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LORI COLLIER WARAN
As the first woman to lead NASCAR’s Richmond Raceway, Lori Collier Waran races circles around everyone — literally. In July 2022, Waran grabbed the steering wheel and took over as the raceway’s president. It marked a big career switch for Waran, who previously served as publisher of Richmond-based Style Weekly magazine and associate publisher and […]
REBECCA GELLER
Thirteen years ago, Rebecca Geller was a corporate lawyer who wanted more flexibility to work remotely so she could balance her work and family life. That aspiration led her in 2011 to found The Geller Law Group, a law firm dedicated to helping women like her balance parenting and their careers. Today, the firm employs […]
LAURA KOTTKAMP
As the executive director of three foundations at Virginia Commonwealth University, Laura Kottkamp considers herself to be a steward of both the city of Richmond and the commonwealth. Her work encompasses the university’s foundation, as well as those for the engineering college and the business school — managing and investing $250 million in assets, plus fundraising […]
AUTUMN R. VISSER
It’s relatively uncommon for an in-house corporate counsel to move to private practice, but Autumn Visser made this transition and has steadily ascended to leadership at Roanoke law firm Woods Rogers, which merged with Vandeventer Black last year. She joined Woods Rogers in 2014 as an associate attorney and is now a principal, focusing on […]
SUSAN R. RALSTON
Susan R. Ralston inspires people to do more than they think they are capable of. With more than 38 years of experience as a bank executive, she also holds an associate coaching certification from the International Coach Federation, which she uses as a work and life coach at the bank, helping employees set healthy boundaries […]
GRETA J. HARRIS
Greta J. Harris, a passionate affordable housing advocate, is the first Black woman to lead the Richmond region’s largest nonprofit community development corporation. Originally an architect, Harris shifted her focus to nonprofit community development after being laid off from her career as an architect in 1988. “That initial disappointment changed the whole trajectory of my […]
AMY CARRIER
Amy Carrier is the first woman to lead Centra Health, where she oversees 7,300 employees and the operations of 50 medical care locations, including four hospitals. Since becoming Centra’s CEO in 2021, Carrier has overseen the creation and implementation of a $500 million modernization plan — the largest in the organization’s 36-year history — that […]
CASSIE HARTOGS
Cassie Hartogs became a partner at her regional accounting network when she was 33 and has continued to rise in the leadership ranks over the past 18 years. In May, Hartogs became BDO’s tax people operations managing partner, working with more than 3,800 tax professionals across the U.S. and streamlining operations and client offerings across […]
ELENA EDWARDS
Elena Edwards leads by example — she rolls up her sleeves and does the same caliber of work she expects from her team. “Stay focused on employees and what matters to them, and ensure you’re always listening. That’s what drives success for any company,” she says. “You can be there working by their side, and […]
DOLLY OBEROI
“Be unafraid.” That’s the top advice that Dolly Oberoi, CEO of McLean-based technology company C2 Technologies Inc., has for up-and-coming leaders because women are largely underrepresented in both the tech and defense industries, she says. C2 Technologies provides online learning services for aerospace and defense clients. “If you are confident in your domain expertise and […]
BETSY FRANTZ
Betsy Frantz arrived at Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN) in February 2020 as its interim director. “I thought I was going to be there for nine months,” she says. Then the pandemic hit, and her job became all about crisis management as the nonprofit, which serves the homeless, continued to operate 24/7, 365 days […]
DR. DIXIE TOOKE-RAWLINS
When Dr. Dixie Tooke-Rawlins helped found the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2001, doctors were sparse in Southwest Virginia. VCOM’s mission was to change that unhealthy situation, and under Tooke-Rawlins’s watch, it has done just that. Osteopathic physicians take a holistic approach to medicine, but like M.D.s, they attend four-year medical schools and […]
