Hospitality | Tourism 2023: CHRISTY S. COLEMAN
As head of the foundation administering two museums of early American history, Coleman is at the forefront of educators weaving a nuanced and inclusive story of American history. Coleman is the first woman and the first person of color to serve as executive director of the state agency that operates Jamestown Settlement and the [...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2023: SHERRIE ARMSTRONG
The Community Foundation for a greater Richmond has been committed to improving the quality of life for residents in the Richmond region for more than 50 years. Last year the foundation awarded more than $4.6 million to 125 local organizations through its annual Community Impact grants program, helping individuals and families b[...]
Education 2023: KATHERINE A. ROWE
In 2018, Rowe took the helm of the nation’s second-oldest university, William & Mary, bringing with her a diverse educational background that includes degrees in literature, graduate work in cinema and media studies, and 16 years as an English professor and department chair at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. A Shake[...]
Transportation 2023: AUBREY L. LAYNE JR.
A former state secretary of finance and secretary of transportation under two governors, Layne currently chairs the powerful Virginia Port Authority, which oversees the Port of Virginia, one of the state’s primary economic engines. His five-year term on the board runs through June 2026. And in July, he marked two years at [...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2023: ISAM GHANIM
In his second year as president and CEO at ChildFund International, Ghanim continues to advance the organization’s mission of improving the well-being of children in some of the world’s poorest places. The 85-year-old international children’s charity has assisted more than 21.1 million children and family membe[...]
Economic Development 2023: TODD P. HAYMORE
Since 2018, Haymore has led Hunton Andrews Kurth’s global economic development wing, providing strategic advice to guide multinational and national companies to expand or relocate their businesses to Virginia. In July, he became rector of Virginia Commonwealth University. Formerly the state’s commerce and trade secre[...]
Real Estate 2023: ROBB ‘R.J.’ JOHNSON
With 30-plus years of industry experience, Johnson worked with The Staubach Co. beginning in 1995, ultimately serving as president for the mid-Atlantic region until it merged with Fortune Global 500 commercial real estate company JLL in 2008. Johnson has served JLL clients from offices in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washi[...]
Government | Politics 2023: MAMIE E. LOCKE
Locke was the Atlanta Historical Society’s archivist in 1981, when she was asked to interview for a political science teaching position at Hampton University, where 42 years later she is a professor emeritus. She served as vice mayor and mayor of Hampton before her election to the state Senate in 2004. As many of her [&hel[...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2023: THOMAS J. BALTIMORE JR.
Baltimore joined the lodging real estate investment trust in 2016, shortly before its 2017 spinoff from McLean-based Hilton Worldwide Holdings. He has led the company through some of its toughest times as the pandemic squelched business and leisure travel. Park continues to bounce back from the pandemic-related downturn, reporti[...]
Real Estate 2023: MATT MALONE
Seeking to provide job opportunities to blue-collar workers and skilled tradespeople, Malone started Groundworks in 2016. With more than 700 employees in the state and 4,300 worldwide, Groundworks provides residential foundation and water management solutions, including foundation repair, basement waterproofing, crawl space repa[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: D. JAMES BIDZOS
An early advocate of encryption in commercial software, Bidzos is an internet and cybersecurity pioneer. Verisign is the largest internet domain name registry and infrastructure provider. Any address with a .com or .net domain suffix is registered with Verisign. With 350 million registered addresses on its list and 3.5 million m[...]
Telecommunications 2023: MATTHEW J. DESCH
Iridium launched five spare satellites in May, completing its plans to upgrade the resilience of its constellation of communication satellites. It now has 66 operational crosslinked satellites and 14 spares. Iridium’s mobile voice and data satellite communications network is used in ships, planes and land vehicles and for [...]





















