Jessica Wirgau, PhD
AFFILIATE MEMBER • Chief Executive Officer
Community Foundation of the New River Valley
jessicawirgau@cfnrv.org
Since 2014, the Community Foundation of the New River Valley (CFNRV) has provided the administrative backbone and financial support to several regional, collaborative networks focused on early childhood education and development, aging, and food assistance. Together with Dr. Robin Lemaire (formerly with VT and now at LSU) and Dr. Donna Sedgwick, I have been a part of a lengthy action research project studying the impact of network collaboration on addressing these regional needs, and the process of collaboration among diverse partners in our rural community. In 2019, the CFNRV was approached by Carilion Clinic to spearhead a collaborative network focused on health. Together with university, governmental, healthcare, and nonprofit partners we lead Healthy Roots NRV, a network-of-networks that draws together multiple existing collaborative groups under one umbrella. Our work strengthens connections to improve well-being across the region, with continued research on how collaboration in a rural setting can improve health outcomes, and a strong commitment to health equity and community engagement. I personally play a key role in linking academia and community in this work and see the opportunity for rich community-based research. I believe our reputation at the CFNRV as a convener, our extensive community partnerships, and our continued interest in fostering community-university partnerships could be of value with the Whole Health Consortium.