After leading the Jefferson Area Board for Aging for more than a decade, CEO Marta Keane announced she is taking a leaf from her own book on healthy aging and retiring.
“It has been a great time at JABA,” Keane told The Daily Progress in an email. “There are so many tiny moments, making a difference in seniors’ lives that made each day special. That is what motivates me.”
Keane took the helm of the organization in April 2013 after serving for a brief stint as chief operating officer for the board, a nonprofit agency that provides services and resources to Central Virginia’s older residents, their families and caregivers. Under her guidance, the Jefferson Area Board for Aging grew both in terms of services — offering a robust range of programs to support the physical, mental and financial well-being of seniors — and success.
“Marta has taken JABA from a good to an excellent area agency on aging in Virginia,” Dick Gibson, chairman of the agency’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Marta possesses the proper balance between passion for mission and sound business and practices, and she has brought incredible energy, compassion, knowledge, innovation, business acumen, team-building, goal setting, and success to all facets of JABA.”
Last year, the Virginia state legislature recognized Keane’s “profound and lasting impact” on Central Virginia residents with a joint resolution that referred to the CEO as “an inspiration to all citizens of the Commonwealth.”
More recently, in April, the regional chapter of the American Red Cross awarded Keane the Christopher E. Lee Servant Leader Hero Award, presented to an individual who embodies charitable and humanitarian qualities.
“Marta’s visionary leadership, compassionate spirit, and commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of seniors have set her apart as a true servant leader,” Bill Brent, executive director of the Central Virginia chapter of the American Red Cross, said at the award ceremony.
That servant leadership was exemplified in the way Keane advocated for the needs of a vulnerable population throughout her tenure. This was especially evident in 2017, when she called on both the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and Charlottesville City Council to endorse the creation of the Charlottesville Area Alliance, a network of local groups dedicated to raising awareness of press matters facing seniors. It was this aspect of her job — speaking out for a population often overlooked in society — that she found particularly gratifying.
“Personally, I am pleased with the connections and collaborations we have made across the region to help provide services to seniors and to advocate for the needs of seniors,” said Keane. “It has been a joy to make a difference.”
Keane’s peers have also acknowledged her profound commitment to her community, naming her president of the Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging, chairwoman of the Charlottesville Area Alliance and board member of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence and the Nelson County Community Development Fund.
Reflecting on her career with the board for aging, Keane was pleased with how her team worked to identify a name that “more accurately reflects the vitality” at the adult day center, now the JABA Respite and Enrichment Center.
While her accomplishments are numerous, Keane said she is most proud of how she was not only able to keep her nonprofit organization afloat during the COVID pandemic, when donations dried up and many philanthropic organizations and nonprofit groups struggled, but responsive to the crisis and meet the needs of those they serve.
“We work with the most vulnerable population, and what we do helps to prevent isolation,” said Keane. “We know that isolation can lead to a decline in physical, emotional and cognitive performance. As we had to close in those first months of COVID, as an organization we came together to find new ways to keep seniors feeling connected and safe.”
Despite being forced to close the organization’s centers and offices at the start of lockdown, Keane made a pledge to continue supporting her employees with full pay and benefits. The staff then went to work, connecting with their members in virtual spaces with conference call bingo, trivia and other programs; insurance counseling via Zoom; contactless meal and supply deliveries; and drive-up information services. One particularly heartfelt gesture included a car parade driving through a member’s neighborhood. The board’s staff describes Keane’s leadership as “calm, passionate, yet assertive” throughout this period of confusion and fear.
The board would go on to receive the Pivot Award from the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce for its “resilience in adapting their operations to the pandemic.”
Keane, an alumna of the University of Virginia, has not been without her own personal battles in the past 10 years as well. While traveling to Australia in 2018, she suffered a spinal stroke, paralyzing her from the waist down. After returning back to the U.S., she did not shy away from maintaining her duties as a CEO while undergoing an intensive recovery process. Less than six months after the incident, she stood before her staff to give a presentation on resiliency.
“JABA has benefited immensely from Marta’s leadership,” said Gibson. “She will be missed by all of us.”
The Jefferson Area Board for Aging’s board of directors is actively seeking a replacement for Keane, and board members said they expect to name a new CEO in December, with Keane staying on to help with the transition.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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