Joyce Dumbaugh Chernenko
Judge, First Family Court Circuit of West Virginia
Photo by
Raymond Smith/
Action Images.
BY KATLIN SWISHER. Joyce Dumbaugh
Chernenko was born and raised in Weirton,
WV, at a time when the Northern Panhan-
dle’s steel mills provided a good life for
residents. Her hometown was a melting
pot of backgrounds, with immigrants in
search of the American dream from places
as far away as the Czech Republic, France,
Germany, Greece, Poland and the Ukraine.
“It was a phenomenal place to grow
up,” says Chernenko, a judge for the First
Family Court Circuit of West Virginia. “I
will always cherish the opportunities it gave
to me to understand people who are differ-
ent than I am and to treat everyone equally
and fairly. I think I am now a person who
looks upon all persons equally because I
was raised that way in my hometown.”
When it came time to choose a college,
Chernenko opted to stay close to the
hometown that had taught her so much.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in commu-
nications from Bethany College in 1978.
“My undergraduate experience at
Bethany College molded my life philos-
ophy,” says Chernenko. “Bethany taught
me that everyone’s goal, in order to achieve
a fulfilled life, must include service to
community and the greater world. In my
senior year, that life philosophy led me to
seek a career in law.”
Chernenko’s childhood experience in
Weirton coupled with her service phi-
losophy became the foundation for her
worldview, which includes the fair treat-
ment of all individuals, especially children.
After graduating from the West Virginia
University (WVU) College of Law and prac-
ticing domestic relations law for 14 years,
Chernenko was appointed to the bench by
96
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
We who are in the judiciary have a duty to
set an example for young women of coming
generations. They have a great need to witness
successful women giving back to others.”
Governor Gaston Caperton in 1996, then
elected in 2002, and has been serving in
family court on behalf of the citizens of
the First Judicial Circuit of West Virginia
for 20 years. In this role, she presides over
legal proceedings regarding children and
families, including divorce, parenting, pa-
ternity, guardianship and child support, as
well as civil domestic violence cases.
Chernenko with members of Bethany College’s Zeta
Tau Alpha chapter. Photo by Marc Chernenko.
“I knew I could make a greater difference
in the lives of children by making sound de-
cisions that would help families get through
the difficult issues they were facing and,
most importantly, create stability for the
children caught in the middle,” she says.
Chernenko has been on the forefront of
family court judicial administration ever since.
In family court proceedings, children are
often not just the victims in the cases but
the unintended victims of the negativity and
stress that come from being caught in the
middle of circumstance. To help children
overcome those experiences and protect
their innocence, she has personally invested
in creating children’s rooms adjacent to her
courtrooms in Ohio and Hancock counties
as safe spaces so children don’t have to
witness their parents’ hearings.
The first children’s room was created
in Ohio County. To help make the space
more inviting for children, she enlisted the
talents of students from her alma mater,
Bethany College, to decorate the space, in-
cluding a brightly colored mural depicting
a sky showering down puppies and kittens.
“I see the children much more open and
comfortable with the process,” she says of
having the children’s rooms. “Even when
I do not have to interview a child, parents
will often bring the children to the court
facility when they have a court hearing,
even though we advise them not to. The
children’s room can be used to keep the
children out of the general waiting area
where both of the parents are sitting and
where tensions often run high.”
While the Ohio County children’s room
was supported by a $2,500 grant, Chernen-
ko and her husband, Marc, independently