2018 AWARDS
Tera L. Salango
Attorney, Preston & Salango, PLLC
I believe all kids can be successful if given an
opportunity, and I really enjoy working with
programs that focus on helping at-risk children
by giving them a second chance.”
Photo by Will Price.
BY MAGGIE MATSKO. For Tera Salango,
attorney at Preston and Salango, PLLC,
it took a family tragedy for her to realize
where her true passion lies. “Three days
after my 16th birthday, my oldest broth-
er, Todd, was murdered in a restaurant in
Nitro,” she says. “It was a random attack
that devastated our lives. I attended the
trial of the man who murdered him and
knew from that time on that I had to
pursue a career in law.”
After high school, Salango attended
West Virginia State University and ma-
jored in criminal justice. Once she grad-
uated, she enrolled at Stetson University
College of Law for her first year of law
school, transferring to West Virginia
University (WVU) College of Law to
finish her degree in 2003. She graduated
in the top 20 percent of her class at WVU
with Order of the Barristers honors. She
also received the best brief award for
the annual George C. Baker Cup Com-
petition and was a finalist in Allegheny
County’s Annual Academy Mock Trial
Competition.
Salango’s first job out of law school
was as an associate at Spilman Thomas
& Battle, PLLC, where she learned about
work ethic and the significance of being
involved in her community. In 2005, she
left to pursue her dream job: assistant
Kanawha County prosecutor. For 11
years, she handled felony cases, trying
numerous cases to verdict.
Salango had the opportunity to serve
as co-chief of staff of the Office of the
Kanawha County Prosecutor from 2013-
2015. In that role, she helped with a
program designed to reduce truancy in
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
schools. “Our office wanted to focus
on helping children stay in school,” she
says. “We saw many cases in which kids
would skip or miss classes due to poor
home lives. We made it a priority to help
these kids get their education.”
Salango currently practices in civil
litigation, and she loves trial prep and
trying cases. While she truly enjoys her
work, one of the biggest challenges of
her professional life has been balancing
motherhood with her career.
“Being a wife and mom are the most
important and fulfilling roles I will ever
have, but there have been times when I’ve
said to myself, ‘A woman can’t do it all,’”
she says. “I think all working moms feel
that way because you try to be the best
mom possible and be the best at your
career. I have dealt with this by not put-
ting too much pressure on myself. I know
I try my hardest to be the best I can be,
and it has worked out pretty well so far.”
When Salango is not in the courtroom
or spending time with her husband and
two children, she is out in her commu-
nity making an impact on West Virgin-
ia’s youth. “Community service is an
important part of my life,” she says. “I
believe all kids can be successful if given
an opportunity, and I really enjoy work-
ing with programs that focus on helping
at-risk children by giving them a second
chance.”
For this reason, Salango has served
as a board member with a variety of or-
ganizations, including PRO-Kids, Inc.,
the Shawnee Youth Development Center
and the Susan G. Komen West Virgin-
ia Race for the Cure. She organized the
Salango at the annual Angel Tree
Ceremony with a victim’s family.
local chapter of The National Organi-
zation of Parents of Murdered Children,
Inc., assisted in creating the Charleston
Montessori School and plans events and
fundraisers for Sojourner’s Shelter for
Homeless Women & Families, YWCA
Girls Night Out, National Crime Victims’
Rights Week, the Sensitive Santa Program,
the annual celebrity grand slam charity
baseball game and the annual angel tree
lighting ceremony honoring murder vic-
tims in Kanawha County.
“I think giving back to the commu-
nity is one of the most important things
we can do,” she says. “I know what it is
like to have very little in life, so I never
forget where I came from.”
Salango is proud to be from the Moun-
tain State because this is where she learned
the importance of being diligent in every
aspect of her life. “Growing up in Nitro,
WV, in a low-income home, I was taught at
a young age that nothing would be handed
to me,” she says. “My work ethic makes
me proud of my West Virginia roots.”