Sign In
Free Newsletter
Recent Articles from Beth JoJack
ANNA BONET | CEO, Elizabeth River Crossings and Abertis USA
Anna Bonet moved from Barcelona to Virginia in 2021 to lead Spanish toll-road management company Abertis’ first U.S. company, Elizabeth River Crossings, which operates the downtown and midtown tunnels that run between Norfolk and Portsmouth through a public-private partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation. During her tenure at Elizabeth River Crossings and in her […]
SHARON BRICKHOUSE MARTIN | Vice president of health services integration, VHC Health
After serving on the VHC Health Board of Directors, Sharon Brickhouse Martin joined the not-for-profit, 537-bed health system as its vice president of health services integration in March 2023. Her responsibilities include leading and coordinating strategic initiatives and ensuring successful project completion. Collaborating with female physicians, Brickhouse Martin helped create VHC’s Char[...]
DENISE CHADWICK WRIGHT | CEO, Birmingham Green
In an industry plagued by workforce shortages, Birmingham Green, a nonprofit operating senior living facilities in Northern Virginia, enjoyed a 94.9% staff retention rate in the first quarter of 2025. In a 2025 article for McKnight’s Senior Living, Denise Chadwick Wright, the organization’s CEO since 2017, explains that Birmingham Green accomplished this through early engagement, [&hel[...]
ANDREA COPELAND | President and CEO, Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce
In May, Andrea Copeland became the first Black president and CEO in the 112-year history of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. The day Copeland learned she would be the chamber’s leader, she sat in her office “wearing the weight” of the news. “That mantle is major, and I don’t take it lightly,” she says. […]
KELLY ROENKER CORDOVA | Chief of staff and vice president for strategic initiatives, Virginia Wesleyan University
Since taking her current role in 2022, Kelly Roenker Cordova has guided major efforts at Virginia Wesleyan University, including the $200 million “Transformation Now!” capital campaign, the relocation of the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art to VWU’s campus and the integration of Sentara College of Health Sciences into the university. As part of her role, […]
ALEXANDRA CUNNINGHAM | Partner and head of litigation team, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Alexandra Cunningham’s litigation and risk management practice focuses on product liability, toxic tort and environmental litigation, food contamination claims, and wrongful death and personal injury defense, including mass torts, class actions and multidistrict litigation. She defends Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation nationally and has led arbitrations before the Internationa[...]
KIM DAVIS | Executive director, Friends of Southwest Virginia, ’Round the Mountain Artisan Network and the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Foundation
Building an inclusive creative economy in 19 counties, four cities and 53 towns requires more than vision — it demands the ability to unite communities around shared goals and to secure multimillion-dollar investments. Named executive director of a trio of entities that promote Southwest Virginia’s creative economy and tourism in 2021, Kim Davis has worked […]
DORRIE FRANZELLO-KURTZ | Principal and client accounting and advisory services practice lead, Yount, Hyde & Barbour
With more than two decades of accounting experience, Dorrie Franzello-Kurtz focuses on attest and tax engagements for the construction industry and small businesses. She takes a strategic, forward-looking approach to her work, according to her nominator. Whether advising a client on accounting software transitions, improving workflows or guiding long-term financial strategy, Franzello-Kurtz “bri[...]
DEBORAH GANDY | Senior managing director and wealth advisor and relationship manager, Chevy Chase Trust
The first Black cheerleader for her middle and high schools in Greensboro, North Carolina, Deborah Gandy knows a thing or two about blazing trails. In 1998, U.S. Trust (now Bank of America Private Bank) hired Gandy as a business development officer, making her the first Black person in that role in the wealth management firm’s […]
CHRISTINE GUSTAFSON | Vice president of marketing and public relations, The Breeden Co.
In 2020, Christine Gustafson joined Breeden as the first female on the real estate development company’s executive team. “That milestone wasn’t just symbolic — it marked a shift in how we approached leadership, communication and visibility as an organization,” she says. Gustafson was also the company’s first executive-level marketing expert. “The company’s philosoph[...]
