FERRUM, VA, September 30, 2026—Dr. Delia Heck, a professor of environmental science at Ferrum College and a longtime community leader, has been named the 2026 Volunteer of the Year by the Virginia Community Healthcare Association (VCHA).
Heck (on right in photo) was recognized for nearly a decade of volunteer leadership with Tri-Area Community Health (TACH), where she has served on the Board of Directors since 2016 and currently serves as treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee. The award honors an individual who has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to advancing community health care.
“Dr. Delia Heck’s recognition as Volunteer of the Year reflects her steadfast commitment to serving others and strengthening the communities around her,” said Ferrum College President Mirta M. Martin. “Through her leadership, dedication to our students, and service to organizations across our region and beyond, Delia consistently applies her expertise and compassion to benefit others. This well-deserved honor recognizes her many contributions to Ferrum College, our communities, and the countless people whose lives she has touched through her service.”
At TACH, Heck’s service extends beyond her role as treasurer. She participates in VCHA conferences and advocacy efforts, represents TACH in grant-related groups with the University of Virginia, serves on the health center’s Trillium Award Committee, and advocates for initiatives that support staff education and community engagement. TACH also serves as the health center for Ferrum College, enabling Heck to help strengthen the relationship between the two organizations.
“Each year, we ask our members to shine a light on colleagues who demonstrate exceptional dedication, leadership, and service to their patients, health centers, and communities,” said VCHA CEO Tracy Douglas. “These awards give us an opportunity to celebrate those who consistently go the extra mile and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.”
Heck’s commitment to service is closely tied to her work at Ferrum. In addition to serving as a professor and program coordinator for Environmental Science and Sustainability, she directs the College’s Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program. She previously served as provost and chief academic officer, director of Assessment and Institutional Research, and director of the Quality Enhancement Program.
Throughout her Ferrum College career, Heck has combined teaching, leadership, and community engagement. She has taught experiential learning courses, including the science course in the interdisciplinary Appalachian Cluster Program, and has led study-abroad courses in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, and Ireland. She also served for many years on the College’s Women’s Leadership Conference organizing committee and directed the conference for a time.
Heck’s contributions to Ferrum have been recognized with the 2019 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, the College’s highest honor for character and service, and the 2021 Exemplary Teaching Award. She also served as faculty leader for Ferrum’s 10-year Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges re-accreditation review and currently serves on the Commission’s Principles of Accreditation Revision Committee.
“Service has always been central to who Delia is as a member of the Ferrum College community,” Martin said. “She brings that same spirit to her work with Tri-Area Community Health, her environmental work, her teaching, and the many communities she serves. Her example reminds us that the impact of a Ferrum education extends far beyond our campus and that our responsibility to others is one we carry wherever our work takes us.”
Heck’s service also extends to environmental justice and community resilience. She serves on the Episcopal Church’s Task Force on Care of Creation and Environmental Racism and participates in Episcopal Relief & Development’s Climate Resilience Community of Practice. During a yearlong sabbatical, she helped ten Haitian Episcopal churches and their affiliated schools transition to solar power through a grant from Episcopal Relief & Development. She was also one of twenty-two delegates selected to represent the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop’s Office at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai.
Heck was among ten members of Virginia’s health care community recognized on Thursday, September 17, during the 2026 VCHA Annual Meeting and Conference in Williamsburg, VA. Her award reflects a career of connecting education, community engagement, environmental stewardship, and service to others, values she continues to bring to Ferrum College and the communities it serves.
