About Us
Where compassion began in Southwest Virginia
In 2019, after witnessing the power of a hospitality house while her father underwent cancer treatment, our founder brought that same vision home to the Blue Ridge. Today, Hospitality House of the Blue Ridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to ensure that no one has to choose between receiving care and having a place to stay.
Our mission is simple:
To provide a clean, safe, affordable, home-like environment for adults and families traveling to Roanoke for medical treatment.
With 25 guest rooms, shared meals, pastoral care, and quiet spaces for reflection, our house offers more than lodging — it offers a lifeline of support when families need it most.
How it all began
The Spark that ignited the vision
Charlie's laugh and sense of humor were as authentic as his caring heart.
In 2013, Charlie “CW” Cox was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. In the later years of his illness, he traveled 125 miles each way from his home in Marion, VA to Wake Forest's hospital for his specialized treatment. His family would travel two hours from Roanoke to be with him during his frequent doctor's appointments.
A lung operation was eventually required, with a week-and-a-half in-hospital stay. As the travel began to take its toll, the family was pointed to a local nonprofit hospitality house that serves the two hospitals of Winston-Salem, providing the kind of Southern hospitality that city is known for.
Later, when a 9-week regimen of radiation and chemotherapy treatment was called for – chemo 3-times-a-week and radiation 5 days a week – the SECU Family House again provided Charlie and his family welcoming, affordable lodging (around $40 per night), with the comfort and security of a nice hotel.
There, they found comradery with other out-of-town families and patients facing similar anxieties and stress of critical medical care, complemented by the empathetic support of the house staff and team of volunteers.
Charlie asked if Roanoke had something similar for those traveling to the Roanoke Valley for medical care. When the family learned that Roanoke did not, a seed of an idea was planted.
In October 2017, an infection interrupted Charlie's treatment and ultimately cut his life short. But his question, asking about a hospitality house in Roanoke, lived on.
The family's experience of traveling to an unfamiliar city for critical care and being welcomed and embraced by the local community inspired them to ask others of their potential interest in seeing one built here.
Recognizing that a countless number of families travel great distances to receive world-class care in Roanoke, a group of like-minded people came together.
Soon, a Board of Directors was formed and then a Board of Advisors. A 501c3 was established; exhaustive research was completed; and now, a Capital Campaign has been launched, turning to the greater community of the Blue Ridge for support.
We have an opportunity to help those impacted by the hardships of traveling here for critical medical treatment. You can help build a local hospitality house that will stand for decades as an accurate expression of our community's caring heart.
Meet Your Executive Director
Emily Reburn
Emily Reburn has dedicated over 6 years to supporting the mission of the Hospitality House of the Blue Ridge, where she now steps into a new leadership role as Executive Director. An experienced leader in the technology and healthcare sectors she has previously guided teams through explosive growth and organizational change, showcasing her strategic insight and commitment to team success.
Emily lives in Salem, Virginia with her husband, Tyler, and their two children. As a Roanoke, Virginia native, her deep love for the Roanoke Valley fuels her dedication to giving back to the community she calls home.
Board of Advisors
Our heart-centered Board of Advisors provides advice and guidance, by profession and experience. They continue to be invaluable in their generosity towards our efforts. You can click on each image below to learn more about their backgrounds.
Marci Brumberg
Director of the Jewish Community Religious School and Educational Director of Beth Israel Synagogue
Director of the Jewish Community Religious School and Educational Director of Beth Israel Synagogue
As a cancer survivor Marci understands that this disease affects families not just individuals and understands the need and value of the establishment of a Hospitality House in Roanoke.
Marci has been an educator in Jewish Education for over fifty years, the last 37 years in Roanoke, Virginia. While her focus has been on educating Jewish youth and adults in the traditions and values of Judaism, she has also been a guest lecturer about the Holocaust in the Roanoke County schools and an adjunct Professor at Roanoke College, teaching a course in basic Judaism. She has a love for theater and has written and directed musical plays dealing with Jewish holidays and themes. This resulted in the formation of a business called Say It With Plays.
Marci was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia before moving to Roanoke 37 years ago. She has been married to her husband Dennis for 52 years. They have two children and four grandchildren who are truly the joy and love of her life.
John Carlin
News Anchor, WSLS
John co-anchors the 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts on WSLS 10.
