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Roanoke City Council appoints Vivian Sanchez-Jones to fill vacant seat

Sanchez-Jones to fill seat left by Djuna Osborne last month

ROANOKE, Va. – There’s no longer a vacant seat on the Roanoke City Council.

Roanoke City Council appointed Vivian Sanchez-Jones on Monday to fill the seat left by Djuna Osborne, who left council last month before her term expired.

“I am overwhelmed because it’s something that I’ve been wanting to do, to serve my community in a different capacity," Sanchez-Jones said.

City leaders said Sanchez-Jones has worked with several hundred Latino families in the Roanoke Valley through her work with the Refugee and Immigration Services program, which is part of Commonwealth Catholic Charities.

“They brought different things to the possibility of being on city council, and we chose Vivian Sanchez-Jones as bringing something that the council has never had," Councilman Bell Bestpitch said about the final five nominees.

Sanchez-Jones started as a school liaison for immigrant children in 2004. City leaders said Sanchez-Jones has helped Latino families navigate the school system and community services.

She also serves the community in several capacities, including on the Virginia Board of Counseling, the Latino Task Force Committee, the Complete Count Committee, the Board of Counseling, and the City of Roanoke and Virginia Tech-Carilion School of Medicine diversity board, according to city leaders.

Sanchez-Jones is also President of Avancemos Roanoke, which is a community organization that helps Latinos in the Roanoke Valley.