A born-and-bred West Virginian, Gunnoe has worked with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, as well as Sierra Club's Environmental Law and Environmental Justice programs, to stop a mining practice that devastates communities and natural resources. As she says in a Goldman video, "When you flip a switch on, there's a 52% chance that you're destroying the water, air, and land where I live."

Other 2009 Goldman Prize winners hail from Gabon, Suriname, Bangladesh, Russia, and Indonesia. Each receives $150,000 to pursue his or her vision of a renewed and protected environment.