2021 Travel Team Member Feature: Gina Edwards
We are excited to continue our new blog series! In this series, we highlight members of our incredible 2021 Travel Team who will accompany us during Mission 2021 to Antigua, Guatemala.
Travel Team Members generously volunteer their time, talent, and energy toward our goal: providing the gift of mobility to patients in need. From October 2nd through October 9th 2021, we will be in Antigua to accomplish that goal.
This year’s trip to Antigua will be our sixth to Guatemala, and our eleventh trip overall. We thoroughly enjoy the time we spend at Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro, our partner hospital in Antigua, which we affectionately call our home away from home. We love the staff there and truly think of them all as family.
Let’s turn our attention to our next featured Travel Team Member, Gina Edwards! Gina is not only a Travel Team Member for Operation Walk Pittsburgh, she also works as part of the Dr. D neighborhood. As a Project Analyst at the UPMC Innovation Center, Gina is proud to develop holistic bone and joint health programs that make an impact on people’s lives.
Gina is originally from New Philadelphia, Ohio, where she thoroughly enjoyed exploring the parks and trails in the area. Ever since she was a child armed with Crayolas and printer paper, Gina has loved drawing, writing, and telling stories to the world. This love drew her to study journalism in college at Ohio University. This profession enabled her to keep meeting, talking with, and learning from new people as she helped share their stories.
After several years of working as an English instructor and freelance writer around the US and in South America, Gina headed to Pittsburgh for her graduate studies, hoping to apply her communication skills to solve problems in the public and nonprofit sector. She went on to earn a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. This degree involved several public health classes that allowed her to merge strategic storytelling practices with scientific and medical evidence to educate, support, and ultimately empower people in their personal health and wellness.
In 2019, Gina joined Operation Walk Pittsburgh as a Marketing/Communications Intern, and everything came together. She thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling that came with this role. From writing mission updates from the hospital in Guatemala, to delivering information about surgery to patients and families in Spanish, to snapping photos and making videos for Giving Tuesday fundraising campaigns, Gina knew she found a place where her love of stories, people, and health could intersect.
Outside of her work, Gina thoroughly enjoys traveling and yoga. Her favorite travel destinations have been in South America, including Peru, Argentina, and Chile.
All of our Travel Team Members work hard to meet a fundraising goal, helping to cover a portion of the total cost of critically needed supplies and equipment for Mission 2021. We are deeply thankful for each and every one of our Travel Team Members’ support!
“Going on this mission trip is easily the highlight of my year. I am so excited to return as a translator to connect with and support a whole new group of patients. I cannot wait to share more stories with our incredible community, who is there, supporting us every step of the way. ” - Gina
Please consider making a donation in Gina’s name to support her fundraising commitment. Remember, 100% of all donations made to Operation Walk Pittsburgh directly support patient care during the mission. Will you help Gina reach her fundraising goal?
