LiveWell Douglas County is pleased to announce that Virginia (Ginny) Barnard has accepted the position of Executive Director. As Executive Director Ginny will be responsible for building and maintaining community partnerships and supporting the core functions of the coalition. In her position she will provide cohesive leadership and backbone support for coalition. Ginny will join LiveWell Douglas County in late May.
Ginny holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Nutrition and a Masters of Public Health in Nutrition from Kansas State University. She recently has been using her certificate in Family and Consumer Sciences at Baldwin High School where she teaches Culinary Arts, Human Growth and Development, and Nutrition and Wellness classes. She started a school garden and secured external funding for culinary equipment and school activities among other accomplishments. Before that she had a similar position at Lawrence High School.
Earlier in her career Ginny worked at LMH Health in Community Outreach and Engagement where she served as coordinator of the Safe Kids Douglas County Coalition. After college she worked as an Extension Agent for K-State Research and Extension in Family and Consumer Sciences in Riley County. Her main areas of expertise focused on health, nutrition, food safety, and physical activity.
Ginny grew up in Paola. She and her husband are parents to three daughters and reside in Eudora. She is a highly-motivated and creative person who enjoys the challenge of improving the health of individuals, families and communities through engagement, education, and evidence-based policies.
"I'm very excited to help support our coalition work groups. Building communities where everyone can thrive in Douglas County is not easy, but when we work together the challenges don't seem so overwhelming." —Ginny Barnard
“We couldn’t be happier to welcome Ginny into this important roll for LiveWell Douglas County. Her passion for community health and her experience with building community coalitions are a great fit for this position. As we all know, there is no shortage of work to be done improving the opportunity for Douglas County residents to lead healthy lifestyles. We are happy to bring Ginny alongside that work throughout our community.” —Marlin Bates, Douglas County Extension Director
LiveWell Douglas County is comprised of six work groups: Healthy Built Environment, Healthy Food For All, Healthy Kids, Tobacco Free Living, WorkWell, and Sexual Violence Prevention. The coalition is part of the Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.