Rachel Burks, 31 / Community Health Education Manager, Carilion Clinic
In addition to her role at Carilion Clinic, Rachel Burks has been a Healthy Habits Volunteer with Boys and Girls Club SWVA, head coach for Girls on the Run Roanoke Valley and served as Engagement Coordinator for the Salem Giving Garden and as an Outreach Committee Member and Deacon at Salem Presbyterian Church. Burks holds leadership roles in various organizations, including Leadership Team Member of the Roanoke Foodshed Network, Co-Lead of the Healthy Food Access Working Group, Board Member of LEAP and serving on several prominent boards and committees within Roanoke City Public Schools and Healthy Roanoke Valley. She’s a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health and the American Public Health Association. Her dedication has been recognized through awards such as the Program Excellence Award for Program Marketing and the Judy Midkiff Memorial Innovation Award from the Virginia Cooperative Extension. “I hope that my work makes it at least a little easier for everyone to achieve and maintain their health so they can focus on the things that truly matter to them,” she says. “Whether it’s through increasing access to healthy foods or making healthy behaviors more attainable and desirable, I want the work I do to make meaningful progress towards health equity across our region.”
Education:
- Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness Promotion, UNC Asheville,2014
- Master of Public Health, Virginia Tech, 2020
- Certified Health Education Specialist (NCHEC)
- ACSM Certified Personal Trainer
- ACSM Certified Group Exercise Instructor
Volunteer Work:
- Healthy Habits Volunteer with Boys and Girls Club SWVA (2016).
- Head Coach Girls on the Run Roanoke Valley (2019).
- Engagement Coordinator for the Salem Giving Garden (2019-2021).
- Outreach Committee Member and Deacon, Salem Presbyterian Church (2019-2021).
Professional Affiliations:
- Leadership Team Member of the Roanoke Foodshed Network, Co-Lead of the Healthy Food Access Working Group.
From the Nomination: “Rachel Burks is passionate about reducing health disparities. As Carilion Clinic’s Community Health Education Manager, Burks provides leadership to a team of health educators and nurses to improve community health across Southwest Virginia through direct health education, health communications, policy, systems, and environmental change initiatives, and nursing services. She leads her team in planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on initiatives that meet community-identified needs, prioritize disadvantaged populations, and maximize health impact. She coordinates community health improvement activities with community health worker and peer support specialist teams, other Carilion Clinic partners, and community partners while overseeing program quality for community health education. Burks has experience designing active aging programs, leading food access initiatives, and influencing the health behaviors of individuals, organizations, and communities through a variety of strategies. …
Burks is a passionate individual, dedicated to serving our most vulnerable communities. She has only been at Carilion Community Health, but has made an incredible impact. She is passionate about creating healthy food systems, so everyone in our community has access to healthy, local food.”
What do you love about Roanoke?
“The Roanoke Valley is a beautiful region full of mountains, valleys, rivers, and creeks with lots of opportunities for outdoor recreation. I love that my family can access hiking trails, farmers markets, and events in the city all with just a few minutes of driving. There are also so many passionate people who are working tirelessly to make Roanoke an even better place to live for everyone. I am inspired by them every day.”
How does your passion impact our community?
“I believe everyone deserves the same opportunity to live a rich and full life. It’s unacceptable to me that some members of our community face much larger barriers to health and wellbeing than others because of social constructs. I hope that my work makes it at least a little easier for everyone to achieve and maintain their health so they can focus on the things that truly matter to them. Whether it’s through increasing access to healthy foods or making healthy behaviors more attainable and desirable, I want the work I do to make meaningful progress towards health equity across our region.”