TESTIMONIALS
"Having worked closely with Rachel in the design and construction of a medical clinic for the needy in the Dickenson County area of Southwest Virginia, I have found her to be a remarkable fund raiser who can always find a way to build a worthwhile project. Her devotion to the health of those who truly need care is inspiring. If it's needed, she'll find a way to pay for it!"
Richard Houchins, AIA, CCCA
Senior Project Manager/Associate
Thompson & Litton
"As a charity CEO I have personally seen Rachel’s skill set utilized to help achieve nonprofit excellence. Rachel has what it takes to be an effective fundraiser, grant writer and account manager with multifaceted capabilities that can generate meaningful data, help solve problems, and implement effective solutions."
Joseph Agoada
Chief Executive Officer
Sostento Inc.
"Rachel Helton has a servant heart with a servant leadership style. She demonstrated these qualities as a tireless advocate for health care in Southwest Virginia through the Health Wagon. Non-profit and volunteer organizations can reach people in ways that the government cannot. As a leader in one type of volunteer organization (the church), I appreciate that.
Our congregation personally experienced Rachel’s help during the pandemic. She saw to it that our church was constantly provided with free medical resources."
Rev. Mike Winters
Wise Baptist Church
"I have had the privilege of knowing Rachel Helton for quite some time and what has touched my heart with her is her genuine nature to give of her time selflessly to help in anyway she can. As a local pharmacy manager, I value our partnership in helping provide and ensure the healthcare needs of our community. Rachel extends not only her wealth of knowledge, dedication and network of connections but her compassion and desire to serve our local community. Through her leadership with the Health Wagon, she has fostered volunteer opportunities for local high school students to learn and gain valuable hands-on experiences while giving back to our community as well. I am amazed at all she balances on her plate and does so with a smile. Rachel Helton is a true asset for any client and their business."
Michelle James Trent, Pharm. D.
"Rachel is a very hard-working and honest leader. She is dedicated to helping the residents of Central Appalachia obtain access to health care services through seeking grants, donations, volunteers, and collaboration with others in the health care industry. I have worked with her on a number of projects over the last 6 years and her ability to successfully oversee and organize both and large small scale events is unparalleled. Rachel not only "gets the job done," she builds long-term friendships with many who have collaborated with her in the past. Rachel also works well with both the press and state, local, and national elected officials to highlight her clients' successes and to bring attention to her clients' needs."
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Laura Lee Viergever
Retired, formerly a Virginia lobbyist, health care policy director, and health insurance regulator for over 35 years.
"I have known Rachel and her family since she was a young child, and have been close friends with her family. Starting as a high school basketball and college basketball star, she has excelled in every venture of her academic and work force career. As mayor of the town of Wise, I have the privilege of working with Rachel in her position at the Health Wagon. She is a "go-getter", bringing in millions of donor and grant dollars to help serve the health needs of the people our region. The most recent venture was securing a dental clinic at the Health Wagon. She has a heart for the people and the work she is doing. She is a truly successful executive, genuinely caring, always helping, striving to make our community a better place. She knows how to connect the right people to the task at hand, bringing about success for the people served."
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Teresa Adkins
Mayor, Town of Wise
"Rachel's vision and dedication to helping the under and uninsured in Central Appalachia obtain access to health care services is inspiring. She's well-versed in grant writing and donor communications. She's always looking forward — her passion and drive never shut off. She uses best practices and also stays informed on industry trends and donor insights, incorporating new processes that move organizations closer to their goals."
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Jenny Kontos
Hillhouse Creative
"You will not find a more energetic, organized, logically-minded, compassionate, or cued-up person for healthcare research and activity than Rachel Helton. She knows rural, she knows legislative policy and activity, she knows how to drill down into stats to find the realities and the consequences, she knows how to set up a system to track just about anything, and she is a killer grant writer. All of these things she does with good humor, grace, and a listening ear for what the client wants and constituents need."
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Wendy Welch
Executive Director, SWVA GMEC
Graduate Medical Education Consortium
"Working under Rachel has been an enriching career development move. Her patience, wisdom, and willingness to share her own professional and personal experiences are her most admirable qualities. Apart from this, her constant support has been invaluable as I have gained a mentor, a confidant and an advocate. One of the most humbling and dedicated individuals, Rachel makes every effort to embrace the mission of others. Her solution-oriented mindset is paramount to her success as an industry leader. To have Rachel in your corner, you can expect to have a bold, forward-thinker bringing her strategic foresight to every project she's involved in.“
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Iris Castillo
Master's of Public Policy
"I worked closely with Rachel on a newly constructed health clinic in southwest Virginia. Simply put, she is a rockstar! Her work ethic and drive for delivering results is unmatched. I could always rely on her to answer my calls, and the passion and enthusiasm she has for her work helped deliver a new clinic that provides great value to an under-served community."
Brandon Taylor
Assistant Project Manager, CCM,
LEED Green Associate
Skanska USA Building Inc.
"Over the course of the past five years, I have been fortunate to work with Rachel Helton through my association with various entities in the County. Rachel is a dominant force in bringing accessible health care to southwest Virginia. She has a passionate conviction to improve public health and wellness of the citizenship community, and has a talent for dealing with all levels of government. Rachel's skills as a fundraiser and grant writer are beyond compare, but most importantly, Rachel brings enthusiasm to her job that pulls you in and makes you want to work as hard as she does to make the impossible, possible."
