”
Her long-term vision is for western North Carolina to be known as a leader in sustainable technology and agricultural advancement—“a region where local innovation meets global impact.”
“I’ve spent my life helping people build something from the ground up,” she said. “Now I get to help a region do the same thing.”
