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Melina Valsecia named executive director of Eagle Valley Community Foundation

Melina Valsecia is an advocate for the overall health and well-being of families and children. (Valsecia Jose
Special to the Daily)

The Eagle Valley Community Foundation has selected Melina Valsecia as its executive director. Valsecia has managed MIRA (Mobile Intercultural Resource Alliance), a partnership program with Eagle Valley Community Foundation, since 2018.

“The entire board is proud of the work that Melina has done with MIRA, and we are confident that Melina will extend her positive influence in this new role,” said Mike Rushmore, Eagle Valley Community Foundation’s founder and board chair, in a news release. “Melina’s combination of education, work experience, understanding, professionalism and dedication is remarkable. We are excited to work with Melina to maximize the foundation’s impact on our community with Melina’s energy and leadership.”

Chris Lindley, the executive director of Eagle Valley Behavioral Health, has partnered with Valsecia, and echoed his support: “Melina’s deep commitment to building community, and ability to bring people together aligns well with Eagle Valley Community Foundation’s vision and values. I am pleased to continue our partnership with the team at the community foundation, and excited to have Melina leading the charge.”



Valsecia is an advocate for the overall health and well-being of families and children. Her empathy and service to customers has helped solidify connections and build trust with Spanish-speaking neighbors. Valsecia has been a key staff member with Eagle Valley Community Foundation since June of 2018 when she accepted the role of chief operations manager for MIRA. Valsecia has been the executive director of Neighborhood Navigators of Eagle County for the past three years as well.

Valsecia moved to Eagle County in 2007, full of enthusiasm, passion and motivation to contribute to this beautiful mountain community. She spent over 15 years working in Early Childhood and with adults in local public education and county public health, focused on health education. Valsecia grew up in the countryside of northeast Argentina and received her undergraduate degree in nutrition with honors from neighboring country of Paraguay. While in college, she spent her weekends back at home in Argentina, offering free classes to marginalized families, helping them think about their own health and the importance of nutrition. Putting her learning to the immediate benefit of her home community in Argentina has transferred, and she shares that same dedication, working with families in Eagle County. Melina was awarded her master’s degree in public health/health education and her national certification as health education specialist is the USA, which she calls her home

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“I am honored and thrilled to work with this committed team of staff and board members whose intentions to improve the quality of life in Eagle County for all families matches my own values and desire to serve,” Valsecia said.

More about Eagle Valley Community Foundation

Eagle Valley Community Foundation is inspiring collective solutions to local challenges. Its role is to gather people together who are doing good work, and to listen intently to the needs and gaps that exist in the community, then work collectively on solutions. Eagle Valley Community Foundation is non-traditional in that once it has identified the gaps in services, it builds programs to fill those gaps. In some cases, such as training scholarships for early childhood educators, Eagle Valley Community Foundation helped launch the project and then stepped aside. With other programs such as MIRA and The Community Market, it manages and funds the programs with community partners.

One of the solutions is healthy food access through The Community Market, a healthy source of food for anyone in need. The Community Market is serving more than 3,500 people each week.

An example of working collaboratively is the combined effort of The Eagle Valley Community Foundation, Vail Health and Eagle County Public Health working to improve access to county health and resource referrals through “MIRA,” Mobile Intercultural Resource Alliance.

In addition to the appointment of Valsecia as executive director, Laura Hartman has joined the foundation as the vice president of operations with responsibility for internal systems and supports. Susie Davis will continue in the role of director of community impact. These moves, in addition to Kelly Liken continuing to lead The Community Market, and hiring a new MIRA leader, positions Eagle Valley Community Foundation to serve the rapidly growing needs of the community.

For more information, visit http://www.eaglevalleycf.org.


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