Lara Nagle works as the Community-Based Research Manager at the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VT-IPG), where she supports program evaluations for organizations at the local, regional and state level, including those in workforce development, public health, and housing. She also manages community-based research and engagement projects in Central Appalachia to assist stakeholders with strategic positioning and cross-sectoral partnership development. She brings more than fifteen years of professional and academic context working in, with, and for communities through environmental education, policy and advocacy, and cross-sectoral community development, with a research focus on the social, political, and economic dynamics impacting community change.