August 29, 2016

For eight years in a row CHP has been fortunate to host a team of AmeriCorps VISTA members, with each one bringing a year-long infusion of young energy and talent to the organization.

This year, CHP welcomes Chelsea Jackson, a NeighborWorks America-sponsored VISTA member assigned to CHP's Richmond, Va. office to help CHP’s Property Management department revise and create operations and maintenance policies and procedures. She will also be assisting with marketing outreach for new rental communities.

Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to fight poverty. Specifically, CHP’s VISTA members focus their efforts on building the organizational, administrative, and financial capacity of the company to better create affordable and sustainable housing opportunities, improve human services, and otherwise assist low-income communities.

A native of Richmond, Jackson earned her undergraduate degree in international business from Salem College and a master’s degree in public administration from Virginia Tech. She previously served as an VISTA member in the resource development department of Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity and was also a community outreach intern at Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA).

Jackson’s career plans include spending some time in the property management field and eventually transitioning into Richmond’s public housing Authority sector.

When asked why she became a VISTA member, Jackson said, “I always tell people that I sort of ‘tripped’ into the program. Just like any recent college graduate, I was job hunting and it just happened that Richmond Habitat hired me. I was of course informed during the interview that the position was through AmeriCorps, but due to the excitement of having a new job, it wasn’t until I started that I realized how big of a national network AmeriCorps was and its overall impact.”

When she is not busy supporting CHP’s mission, Jackson enjoys cooking, travelling, shopping, working out, and event planning.