The Center for Economic and Community Engagement has promoted Quina Weber-Shirk to program manager. Previously the project coordinator for the Region 2 Internship Collaborative, Weber-Shirk will continue to lead the collaborative and also provide support with marketing, outreach, and onboarding for GO Virginia Region 2.

GO Virginia is a statewide initiative designed to encourage Virginia's economic growth through the creation of high-wage jobs. The Center for Economic and Community Engagement is the support organization for GO Virginia’s Region 2.

The Region 2 Internship Collaborative is the local connection for the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP), building a network to facilitate the readiness of Region 2 students and employers to engage in high-quality, paid, work-based learning.

In the Region 2 Internship Collaborative’s first year, Weber-Shirk worked to convene stakeholders and form a steering committee; conduct and share a directory of existing opportunities for employers to engage with students; and design sub-region collaborative events to connect employers and students annually.

The internship collaborative hosted virtual panel discussions from employers and career services staff in the New River Valley and Roanoke-Alleghany region that can be viewed on the center’s website.

The collaborative also held an in-person workshop at Sweet Briar College in the Lynchburg region to help employers and career service professionals make connections and learn how to create high quality internship programs.

"I'm energized by the opportunity to meet partners in their own spaces across the region and build collaborative networks,” Weber-Shirk said. “Both the GO Virginia and Region 2 Internship Collaborative programs build on the place-based strengths within our region, and I'm excited to expand my work to champion both initiatives.”

Weber-Shirk joined the center in August 2021 from North Carolina State University, where she worked as an extension agent for community and school gardens. She holds a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a bachelor’s degree in peace and global studies from Earlham College.

“As shown in her background and time with CECE, Quina is skilled in bringing people together to create a collaborative vision and developing better ways to simplify and share complex information,” Executive Director John Provo said.