Create Healthy Announces New Roles at Foundation and Wellness Center

Create Healthy, the Fredericksburg-based foundation investing in the health and wellness of the Hill Country, is restructuring internal operations to align two long-established team members.

J.P. Phelps will move from the Perry and Ruby Stevens Wellness Center to a new position within the foundation as director of community engagement. Dawn Bourgeois will assume the role of Wellness Center director, a position she held previously from 1993 to 2017.

“The Stevens Wellness Center is a community gem and integral to Create Healthy’s mission to invest in the health and wellness of the Hill Country and empower our communities to build a healthy future,” said Jayne Pope, RN, CEO, Create Healthy. “Having both J.P. and Dawn in managerial roles at the foundation and Wellness Center heightens our work with and for the community.”

Phelps joined the Wellness Center in 2018 after serving as director of nutrition services at Hill Country Memorial Hospital where he was instrumental at building a partnership with the Fredericksburg Farmer’s Market to incorporate the market’s produce and products into the hospital’s dietary offerings and at implementing the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards Program for performance excellence and organizational improvement.

“J.P. has deep relationships within our community and shares Create Healthy’s mission,” said Pope. “Serving as Create Healthy’s director of community engagement is a perfect fit both for his expertise and passion and for Create Healthy, which seeks to integrate the community into all aspects of our work.”

Dawn Bourgeois is a longtime Fredericksburg resident with decades of experience as a leader of community health and wellness. She is a past chair of the FISD School Health Advisory Committee. and the founding organizer of the popular Fredericksburg Wildflower Run & Walk.
While Director of HCM Wellness Center, Bourgeois served on the Malcolm Baldrige Leadership Team. She held a position with Creative Awards in Fredericksburg as a process management consultant. She is a member of the Fredericksburg Rotary Club, where she also served as president, and holds a B.S. in broadcasting and nutrition from Texas Christian University.

“I’m delighted Dawn is coming back to a role she held near and dear to her heart and was instrumental to the Wellness Center’s growth and long-lasting impact in our community,” said Pope.

The Wellness Center is synonymous with health and wellness in Fredericksburg, and Dawn’s history with the organization and passion for fitness for life will ensure that continues.”