New River Community Action’s Board of Directors has named Krystal Thompson its chief executive officer.
As CEO, Thompson will be responsible for the successful leadership and management of the agency. She will oversee the planning and implementation of the agency’s programs, services, and resources to ensure full compliance with regulations and that the needs of the community’s low-income clients are being addressed.
Thompson is a human service professional with many years in the nonprofit, for-profit, and public arenas. She has experience in program development and implementation, grant writing, fundraising, strategic planning, budgeting, fiscal, regulatory compliance, and human resource management.
She comes to Community Action from the state director’s position with Family Preservation Services. Previously, she was the executive director of Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia and the chief operating officer for Commonwealth Catholic Charities.
Thompson has a Master of Arts in Education degree in counseling education and student personnel services and a Bachelor of Science degree in family and child development from Virginia Tech. She also comes with her certification in mission-based leadership and organization development from the University of Notre Dame and Catholic Charities USA.
Thompson has been working with outgoing Community Action CEO Terry Smusz on the leadership transition that will occur when Smusz retires on June 30, 2021.
“The board reviewed over 100 applications from all around the United States as part of a months-long process,” said the board’s chairperson, John McEnhill. “We are confident that Krystal has the right mix of leadership skills and experience to work effectively with our diverse, active board of directors and our many valued community partners and to empower NRCA’s dedicated staff guided by our mission.”