Freddie Mullins
Attorney
"Rachel is a true regional and national healthcare leader. She has been an avid advocate for patients in southwest Virginia and throughout Virginia over the past two decades. Rachel has a great knowledge of healthcare and she is a very skillful grant writer. I had the pleasure of working closely with Rachel on several grants that were successfully funded due to her organizational skills and her natural ability to complete projects on time and to secure grant funding regardless of the complexity of the grant application process. Rachel’s vision, hard work and innovation changed the lives of the people of Central Appalachia to the better. Her work is a life changing experience in the area of diabetes, telehealth, chronic diseases and SUD ( Substance Use Disorders). She is a team member of one of the largest free clinics in the nation that enriched the educational experience of our Pharmacy students during their experiential training."
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Shamly Abdelfattah, PharmD
Director of Healthcare Innovation
ACP
"I have known Rachel for 25+ years and she is simply a jewel! Rachel is very bright and people oriented, always finding ways to help others. She is very knowledgable at what she does, and strives for perfection in her duties and endeavors. Rachel is someone that you want on your team."
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Robin Dotson
Teacher, Coach & Realtor
"It was a pleasure to work with Rachel through the design and construction process for the new medical clinic in Dickenson County. She played a critical role in ensuring we met all requirements of the grant funding which helped finance the project and was effective in serving as our liaison with the Health Wagon to ensure we had decisions made in a timely manner in order to stay on schedule. She is very energetic and responsive and I look forward to working with her again in the near future."
Curtis Elswick
Senior Vice President Regional Executive - SIS
Skanska USA Building Inc.
"As an attorney, I have worked with Rachel for several years. She is passionate about helping the underserved people of Southwest Virginia. She comes from a family that has a longstanding commitment of service to their community – it is in her blood. She is compassionate, approachable and authentic. She relates well to people in all walks of life.
In the end, clients need results and Rachel consistently delivers. She takes the time to understand the client’s goals and then tackles the project with energy, focus and professionalism. Rachel has a broad skill set as a fund raiser, business manager and grant writer. If your goal is to find an honest professional that will take the time to help your organization achieve its goals, you will not regret talking with her."
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Scott W. Mullins
Attorney
"I moved back to my hometown after living away for thirty-five years. I wanted to make a positive impact on the area where I grew up. I spent time talking to government leaders, citizens, and various organizations/agencies to get a better understanding of community needs and how I could plug in and deliver value. A name that came up as a recommended connection was Rachel Helton. After our first conversation, I understood why. Rachel’s ability to quickly distill information down to that which is valuable and actionable is amazing. Combined with her skills for assessing and prioritizing, as well as her strategic insights, it is easy to see why Rachel is a high-performing professional. I appreciated her advice prior to launching my own business and I look forward to engaging with her in the future."
Paul O’Quinn
Founder and Owner
AppSOL Solutions LLC
"Rachel Helton is an innovator in non-profit sustainability. She understands how to develop, support, and sustain private donors. Her leadership style is ingrained in service to others. She is adept at successful grant writing, grant management, and sustainability of services after grants have ended. The depth of her skills in leadership, project management, grant consultation, and non-profit business operations will be an asset to any organization needing high quality expertise."
Dr. Patti Vanhook, PhD
APRN, FNP-BC Professor Emeritus (Retired),
College of Nursing, East Tennessee State University
"Rachel Helton brings that rare combination of great intelligence, proven success, true passion and tireless dedication to her work. She is helping to address some of the biggest societal challenges we face today- accessible healthcare, food insecurity and economic inequity- and she is making a significant impact in Southwest Virginia. Rachel is an outstanding professional and a terrific partner with whom I am delighted and honored to work."
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Alexandra Trower
Former Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer of the Estee Lauder Companies
"It has been my distinct pleasure to have watched Rachel Helton grow and dominate her field of nonprofit grant writing and funding acquisition over the last decade. We first met through mutual free clinic work running in the same circles pursuing funding streams from the same foundations. I recognized early that she had that “it” factor in nonprofit grant writing/fundraising that put her head & shoulders above all others.
When Rachel opened her own consulting firm, I jumped at the chance to hire her to reinvigorate and help redesign our grants & fundraising branch of West Virginia Health Right, Inc., the largest free & charitable clinic in the state of West Virginia with a budget of $11 million dollars. We constantly are looking for new revenue streams and ways to meet budget. Rachel came in and did a top-down assessment of the organization and immediately went to work with me to make improvements within my grants team and make my job easier as CEO.
I must say, her work ethic, talent and finesse with funders are unparalleled. She ranks in the top 3 talents that I’ve worked with in my entire nonprofit, free clinic career of 26 years. She is driven, relentless for her client, and gives 100% effort in all things. Rachel is uniquely, uber talented, yet down-to-earth and approachable. Above all is else, Rachel is ethical and truly committed to the plight of the underserved. I whole-heartedly and without hesitation recommend Rachel Helton."
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Dr. Angie Settle DNP, APRN, BC, FNP
CEO, West Virginia Health Right