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Community Partner: Dr. Nancy Welch

Dr. Welch has served as a public health director in Virginia since 1976. Currently, she is the Director of the Chesapeake Health Department and the Interim Director of Western Tidewater Health District. Her major professional focus is utilizing data analysis as a persuasive motivator for individuals and communities to actively engage in healthier lifestyle habits.

She received her B.S. at Lynchburg College, Degree in Medicine at Duke University and M.B.A. at ¹ÏÉñÍø. Her Pediatric Residency and Masters of Health Administration were at the University of Colorado. She is board certified in both Pediatrics and Public Health/ Preventive Medicine; Dr. Welch is also a Retired Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

She serves on a variety of boards and committees developing community programs that enhance the health status and quality of life for our citizens.

She has received numerous awards of distinction, such as the Lynchburg College Distinguished Alumni Award and Richard A. Thornton Award for Excellence. She is a member of the Delta Omega Society, Alpha Kappa Chapter (honor society for public health) and the Delta Kappa Gamma, Omega Chapter (key women educators). She received the Hampton Roads YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Medicine in 2012 and the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Marian P. Whitehurst Women in Leadership Award in 2013. She was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctorate in Science from Lynchburg College in 2014.

Dr. Welch's book, "Healing Emotional Wounds—A Story of Overcoming the Long Hard Road to Recovery from Abuse and Abandonment," was recently published and is available in bookstores and at Amazon.com. It chronicles the story of her adoption of two Ukrainian children and their struggles to overcome emotional and behavioral challenges.