As President and CEO of the Brandywine Health Foundation, Ms. Briggs is responsible for guiding the overall organizational vision, strategic direction, operating and fiscal policies to ensure successful fulfillment of foundation’s mission with governance from the Board, and input from the staff. She is committed to strengthening the Brandywine Health Foundation’s well established reputation through increased visibility and by further building, maintaining and nurturing our network of donors, grantees, and community partners so critical to the mission of the foundation and our work in the greater Coatesville area. Vanessa Briggs is an experienced leader in the field of public health with roots in the Philadelphia area. She has devoted her entire career to advancing health equity and empowering vulnerable families and youth to live healthier lives. Ms. Briggs is highly skilled in working with communities to solve complex problems through multi-sectoral strategic partnerships, community engagement, health promotion and education, and disease management interventions. She comes to the foundation with significant expertise in building the capacity of nonprofit organizations and in building multi-sector partnerships between health providers, policymakers and community members. Prior to joining Brandywine Health Foundation, Vanessa served as Vice President, Community Health, at Holy Cross Health in Silver Springs, Maryland. Before joining Holy Cross Health, Vanessa held the position of Executive Director for the Health Promotion Council, an affiliate of Public Health Management Corporation. In her fifteen years at the Health Promotion Council, she grew the organization’s budget three-fold during her tenure while developing and leading several large-scale regional and national childhood obesity, nutrition and health equity initiatives. Vanessa began her career in senior dining and clinical nutrition services to improve the quality of life for older adults for Marriott Sodexho Health. Ms. Briggs is a Registered Dietitian and holds a Master’s in Business Administration, with a concentration in Health Administration, from Eastern University in Saint Davids, Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dietetics from Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey.