MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WVDN) — Dr. Angel Smothers, associate dean for community engagement at the WVU School of Nursing, recently joined the board of directors at Wellspring of Greenbrier.
Wellspring is a nonprofit organization that has provided food, clothing, and other basic necessities to disadvantaged, unhoused, and transient populations in Southern West Virginia for over two decades. Dr. Smothers’ experience, skills, and perspectives are particularly important as Wellspring is developing a unique model to provide tailored medical resources to marginally served populations.
“The collaboration between the WVU School of Nursing and Wellspring of Greenbrier falls in line with the land grant mission of WVU and the community engagement focus of the WVU School of Nursing,” Dr. Smothers said. “I am proud to say I grew up in a community like Wellspring serves, so helping their neighbors is a way for me to both ‘pay back’ the people who helped me and pay forward hope.”
Abigail and Josiah Spangler are 2020 WVU School of Nursing graduates and WVU-trained faith community nurses from Greenbrier County. In November 2022, they left traditional nursing positions to take on the organization’s leadership.
“The Spanglers are an excellent example of the thoughtful, compassionate caregivers produced by the WVU School of Nursing,” said Dr. Tara Hulsey, WVU School of Nursing Dean and E. Jane Martin Endowed Professor. “Their dedication to serving the needs of their community is inspirational. There is truly great work happening in southern West Virginia.”
“Dr. Smothers adds an important new dimension to our Board,” said Ben Yusiewicz, long-time Wellspring board member and current Chair. “Wellspring has been very well-served by members largely from nearby. As our vision has expanded, so has our need for members with varied backgrounds. Angel is the latest addition to round out our board.”
Abigail Spangler, Executive Director of Wellspring, added, “We have worked closely with Angel the past year and know she will add energy to our work and our capacity.”
Josiah Spangler, Director of Operations, said, “As young nurses taking on big challenges, we knew we needed to be surrounded by people smarter, more experienced, and more broadly skilled than we are. Besides Dr. Smothers, we also attracted a retired corporate lawyer, a career NGO executive, and an international businessman to augment the dedicated Board that brought us to this point.”
To learn more about Wellspring’s work, visit wellspringofgreenbrier.org.
