Sign In
Free Newsletter
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 […]
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 […]
CHRYSSA ZIZOS
Chryssa Zizos tells her staff to aim to succeed or fail spectacularly — but whatever they do, don’t be average. “Average is the kiss of death,” Zizos says. “Anyone can be average. Special people do more.” Twenty-five years ago, Zizos started her own media and communications firm in her Alexandria home. Since then, Live Wire […]
MURPHY TUOMEY
During her 30-plus-year career in engineering and construction management, Murphy Tuomey has seen an increase in the number of women taking industry positions at all levels — both in the private and public sectors. And she’s been there along the way to mentor women entering the industry, and even had a scholarship dedicated in her name […]
MARY ANN GILMER
Workforce development and community betterment are key goals of Roanoke-based Goodwill Industries of the Valleys. And Mary Ann Gilmer, the nonprofit’s chief strategy and people officer, is furthering its mission through GoodCare, a medical workforce training program. The program connects Roanoke Valley residents to workforce training in health care — something that has become even [&hellip[...]
Taking the reins
To quote the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. … It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” In Year Two of our Virginia Business Women in Leadership Awards, we received more than 300 nominations — exceeding last year’s nominations by more than […]
JENNIFER WAKEFIELD
Jennifer Wakefield is on a mission to turn the greater Richmond area into the top midsize region in the U.S. for business. To accomplish her goal, she is laser-focused on persuading companies to relocate to the area. She aims to create enough jobs to encourage youth to stay, instead of moving to other cities to […]
BECKY BAREFORD
To become the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s chief operating officer, Becky Bareford had to embrace a paradox: She had to get “comfortable with being uncomfortable.” Her moments of greatest doubt also were her “greatest learning moments,” she says, and many learning moments later, she now oversees the bank’s $400 million annual operating budget and […]
KATHRYN FALK
Kathryn Falk’s interest in politics led to her career in telecommunications. After working as a congressional aide, she saw women entering the cable broadband industry and realized she, too, wanted to join. “The industry is so unique because it’s not a utility. I mean, we think of it as a utility today, [but] it was […]
