Jessica Hall

Jessica Hall, director of communications and development at HospiceCare, has always had a love of adventure.

“Even as a child, I was eager to explore—sleep away camps, international trips with the choir, weeks away with relatives—I loved taking in new experiences, meeting new people and, above all, creating memories,” Hall says.

That love of adventure is why Hall never felt called to a particular career, but knew she wanted to do something that has a positive impact on people.

Hall attended Denison University for her undergraduate studies with a communications major and then Georgetown University to pursue a master’s degree focused on political communication. She later worked for Charles Ryan Associates (CRA), a public relations and advertising agency.

“It was a perfect fit—hitting both the office life and the creative, fun spirit I had,” Hall says. “Working at CRA taught me so much about the communications industry in a really fun atmosphere.”

Hall now manages communications for HospiceCare, West Virginia’s largest and longest-serving nonprofit hospice, palliative and bereavement care provider.

“Hospice has played such an important role in my life personally that when the opportunity arose to work to spread the word on how amazing HospiceCare is, I jumped at it,” Hall says.

She also serves as the executive director of the Hospice Council of West Virginia, where she is an advocate for all the hospices in the state on both the state and national level.

“What I love most about these positions is that they allow me to be a cheerleader for the amazing benefits of hospice,” Hall says. “So many people have misconceptions about what hospice is, how it works and who can benefit from it, and I have the opportunity to educate legislators, community members and health care partners on what a gift hospice truly is to patients and families. There isn’t a single day that goes by where someone doesn’t approach me to tell me how important hospice has been to their family.”

Hall also serves on the Kanawha- Charleston Humane Association’s board of directors and the Partners in Health Network Grant Committee and volunteers with the Friends of Clay group. Additionally, it’s important to her to donate blood every eight weeks, and she has previously donated her hair to supply wigs for children and adults who have lost their hair due to illness or treatment.

“Giving of myself and my time is such an easy way for me to make connections with my community and be of service—no matter how small that service may be,” Hall says.

Hall is a spin instructor at Zenergy Cycling, which gives her the opportun­ity to work with community partners and identify local charities for charity rides. She previously served on the board of directors for the Appalachian Children’s Chorus as the marketing chair.

She loves working in West Virginia because she knows the work she does positively impacts the wonderful people in this state.

“I have had the opportunity to travel to many places; I have lived in many cities and even other countries and the people of West Virginia always stand out to me,” she says. “I have lost count of the number of times someone has gone out of their way to make me or someone I know feel welcome and cared for.”