A dedicated community servant, John is a board member of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, past board chair of the YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge corporate board of directors, member of the board of Saint Francis Service Dogs and board member of the Associated Press of the Virginias. He is a co-founder and board member for the Blue Ridge Marathon and a past board member of the Virginia chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. John was a member of Rotary International for more than 20 years.
Carlin was a part of the WSLS 10 team that earned the Peabody Award for coverage of the April 16, 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech. During his tenure, the team also won three national Edward R. Murrow Awards. John is the recipient of six Emmy awards for reporting, as well as numerous awards from RTNDA, VAB and the Associated Press. In 2015 he received the Best News Anchor of the Year award from the Associated Press of the Virginias. He has been honored with distinguished service awards by both the Virginia Association of Broadcasters and the Virginia Associated Press.
John’s broadcasting career includes stops at WPTZ in Plattsburgh, NY/Burlington, Vt. WDTV in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and WTVR in Richmond. As part of a news sharing agreement with WFXR (FOX), John co-anchored the 10 p.m. news in Roanoke for more than a decade. He also taught broadcast writing as adjunct faculty at Virginia Tech from 1996 – 2007. He joined the faculty at Radford University as adjunct faculty in the fall of 2019.
John is a graduate of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh with a degree in mass communication.
In his spare time, John is an avid cyclist and fisherman. He lives in Roanoke, where he and his wife Mary enjoy time with their three grown sons and their families.
Jim Cherney
Jim Cherney is a community-focused developer in Roanoke who believes the transformation of property resources can continue to help build a resilient and progressive city. He uses strategic visioning, creative thinking and collaboration between parties to convert underutilized and underperforming properties into new spaces that help revitalize the community and the people they serve. He works together with owners, architects, contractors and others to establish healthy working partnerships that are good for business, good for the community and good for the local economy.
In his 35+ years of experience, he has revitalized and managed various community real estate properties including multi-family housing, commercial buildings, retail and restaurant properties, self-storage, warehouse spaces, farms and more across Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and DC. His forward-focused projects meet the needs of the current populations, with an eye toward meeting the needs of an evolving society and commerce.
Driven by a desire to contribute to the people and vitality of the city he calls home, Jim is also an active supporter of non-profit organizations focused on community development, health and the arts in the Roanoke Valley.
Michelle Davis
Chief Executive Officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of SWVA
Michelle is a Roanoke native and graduate of the University of Michigan.
Currently, Ms. Davis is the Chief Executive Officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of SWVA, a youth development organization that serves over 850 youth in 6 locations throughout our region. Additionally, Ms. Davis was elected to a 4 year term on Roanoke City Council in 2016, serving Roanoke City at-large.
Michelle lives with her daughter, Elsa, in Roanoke City. She currently serves on the Freedom First Credit Union Board of Directors and was appointed to the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority by Governor Terry McAuliffe. She is Vice Chair of the Roanoke City Legislative Committee and Chair of the Roanoke City Personnel Committee, and was previously President of the Mountain View Neighborhood Association and served on several other boards and commissions.
Kay Dunkley, EdD
Executive Director, Roanoke Higher Education Center
Kay Dunkley serves as the Executive Director of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, constituted as a public body that operates the Roanoke Higher Education Center. The Center is comprised of eleven partner institutions-- colleges and workforce training organizations that expand educational opportunities throughout the Roanoke region. Kay holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Radford University and a doctorate from Virginia Tech. She has also served in various senior leadership positions at Virginia Tech, the Virginia Community College System and in two public school divisions.
As an ambassador to the Roanoke region, Kay serves on the board of directors for the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce and is an active participant on the Public Policy Committee and the Chamber’s Foundation. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum and Foundation in Wytheville, VA. Her passion is connecting the rich resources of an academic environment to meet the ever changing workforce training needs of businesses and industries.
Kay is a resident of Roanoke County and is the proud mother of one daughter and one granddaughter.
William A. Fintel, MD
Medical Director, Carilion Clinic Hematology-Oncology
Dr. William Fintel is a native of the upper Midwest, having grown up in Iowa and Minnesota. He attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and then graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School. Following medical school, Dr. Fintel did his internal medicine residency and oncology fellowship at the University of Virginia. He serves as adjunct faculty at Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Fintel has board certifications in internal medicine and medical oncology.
