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Wonder women
At an early June networking reception to celebrate this year’s Virginia Business Women in Leadership Awards winners, many in attendance pointed out how unusual it was for dozens of women executives from across various industries to join together in the same room. Held at law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP’s Richmo[...]
JOANNE INMAN
Since 2016, Joanne Inman has seen tremendous growth during her tenure at Sentara Leigh Hospital, one of Norfolk-based Sentara Health’s largest hospitals. Sentara Leigh’s emergency department surged from seeing more than 70,000 patients a year to 93,000 patients in 2022, while inpatient and obstetrics admissions increased by [...]
MY LAN TRAN
During the past 12 years, My Lan Tran has led an organization giving a voice to more than 187,000 Asian American-owned enterprises in Virginia: the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce. The chamber’s executive director, she also is administrator of the Virginia Asian Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps develop educat[...]
LINDA HUTSON GREEN
Throughout her career, Linda Hutson Green has been the only woman on her work team more than once, but it hasn’t prevented her from making an impact. Today, she’s the first woman to hold the role of vice president of economic development for the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, in addition to directing and [&hel[...]
KIMBERLY CHRISTNER
During her 35-year career in hospitality, Kimberly Christner has seen major changes in female representation in her industry. “For many of those years, I might be the only female at the table in a leadership position,” she says, “but that has changed, thankfully.” As president and CEO of Cornerstone Hospitality LLC, Chri[...]
ERIN BURCHAM
Erin Burcham says she has “a growth mindset,” making her a perfect fit to lead Verge, an umbrella organization for the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council and the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP). Burcham’s job is to pursue initiatives that can expand the tech and life sciences sector of the Roanoke Vall[...]
MELANIE McGRATH
Since 2013, Melanie McGrath has worked for Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. and its subsidiary, Newport News Shipbuilding, and she’s seen some massive federal contract awards come in — especially since 2019, when she was promoted to director of its submarine division. In February, HII broke ground on a facility to support[...]
‘A generational shift’
Updated June 29 Politicians like to suggest every new election is the most important of our lifetimes, but Virginia’s off-off-year state legislative elections in 2023 might actually live up to the billing for once. In November, voters will elect representatives to all 140 seats in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, in[...]
AISHA McGILL
Since joining Chantilly-based Koniag Government Services (KGS) four years ago, Aisha McGill has been instrumental in standing up several units at the Alaska native-owned government contractor, including its IT department and marketing and communications organization, as well as a unit focused on compliance. But what McGill takes[...]
Not by coincidence
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander has a vision for his city that includes increasing revenue without creating additional taxes for residents. His focuses in achieving that goal include tourism, hospitality and entertainment — familiar parts of neighboring Virginia Beach’s economy. However, unlike Virginia Beach, he poi[...]
JENNIFER DeBRUHL
In 2021, Jennifer DeBruhl’s husband, Mark, passed away after a 3-month battle with cancer. Before this tragedy, DeBruhl was preparing to retire from her public service career and transition into the private sector. However, life had other plans for DeBruhl’s career path, too. The state’s transportation secretary asked her [...]
Norfolk purchases struggling MacArthur Center
In early June, Norfolk City Council members approved plans for the city to purchase the struggling MacArthur Center downtown mall for up to $18 million. The 23-acre mall is owned by Wells Fargo & Co., which holds the mall following a loan default by MacArthur Center’s previous owner, Connecticut-based Starwood Property Tru[...]
