Meet the Board of Directors

As the principal consultant at Monk Works Consulting, Ms. Monk collaborates with healthcare organizations, including hospital systems and start-ups. Previously, she spearheaded VCU Ventures at Virginia Commonwealth University, tripling the number of university start-ups. Her visionary leadership extended to pre-acceleration programs, founder-friendly licensing terms, and a groundbreaking $7M healthcare innovation project at VCUH.

Before VCU, Ms. Monk served as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Virginia Life Science Investments, evaluating diverse technologies for investment. She also excelled as Vice President of the Virginia Biosciences Commercialization Center (VBCC), guiding later-stage medical device companies in strategic marketing, reimbursement, and regulatory strategies.

Ms. Monk’s journey began at the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, where she directed marketing for over 30 early-stage life science ventures.

Ms. Monk’s impact on healthcare is truly remarkable!

Sarah Werner, a Richmond, Virginia native, transitioned from political consulting to healthcare leadership. After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, she held numerous leadership positions at Amedisys Home Health and Hospice—one of the nation’s largest providers of skilled home care and home hospice.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarah served as Area Vice President of Clinical Operations for the company’s New Jersey market, where she played a crucial role in establishing pandemic policies and procedures.

Passionate about health and wellness, Sarah graduated from Wake Forest School of Medicine with her Master’s in Healthcare Leadership. She now works at Beauty Awakened Medical Aesthetics & Wellness, helping patients achieve their well-being goals through IV therapy and holistic programs.

Sarah enjoys being a wife, mother, community volunteer, and activist. She, along with her husband and their 7-year-old son, Briggs, resides in Midlothian, Virginia.

James is a proud Midlothian native who has deep roots in the Richmond area. After graduating from VCU with a degree in Finance, he has built a fulfilling life with his wife, Megan, and their three daughters in Midlothian. A passionate supporter of the VCU Rams, James holds season tickets to their basketball games and eagerly spends his fall Sundays cheering on his Minnesota Vikings.

 

Since beginning his career in 2011 with First Investors, now known as Cetera Investors, James has accumulated over 13 years of experience in financial planning and investment management. He has earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designation, specializing in retirement income planning, and recently achieved the prestigious Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation—one of the highest accolades in the financial industry.

 

James is dedicated to being an advocate and resource for his clients, no matter where they are in their financial journey. He takes pride in making a lasting impact on their lives and is especially passionate about helping families with special needs or disabilities navigate their financial futures. Understanding the unique challenges these families face, he finds fulfillment in providing peace of mind to caregivers through comprehensive planning.

Jamie is a member of the Virginia State Bar and has been active in the RVA nonprofit community since her law school days. During law school, she interned at Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, Legal Aid Justice Center, and the ACLU of Virginia. While at LAJC, she became involved with a brand-new community initiative and was instrumental in forming the nonprofit organization Colaborando Juntos, which connects resources within the Latino community in the greater Richmond area. She has been on the board of CJ since 2008. Jamie's first experience working with the special needs population was at LAJC, where she worked for the Just Children program. While working for Just Children, she had the opportunity to intervene in many cases involving area children in need of special education services within the public school system. A few years after working at LAJC, Jamie was able to put her learned skills to good use when her son was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Her experiences advocating for her son within the public school system led to a great passion for IDEA compliance, and for advocating for all children receiving special education services within the local school systems.  

 

Outside of the area of law, Jamie has been an active community volunteer for many years. She has been a Girl Scout leader for 10 years and has also served as an area director for volunteers in her community. She also volunteered for 6 years at her daughter's elementary school, serving as a weekly library volunteer as well as running a book fair for 5 years. Jamie has also served as church clerk and Sunday School director for her church. She greatly enjoys giving back to the local nonprofit community and is excited to bring her prior experience and personal knowledge to the Nest Academy board. 

I am the parent of 2 young adults, one of whom (my 22-year-old son, Neil Lent) has been a member of Nest Academy RVA since January 2023. I recently coordinated the Silent Auction held in conjunction with the Nest Academy Family Fun Walk and enjoyed being able to help support this awesome organization. 

I previously served on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Down Syndrome Association (VDSA, formerly DSAGR) from 2015 through 2019, including 2 years as President during which time I oversaw a salary survey to guide realignment of staff salaries to be more competitive, revamping of the Executive Director (ED) performance evaluation process, and began development of an ED succession planning policy. I also served on the Goochland-Powhatan Community Services Board (CSB) for 9 years (June 2013-June 2022), including 2 years as chairperson, during which time I was a member of the search committee for a new ED to fill the role of the retiring ED of 20 years. 

I most enjoy one-to-one interactions with parents/caregivers of individuals with disabilities, networking and sharing information, advice on advocating, etc. I believe that parents often ‘don’t know what they don’t know’, and when they are provided with the necessary information, become even more effective advocates in securing the supports and services their loved ones need. 

I am a pharmacist by training and hold Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (’89, St. John’s University, Queens, NY) and Doctor of Pharmacy (’92, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond) degrees. I worked for 10 years as a Drug Information Specialist at VCU Health Systems (’94-’04) and have been a freelance medical writer for almost 30 years.