Strong female leadership tradition for CHANGE Inc. | News, Sports, Jobs

‘CHANGE’ LIVES — Leading CHANGE Inc. are, from left, Jennifer Pierce, chief operationg officer; Lisa Mowry, chief executive officer; and Dr. Kelli Fournier, chief medical officer.
— Contributed

WEIRTON — Thirty-five years ago, Congress designated March as National Women’s History Month as a time to commemorate the contributions and achievements of American women throughout history and today.

For more than 30 of those years CHANGE Inc. has been led by hard-working, dedicated women focused on serving the community, including former longtime CEO Judy Raveaux.

In January, Raveaux passed that leadership torch to new CEO Lisa Mowry.

After graduating from West Liberty University in 2002 with a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration, Mowry joined CHANGE Inc. in March 2004 as its development coordinator.

For the next 14 years, Mowry secured more than 350 grants, totaling more than $35 million in funding from foundations, corporations, state and federal sources to support the growth of CHANGE Inc.’s 30-plus programs.

“CHANGE Inc. has always embraced equality in leadership roles, having women serving in some of the top leadership roles for during 40 years. I have been blessed in learning from, and working alongside, strong woman leaders my entire career,” Mowry said.

CHANGE Inc. operates three family medical care health centers and 10 school-based health centers throughout Brooke and Hancock counties in West Virginia and Jefferson County in Ohio.

Family Medical Care has been a designated Federally Qualified Health Center since 2007 and is one of 31 community health centers in West Virginia. For CHANGE Inc. being an FQHC means preventative care can be more cost efficient and allows patients to have access to affordable primary care, health education, and screenings.

Leading CHANGE Inc.’s medical staff is Dr. Kelli Fournier, serving as chief medical officer. She is a family practice board-certified physician and Weirton native.

“I feel very blessed to be a physician in the community that I love, where I was raised and in turn raised my own family,” Fournier said. She has been employed with CHANGE Inc. since the opening of Family Medical Care in 2005, earning the title of chief medical officer in 2018.

“I worked hard for this, in my studies, in my career and enjoy giving back to those coming up behind me,” commented Fournier, a graduate of Marshall University School of Medicine.

“I take my leadership role as a very serious responsibility. I know I have learned so much from the strong women leaders in my life and now I try to serve as a mentor to the female health care workers in my sphere of influence,” she added.

Rounding out this team of superwomen is Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Pierce.

“When asked about leadership my philosophy is simple — Do your best, expect the best out of your team, and be kind to each other and the people you serve. I believe if you do those simple things, you will be successful,” she said. Pierce is a 1999 graduate of the Trinity School of Nursing. Upon graduating ,she was employed by Trinity Health System first as a nurse’s aide, moving up the ranks to staff nurse, clinical manager, director of urgent care and finally taking on the role of regional director of patient experience prior to joining CHANGE Inc. in 2021. Along the way Pierce attended West Liberty University, earning a bachelor’s of arts degree in organizational leadership and administration in 2018.

“It is our goal to continue to do the good work of serving the community and build off of the accomplishments of those who came before us. We will continue to grow and adapt to serve the changing needs of the community. We will also continue to support and encourage women, whether it’s the women that come to us seeking services, our staff or others throughout the community. We are here to empower the community as a whole,” Mowry said.

CHANGE Inc. is a local nonprofit organization serving northern West Virginia (Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshall counties) and Jefferson County in Ohio as well as surrounding communities providing various programs and services.

Services include family medical care, which is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that prides itself on being a comprehensive health care facility providing family health, woman’s health, dental services as well as behavioral health regardless of age, income level, residency or insurance status.

Care is provided through three community health centers and 10 school-based health centers. Other service areas include domestic violence awareness, child advocacy, weatherization, supportive services for veterans, and housing counseling.

For a complete list of services and programs visit, www.changeinc.org.

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