Professional Societies:
• American Board of Internal Medicine
• American Society of Clinical Oncology
• American Medical Association
• Christian Medical and Dental Association
Dr. Fintel is married to Connie and they have four sons. He has published three additions of Cancer: A Medical and Spiritual Guide for patients and their families, with co-author and friend, Gerry McDermott, Ph.D. Among his interests are writing, running, lecturing, boating and travel.
Cynthia D Lawrence
Cynthia D. Lawrence Carilion Clinic Director, Office of Workforce Development
Cynthia founded and led two companies from 1986 – 2015, when they were acquired. She is currently employed by Carilion Clinic as Director of the Office of Workforce Development.
Appointed twice by Governor Kaine and reappointed by Governor McAuliffe, Cynthia is in her third term as a member of the Virginia Lottery Board, holding positions as Board Chair and Audit Committee Chair. She is in her third term on the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport Commission as a City of Roanoke appointee, twice serving as Chair.
She is on the Western Virginia Workforce Development Board, a member of the Virginia Chamber’s Workforce and Education Committee, and is a founding member of the Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Science Careers. Committed to the importance of women’s education as a critical component of a healthy, economically vibrant community, Cynthia founded an organization of women business leaders in 1996, The Commonwealth Council, focused on mentoring emerging women leaders and funding undergraduate scholarships for adult working women of need. She is on the President’s Advisory Council for Hollins University, the Advisory Boards for the Department of Management at the Pamplin College of Business and Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech.
Cynthia is on the Board and serves as a student mentor for House of Bread Roanoke, an ecumenical Christian organization that assistance to formerly incarcerated women with job skills, education, and stable housing.
A current member and past President of the Mill Mountain Theatre Board of Directors, Cynthia was among the leadership team who in 2009 made the harsh decision to stop MMT’s stage productions in mid-season when the Theatre was overburdened by debt, working the next four years on a new business model and reopening the theatre in 2013.
In 2010 while on the Board of the Virginia Western Community College Foundation, Cynthia founded Food for Thought, an edible education partnership between VWCC, Roanoke City Schools, and the City of Roanoke establishing a teaching garden and agri-science-based program at James Madison Middle School. In 2014, Cynthia was appointed by Governor McAuliffe to the Commonwealth Council on Bridging the Nutritional Divide, a public-private partnership focused on solving childhood hunger.
Cynthia is past President of the Boards of the Science Museum of Western Virginia and the Virginia Museum of Transportation and a past Board member of the Foundation for Roanoke Valley, Opera Roanoke, and Virginia Opera. She has served as Co-Chair for the United Way of Roanoke Valley Presidents Circle and the MS Society Roanoke Dinner of Champions and in a leadership role with the local March of Dimes Celebrity Chefs Gala. As an active member of the Junior League of Roanoke Valley, Cynthia served as Government Affairs chair. In 1995, she was recognized as Outstanding Young Woman for the Roanoke Valley by the Roanoke Jaycees. In 2018, she and her husband Mark received the Silver Hope Award from the MS Society in honor of their community service. Cynthia is a native and lifelong resident of Roanoke, Virginia. The Lawrences live in Roanoke City.
Board of Directors
Community leaders driving our mission forward
Jacob Gibson
President | Providence Properties LLC
Jacob Gibson is a Franklin County native who currently resides in Roanoke with his wife Kim and their two young boys, Luke and Isaac. After teaching middle school, Jacob spent a decade as a partner and officer of educational software company Interactive Achievement from 2006-2016. Today Jacob is Managing Member of Providence Properties, which specializes in home renovations and property management throughout the Roanoke Valley. He also serves on the board for the Boy Scouts of America’s Blue Ridge Mountains Council and he and his family attend New Hope
Kristin Routt
Vice President | VP | Financial Center Manager at American National Bank & Trust Company
Kristin is a Roanoke County native who currently resides in Salem with her husband Aaron, their girls, Marleigh and Olivia, and two dogs. After graduating from Cave Spring High School, Kristin went on to earn her Bachelor of Business Administration from Radford University. Kristin spent several years in management with Wachovia, before joining the HomeTown Bank family in 2009. In early 2019, HomeTown completed their merger with American National and today Kristin is the Financial Center Manager of their Downtown Roanoke office.
