Local nurse and small business owner Erin Myers is running for Blair County coroner as a Republican candidate.

“I want to be coroner because I see our community of Blair County has a need for positive change in this office. I seek to bring the dedication of a full-time coroner that respects the fiscal responsibility Blair County taxpayers deserve,” Myers said.

“I believe wholeheartedly that the role of the coroner should serve an integral function by working in professional harmony with our community, law enforcement and public health professionals,” she added. “I am committed to providing Blair County with a coroner’s office that takes humble honor in providing accountability, professionalism and dignity to the community.”

If elected as coroner, Myers said she would provide professional services in the most efficient and fiscally responsible manner possible by bringing the most up-to-date technologies in forensic investigation and public health reporting to the county.

The 35-year-old candidate works as a nurse at Aveanna Healthcare and has experience in long-term care, private practice, hospice and correctional health care, according to a press release. She also has worked in medical billing and coding, auditing and health care informatics and provided vocational education in the medical and criminal justice fields for years.

Myers, who lives on Brush Mountain Road, Hollidaysburg, also owns the Harlequin Pepper Yoga studio in downtown Hollidaysburg.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Albright College and specialized degrees in health care administration, medical billing and coding and practical nursing from YTI. The candidate is a Holliday­sburg Area Senior High School graduate.

Myers teaches young professional dancers at the Allegheny Ballet Company and serves as board vice president for the Hollidaysburg Community Partnership and as chairwoman of the HCP marketing committee.

She is married to Jim and has four stepchildren.

Her campaign announcement event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 21 at the social hall at American Legion Park in Hollidaysburg.