Returning to her roots was something that Sullivan native Jennifer Wright Lincoln always knew she wanted to do. She also knew that she wanted to give back to the community that shaped her life and positioned her for success.

In 1990, at the age of 21, the Indiana State University graduate accepted a summer internship in Alaska.

Little did she realize then that what was supposed to be a single summer would turn into meeting her future husband and working for more than 28 years with the U.S. Public Health Service.

Along the way to becoming a nationally recognized health and safety professional, she earned a master of science in environmental quality science from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and a Ph.D. in health policy and management with an emphasis on occupational injury control from John Hopkins University. In 2007, she created the NIOSH Commercial Fishing Safety Research and Design Program. In 2015, she established the NIOSH Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies. Working in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, her efforts led to a substantial decline in commercial fishing deaths, which has been recognized as one of the “Ten Greatest Public Health Achievements” of the decade. Not bad for someone who grew up in a landlocked state and didn’t see the ocean until she was 18.

When their twin daughters went off to college, Jennifer and her husband, Phil, moved from Alaska to Spokane, Washington, where they lived for a couple of years. Then, in December 2019, she retired from the U.S. Public Health Service, and the couple moved to an 80-acre farm near Fairbanks, Indiana, in early 2020.

“As you think about retirement, you want your money to go as far as possible, and Phil and I love a rural lifestyle. So, coming home to Sullivan County was a pretty easy decision,” said Lincoln.

“One of my favorite parts about moving back is being close to my family as well as the connections you make with others. I play pickleball with a group of women, some of whom I went to high school with and others whom I did not know previously. Having that solid group of women who meet every week and support each other is amazing. My book club is the same way. It’s really a game changer,” said Lincoln.

Retirement didn’t last long, however. In 2020, she was tapped by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to lead the Office of Agricultural Safety and Health and found herself drafting and reviewing a variety of guidance to protect workers from the COVID-19 infection. In 2022, Lincoln was recognized by the Journal of Agromedicine as a “Leader in the Field” for her contributions to occupational safety and health research and her efforts in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lincoln credits her rural upbringing in Sullivan with helping her understand how to relate to the commercial fishermen and others to improve the safety of their work.

“I think the reason I was able to have an impact was that I grew up with fishermen in the form of farmers. There are a lot of similarities between people who work the land and those who work the sea to produce food for the world. I think fishermen and farmers are very practical people who work very hard,” she explained.

“When you come in from a government institution, you can’t just show up and say I’m here from the government. You have to understand how the work is conducted, what the priorities are, and where does safety come into the process. They don’t want to be unsafe,” Lincoln said.

“You need to work with the workers, get onto their boats or into their fields to see how they operate, and then work with manufacturers to create the interventions that were designed by those workers to improve their own safety. It really has been the most rewarding part of what I’ve done,” she added.

“I’ve always been proud of the fact that I love a rural lifestyle, and I want to be able to advocate for the health and safety of rural workers, whether they’re agriculture, fishermen, miners or oil and gas workers.”

Since returning to Sullivan, Lincoln has also sought opportunities to give back to the community. She joined 100 Women Who Care, a local women’s philanthropy circle that meets quarterly with each member donating $100. Those donations are pooled to create a significant grant for a local nonprofit.

“I just love it. It’s so empowering. It’s really exciting to go to meetings and learn about the local nonprofit organizations and the services they provide. My favorite part of the meeting is at the end, where we invite a previous grant recipient to talk to us about how the grant we provided has made a difference,” Lincoln said.

That involvement led to her being asked to serve on the Sullivan County Board for the Wabash Valley Community Foundation. She currently serves as its chair.

In her leadership role, Lincoln began to think about how to make a bigger impact on her local community. In addition to her 100 Women Who Care involvement, she and Phil were already supporting an endowed fund created by her parents, Jan and Bill Wright, with the Community Foundation. After Lilly Endowment Inc. announced the Gift VIII initiative, she and Phil decided it was the right time for them to create an unrestricted community endowment fund.

“Gift VIII is a great way to create a fund because the $2 match from Lilly Endowment Inc. for every $1 donation immediately triples the impact of your gift. Creating such a fund normally requires a minimum donation of $5,000, but it can be done with a $1,700 donation by utilizing the $3,400 match Gift VIII provides,” she explained.

The matching program will end December 31, 2025 or sooner if the limited matching funds are exhausted before then. Gifts of any level to an existing unrestricted endowment fund can also qualify for the match.

“Our goal is to make sure that we have enough donations to claim every dollar we can receive. Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Gift VIII will provide up to $525,000 for Sullivan County if we can raise the $262,500 needed to reach our goal. I hope everyone will consider donating, at whatever level, to help us make a lasting impact on our community,” Lincoln said.

This would result in a total increase of $787,500 in unrestricted endowed funds for Sullivan County, which would mean an average increase of $31,500 on an annual basis, year after year, for grants addressing opportunities and needs in Sullivan County. The funds from these accounts are pooled and awarded through a competitive grant process reviewed by local volunteers.

“It’s amazing to see how our community is responding to this challenge. While we still have a way to go to meet our goal, we are seeing a lot of smaller gifts adding up to help us reach it. It’s great to see that a $20 gift becomes $60, a $100 gift becomes $300, and so on. Things add up quickly when each donation is automatically tripled,”  she said.

Lincoln also values the ongoing impact these funds will have since the original donation remains invested, and its proceeds are used to fund grants.

“Unrestricted endowment funds allow you to be relevant for decades. The endowment is there forever and for always, and the proceeds can be utilized to address evolving needs, which are likely to be different 100 years from now. It’s great to combine that flexibility with the permanency of making an impact that continues long after you are gone,” Lincoln said.