Kristin has previously served on the Board for Junior Achievement, and is currently on the board for South Salem Elementary School PTA. Kristin enjoys being with her family, spending time at Claytor Lake and Ocean Isle Beach, and attending Marleigh's cheer competitions and Olivia's dance recitals.
Matthew Liller
Secretary | Kalbaugh, Pfund & Messersmith, PC
Matt is a West Virginia native who lives in Roanoke with his wife Chelsea and two children, Mason and Maya. He is an attorney with the firm of Kalbaugh, Pfund & Messersmith, PC and often appears in State and Federal courts throughout both Virginia and West Virginia, primarily practicing civil defense of corporations and individuals, as well as representing and advising local businesses. He was named a Virginia Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2021 by his peers for his dedication to his clients’ needs.
Having spent years as a personal trainer and professional bodybuilder, you can often find Matt in the gym, cheering on his wife Chelsea at an obstacle course race, or chasing his kids.
Brian Wells
Hospitality Chair
Brian Wells brings 25 years of exemplary leadership experience as general manager and has experience in food and beverage and within property operations to his new position at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center Curio. He was most recently general manager for the Hilton Durham near Duke University located in Durham, North Carolina. During his tenure there, the hotel received numerous awards of excellence from the Hilton, TripAdvisor, and Interstate Hotels.
During Brian’s career much of his experience was in New England in a variety of locales. He has been a hotel general manager for boutique hotels, large city center properties, a university hotel & conference center, and a private executive conference center for a Fortune 100 company. Community involvement and promoting tourism has always been a focus to develop hotel business, and to positively impact small businesses in the region.
In the Roanoke region, he is on the Executive Committee for Downtown Roanoke Inc, he has received the Tourism Excellence Award from Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, he is also a volunteer as a regularly contributing photographer for the Nation Park Service for the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Terrianne Julian
Founder | PowerSchool
Terrianne Julian is a SWVA native who currently resides in Roanoke with her husband Donny.
They have two adult children, Dustin and Morgan, as well as a spoiled rotten 95+ pound Plott Hound, Rocky.
Dustin is a Roanoke County Police Officer. Morgan is an Emergency Department Resident Physician at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, VA.
Following the passing of her much-loved father, Charlie; it has become her passion to ensure that anyone facing a medical crisis in the Roanoke Valley has a home away from home for themselves or their family.
Teresa Poole, LCSW, ACHP-SW, OSW-C
Carilion
Teresa currently works as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Carilion Clinic’s Cancer Center. She has worked in health care both in the non-profit and for-profit settings, in multiple specialty areas. Her most recent experience in the oncology setting has a special place in her heart as a way to honor her brother’s 17-year cancer journey.
Over the years she has enjoyed leadership positions in professional groups at the state and regional levels including the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Advisory Board and several years involvement in the Brain Injury Association of Virginia. Her volunteer activities are currently focused on her local community including her church’s Racial Justice Team, serving as a Worship Associate and various mission activities in the community.
Bryan Ryberg
Vice President of Sales and Marketing, 5Points Creative
Originally from a small town north of Seattle, Bryan has a bachelor of arts in history from Portland State University and a master's of education from Florida Atlantic University. Bryan relocated to the area 16 years ago and loves the Roanoke Valley. You will often find him spending time with his wife, two daughters and son or golfing with his friends on weekends. He is also a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan and loves to listen to live music.
Joyce W. Waugh
President & CEO, Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce
Joyce W. Waugh, CCE, CEcD, is president and chief executive officer of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, with over 850 members. She just completed her 18th year with the chamber, 11 as president and 8 as vice president of public policy. Waugh manages a staff of 11 and oversees an extensive program of work to promote, stimulate and improve business by influencing public policy, make connections and referrals and help small business grow.
She has a master’s in social work administration from Florida State University, is a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE), and Certified Economic Developer (CEcD). Waugh is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management (IOM) and Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, a past director of the Virginia Chamber, and past president of the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives with whom she periodically facilitates roundtables and/or teaches a class. She serves on a number of local boards.
Waugh is married and has three grown children, one grand dog and two grand cats. She dearly loves living and working in Virginia’s Blue Ridge region, adventures with family and friends, and all sorts of travel.
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