The City of Roanoke has selected Tonya Pickett as its new Neighborhood Services Coordinator effective Jan. 15, 2019. This position works closely with each of the City’s neighborhoods and the Council-appointed Roanoke Neighborhood Advocates to address neighborhood concerns; administers the city’s Leadership College, Welcome Roanoke Program, and Neighborhood Development Grant Program; and coordinates special projects and events for neighborhood organizations.
“We are fortunate to have Tonya join our team,” said City Manager Bob Cowell. “I am confident she will be an asset in helping us maintain and enhance the productive relationship which is already in place between our local government and the community we serve.”
Ms. Pickett earned bachelor’s degrees from Lynchburg College in the fields of both Art-Graphic Design and Psychology, attained a Virginia Collegiate Professional Teaching License from Mary Baldwin College, and is completing a master’s degree at Virginia Tech.
She is from the Roanoke area and has been actively involved in the community through personal and professional endeavors. For the past three years she has worked as a Family and Consumer Sciences SNAP-ED Extension Agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension, where she was part of a team responsible for developing and implementing wellness and nutrition programs. She also managed volunteers for these programs.
Prior to that experience, she worked as a Nutrition Outreach Instructor for the Virginia Cooperative Extension; a Youth Services Manager for Support to Eliminate Poverty (STEP) for Franklin and Patrick County; and an Educational Opportunity Counselor with Greater Appalachian Outreach, Inc. in two Appalachian counties in West Virginia.
Ms. Pickett will report directly to the City Manager as part of a community engagement and communications team that includes the Office of Citizen Engagement and the Office of Communications.
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