Photo courtesy of Sarren Lykes; FOH logo courtesy of Friends of Heart; flyer designed by TTR
Friends of Heart announced Tuesday that Caitlin Roach will serve as its new Executive Director, effective March 21st. Roach will replace Tracy Case, who has served as the organization’s director since 2020. “Tracy has been instrumental to our organization over the past couple of years, particularly in our new partnership with Avive Solutions as we strive to make Jackson the nation’s first 4-Minute City,” said Janet Silver, Friends of Heart board co-chair. “She has set the stage well for her successor, and we are so excited to say that Caitlin Roach will soon be on board with us to take on this role.”
“Caitlin’s office will be based out of Jackson-Madison County General Hospital,” said Bob Arrington, the Friends of Heart board’s other co-chair. “We’re excited for the support that West Tennessee Healthcare has given our organization thus far and can’t wait to see where our partnership goes next.”
Roach, a Jackson native and graduate of South Side High School and Union University with both a BA and MBA, joins Friends of Heart from Lifeline Blood Services, where she has served as Marketing Manager since 2020. She has also worked for local marketing research/advertising firm Younger and served as Director of Marketing & Patron Development for The Jackson Symphony.
“Caitlin has just the right experience and energy for what we need to take Friends of Heart to the next level,” said Silver. “She is driven and committed, and her passion for serving the people of West Tennessee cannot be topped.”
Roach has extensive involvement in the community. She is a board member with several local nonprofits: West Tennessee Hearing and Speech Center, the Leadership Jackson Alumni Association, the Madison County Imagination Library, the Jackson Symphony League, and the American Advertising Federation’s newly created West Tennessee Chapter. She also serves as a member of the Digital Marketing Certificate Advisory Committee for the University of South Florida’s Muma School of Business and has been an adjunct professor with Union University since 2017, teaching in both the McAfee School of Business and the School of Adult and Professional Studies. She recently completed a five-year commitment to the Jackson Service League and was named one of Mayor Scott Conger’s Most Influential Women in Jackson in 2021.
Roach is familiar with heart-health activism through the American Heart Association, having served as the chair of Circle of Red in 2018 and as an inaugural member of the Women of Impact class of 2021.
“When Janet [Silver] called me to share about this opportunity, I was equally excited and honored,” said Roach. “It’s a great fit for me professionally and personally. I’m getting married in November, so the change comes at a perfect time. I want to continue to serve the people of West Tennessee well in this next season of my life, and what better way to do it than to provide our communities with the tools and resources needed to combat heart and vascular issues?”
About Friends of Heart:
Friends of Heart, a fund of the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation, has supported heart and vascular care initiatives for the people of West Tennessee since 2017. This local nonprofit focuses on community outreach by providing hands-only CPR/AED training, supporting a community Heart House, and funding EMS communication technology. Other initiatives include hospital staff education and clinical research. The organization’s current area of focus is reducing the number of local Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) deaths. Friends of Heart is partnering with Avive Solutions, alongside the City of Jackson, the Jackson Fire Department, and West Tennessee Healthcare to significantly increase survival rates of SCA in Jackson through a program called 4-Minute City. As the nation’s first 4-Minute City, Avive’s intelligent AEDs will be placed across Jackson to be utilized by first-response volunteers deployed to use first-of-its-kind cardiac arrest response technology. Friends of Heart has a board of 20 local community health advocates that is co-chaired by Janet Silver and Bob Arrington. To learn more about how you can donate or get involved, visit friendsofheart.org or call 731.343.3330.