Holly Lesko

Holly rejoined the Regional Commission in October 2020 to support the regional pandemic response after her first stint with the Regional Commission as an economic development planner from 1992-2001. That staff work was followed by an appointment to the Regional Commission governing board from 2005-2017. Her current work with the Regional Commission is focused on community wellbeing and partnership enhancement to address health and wellbeing needs across the region. She directs the Community Health program at the NRVRC. She brings passion and skill to addressing complex issues with a focus on regional trust and relationship building. Her current work focus includes oversight of the NRV Recovery Ecosystem program as well as leadership with the Healthy Roots Network focused on integrating health and wellbeing across organizations and communities in the region.

Her continued work in community development is on long-range goal development with community health assessments evaluation tools to create new ways of viewing and approaching issues and concepts through inclusive and diverse community engagement. Holly is a 30+ year resident of the region and holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Tech.