Lee Weingart

  • Title: Chairman & Founder
  • Company: LNE Group

Lee Weingart is the Founder and Chairman of LNE Group and LNE Group West Virginia. Since 2002, he has grown LNE Group from a two-person startup into one of the region’s leading advocacy and lobbying firms, with a transatlantic footprint.

In 2023, Lee launched LNE Group West Virginia as a Charleston-based state and federal advocacy firm, expanding the firm’s success across the country and Europe to better serve clients in West Virginia.

Prior to founding LNE Group, Mr. Weingart held a variety of public and private leadership roles. From 1995 to 1997, he served as County Commissioner in Cuyahoga County, Ohio—the state’s second-largest county and one of the 30 largest counties in the United States. At age 28, he was among the youngest individuals ever elected to that office. 

Mr. Weingart earned his Juris Doctor, with honors, from The George Washington University National Law Center in 1991 and his Bachelor of Arts in economics and management, cum laude, from DePauw University in 1988.

Lee is married to Caroline (née Emrick). They have three children—Lizzie, Ned, and Ethan—whose initials together inspired the name LNE Group.

Wil Durbin

  • Title: Director of Strategic Advisory
  • Company: LNE

Wil Durbin serves as Director of Strategic Advisory at LNE Group, where he works at the intersection of business development, innovation, and public policy. He leads targeted communications and international funding strategies for Fortune 500 companies, supports FDA navigation for foreign biotech firms entering the U.S. market, and advises clients across sectors on development and policy strategies—spanning local governments through federal advocacy.

Before joining LNE Group, Wil held leadership roles in both government and industry. Most notably, he served as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts—home to Harvard, MIT, and one of the nation’s foremost biotech hubs. In that role, he led citywide economic-development initiatives, negotiated public–private development agreements, helped establish a business improvement district, advanced permitting-reform efforts, and managed partnerships with universities, hospitals, neighborhood groups, and global companies.

A native of rural Ohio, Wil spent summers working in his grandfather’s carpentry and upholstery business in Spencer, West Virginia. He is a graduate of Xavier University and Boston College and now lives outside Cleveland with his wife and their three young children.

Josh Young

  • Title: Senior Director, State Affairs
  • Company: American Chemistry Council

Josh Young represents the chemical and plastics industries before legislative and regulatory agencies nationwide. He joined the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in 2004 and currently serves as Senior Government Affairs Director at its Washington, D.C. headquarters. In this role, he works with legislative and regulatory officials, local chemistry councils, environmental federations, and industry groups at the local, state, and federal levels. He also serves as Executive Director of the Chemical Industry Council of Delaware.

Mr. Young represents ACC through participation in several public-policy organizations, including the American Legislative Exchange Council, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, Republican Legislative Leaders, Democratic Legislative Leaders, and Women in Government.

He previously served on the Board of Directors of the State Government Affairs Council—a premier national association for multistate government-affairs professionals, offering networking and professional-development opportunities. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Product Management Alliance, a national coalition of trade organizations serving as a voice for manufacturers on issues such as recovery, take-back programs, and other extended producer-responsibility models.

Mr. Young earned a Master of Arts in English from Washington & Lee University. He previously served as a legislative liaison for U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell in Washington, D.C. He is married to the former Kelly Jordan of Raleigh, North Carolina, and they reside in Arlington, Virginia, with their son, Jordan.

Bob Milvet

  • Title: Head of Finance / IT / Govt Relations
  • Company: Mountaintop Beverage, LLC

Robert W. “Bob” Milvet is a seasoned executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across finance, manufacturing, healthcare administration, IT systems integration, and complex regulatory environments. A CPA with a BSBA in Accounting from West Virginia University, Bob currently serves as Head of Finance, IT, and Government Relations at Mountaintop Beverage in Morgantown, where he has helped scale the company from start-up to nearly $100 million in annual revenue. He has led ERP implementations, built high-performing teams, and driven financial and operational excellence.

Before joining Mountaintop Beverage, Bob held multiple leadership roles in the healthcare sector, where he led a major financial turnaround, oversaw new facility construction projects, and guided a hospital through the COVID-19 pandemic with agility and strategic foresight. His tenure at Mon Health System and WVU included consistent operational improvements, strategic growth initiatives, and innovative care delivery models.

Bob is widely recognized for his collaborative leadership, strategic vision, and commitment to organizational and community health. He was named a Top 25 Industry Leader Under 40 by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2012 and Rural Health Leader of the Year in 2021 by the West Virginia Center for Rural Health Development. He has served on numerous boards, including the Mon & Preston County United Way Campaign (Chair), Milan Puskar Health Right, the Critical Illness and Trauma Foundation in Bozeman, MT, and the West Virginia Hospital Association. He currently serves on the Cortland Association, Inc. board in Thomas, WV, and the West Virginia Manufacturers Association board. 

Bob and his wife, Whitney, have five children, ages 9 to 16. When not working or cheering on their kids’ sporting events, they enjoy mountain biking, skiing, hiking, fishing, traveling, and managing livestock on their homestead in Preston County.

Marvin Woodie

  • Title: President
  • Company: Conn-Weld Industries, LLC

Marvin Woodie earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University and began his career with Conn-Weld Industries in 1986. Over the years, he served as a project engineer with involvement in product development and later advanced to Vice President of Field Operations, where he played an instrumental role in expanding Conn-Weld’s global presence. He now serves as President of Conn-Weld Industries, LLC.

Marvin is deeply committed to education, community, and manufacturing in West Virginia. He serves on numerous boards, including Bluefield State University’s Mechanical Engineering Department Board of Accreditation, Bluefield State University’s Foundation Board, The Wade Center, WVU’s Visiting Committee for the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, The Graham High School Foundation, the West Virginia Manufacturers Association Board, the Bluefield Baseball Board, and the Central Appalachian Highway Economic Development Authority.

WVMAConn 2023 1400x125