West Virginia Executive Summer 2024 | Page 152

2024

Mark A . Imbrogno

Member , Jackson Kelly PLLC
Photo by Dale Sparks .
KRISTEN UPPERCUE
MARK IMBROGNO , a member at Jackson Kelly PLLC , grew up in St . Albans and Charleston with his mother , Rose , and little sister , Jamie . His mother owned a children ’ s clothing consignment shop , where he worked when he was younger . Growing up , he spent a lot of time playing outdoors and hanging out with family .
“ Before high school , I always wanted to be a dentist or orthodontist , but by the time I was in high school , it was somewhere between wanting to be a musician — not realistic given my skill level — or involved in government or politics ,” Imbrogno says .
He attended public school as a child before switching to Charleston Catholic for middle and high school , where he was elected class president . Imbrogno received his undergraduate degree in marketing at the University of Kentucky five years before attending the University
of Louisville ’ s Brandeis School of Law , where he graduated summa cum laude in 2011 .
“ I always enjoyed the dialogue and different perspectives you ’ d get from all the different experiences folks had coming into law school ,” Imbrogno says . “ I really enjoyed learning so many different areas of law . It was like opening your eyes to another layer of the world around us .”
He spent two summers during law school working as an associate at Jackson Kelly , where he says he was fortunate to be exposed to different practice areas and work with great lawyers who were willing to take the time to work with him and help him develop as a lawyer .
Following graduation , he continued working at Jackson Kelly before leaving to serve as counsel to the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Economic Development Committee in the
West Virginia Senate for the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions . He served as deputy general counsel in the West Virginia Governor ’ s Office for two years before he began his role as a senior associate general counsel at West Virginia University in 2016 .
“ I can ’ t even begin to tell you how much I learned in each of these roles outside of private practice ,” Imbrogno says . “ It has been beyond memorable getting to peek behind the curtain and be a part of making these institutions run and seeing up close and personal the sausage-making process .”
In 2018 , Imbrogno returned to Jackson Kelly where he currently serves as a member . He works primarily in public finance , including project development and finance for a variety of governmental and public , economic development , health care , education and utility projects . Many of these projects involve the creation of tax-exempt bonds , or debt securities for which the owner does not have to pay income tax for the interest earned thereon .
“ I kind of just fell into the practice area ,” Imbrogno says . “ When I went to law school , I fully intended to be a litigator , but I had a friend who worked in the practice area who got me involved because he thought it was an area I would find interesting .”
His favorite thing about this position is the variety of projects he works on , as well as working through their various challenges and complications .
“ It ’ s really fun to undertake new
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE