JABA CEO Marta Keane was unanimously elected president of the Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging (V4A), which represents 24 agencies across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Her two-year term will begin in October.

"I am confident that Marta will lead V4A as effectively as she has and will continue to lead JABA, and she will guide V4A to new levels of greatness," said JABA Board Chair Dick Gibson. "I've observed first-hand the qualities that played an important part in her election by her V4A peers to lead them, particularly her proven leadership skills and her ability to gain the confidence of others and inspire them to excel at what they do."

As CEO, Keane's leadership skills enabled JABA to navigate the uncharted waters and challenges presented by Covid and make sure the seniors served by JABA continued to be cared for and respected. JABA has received many awards and accolades for its programs and innovations under her leadership, which are known to her V4A peers.  Keane was also instrumental in forming, organizing and leading the Charlottesville Area Alliance, a collaboration of all organizations devoted to improving the lives of seniors in the Charlottesville area, which is respected and relied on by local governments for its innovations and compassion for seniors.  

"I am honored to be chosen by my peers to represent our agencies as we continue to advocate for more funding and innovative programs to provide necessary services for seniors," said Keane. "As we know, seniors are a steadily increasing percent of the population in Virginia. With this comes challenges to meet their increasing and changing needs, and opportunities to identify and maximize the strengths that seniors bring to our communities. During the next 2 years, I hope to continue our efforts with demographic services to better identify areas that have unmet needs, work with networks to identify new ways to meet the needs, and identify new funding sources to allow us to grow and sustain critical services."

"Marta has a remarkable ability to make friends with everyone she meets and has already gained the confidence of her V4A peers," said Gibson. "The JABA board is very proud of Marta and her leadership of JABA and is delighted to share her with V4A during her term of office."