Community & Guest List
BWS Johnson is a purveyor of terrible puns and artisanal flower arrangements. Brooke's work has appeared in local galleries as juried impermanent art.
She is a proud member of Alexandria, Virginia's West End Business Association.
Addicted to sowing and tending the seeds that bind communities, Blooms of Paradise has been giving away the store since 2018. In 2020, the Commonwealth certified it as a woman-owned micro-business.
She is a proud member of Alexandria, Virginia's West End Business Association.
Addicted to sowing and tending the seeds that bind communities, Blooms of Paradise has been giving away the store since 2018. In 2020, the Commonwealth certified it as a woman-owned micro-business.
Brad Halsey is a modern-day MacGyver. He works to empower people from all places and backgrounds to solve the hardest, most important, and time-critical technical problems.
As CEO and Co-Founder of Building Momentum, Brad leads a team of Ph.D.s, engineers, scientists, innovators, trainers, makers, educators, artists, and thinkers to solve for impact in their community. Making Alexandria, the armed forces, and the region a better place – ready to solve the hard problems ahead.
As CEO and Co-Founder of Building Momentum, Brad leads a team of Ph.D.s, engineers, scientists, innovators, trainers, makers, educators, artists, and thinkers to solve for impact in their community. Making Alexandria, the armed forces, and the region a better place – ready to solve the hard problems ahead.
Brenda Batista is the Founder of Inspiring Company Culture where she helps leaders transform their work environments to be places where everyone is heard, valued, and appreciated. Brenda is an expert in establishing high-performing teams and helping business leaders eliminate the bottlenecks that are limiting their growth.
For the past 25 years, Brenda has focused on performance improvement and how the power of teams helps sustain business results. She helps teams engage and align with desired business outcomes through coaching and consulting engagements.
Brenda holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Systems Engineering, a Masters in Health Administration, and a Juris Doctorate.
For the past 25 years, Brenda has focused on performance improvement and how the power of teams helps sustain business results. She helps teams engage and align with desired business outcomes through coaching and consulting engagements.
Brenda holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Systems Engineering, a Masters in Health Administration, and a Juris Doctorate.
Brandt Ricca hails from Tappahannock, VA via Gonzales, Louisiana and has been in Washington D.C. for nine years. With a background in events and marketing, two years ago he launched Nora Lee by Brandt Ricca, Nora Lee being his grandmother who was a Louisiana socialite and business owner. Starting solely as an events company, Brandt has traveled the road most business owners do in the beginning and has constantly evolved (and has been noticed many times in the media for it), and it's led him to what now is a creative marketing agency, Nora Lee by Brandt Ricca.
Birch Thomas is a commercial photographer born and raised in the DC area. She picked up a camera for the first time in 2016 and in five short years she went from taking photos in her spare time to running her own photography business and making it her full-time career. After a decade of working a 9-5 in operations and finance Birch took all of the skills and lessons she learned in her business experience to grow her side hustle into her own creative business. She works with a diverse range of local and national clients and enjoys the challenge that comes with creating something truly unique for every person she collaborates with. Her passion lies in creating work that supports the businesses of other creative entrepreneurs in their pursuit.
Bonnie Ortiz formed O2 Consulting Group, a premier professional services firm, in 2017 after spending almost a decade as the Chief Operating Officer for The Partnership Federal Credit Union. A recognized expert in strategy formation, process improvement, and project management, Bonnie now provides her clients with a comprehensive operational toolkit, aligning people, processes, and systems to corporate goals. She has worked with commercial for-profit and non-profit entities across numerous industries and has managed substantial budgets and staff as a leader within organizations of various sizes, from start-ups to multi-billion-dollar firms. Bonnie’s expertise is rooted in the achievement of operational excellence, focusing the organization’s executive team on advancing their priorities and achieving their desired results. Bonnie currently serves as the Commodore of the Herring Bay Yacht Club and as the Voce Chair of the Dream Queen Association Board of Directors, giving her time and expertise to cultivating the next generation of leaders.
Bri Seeley is a Creative Business Growth Strategist for Entrepreneurs. She is born catalyst who will help you grow your brand, maximize your impact and grow your profits by both transforming yourself and your business. Her expertise in counseling, psychology and entrepreneurship will support you in creating the success you desire on your terms. She is the author of the best-selling Permission to Leap and has been seen on The TODAY Show, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Yahoo! and more.
Beth McRae is president of The McRae Agency, celebrating 25 years in 2020. She has represented clients for PR work in numerous industries and has notable clients such as Google, Sprint, CBRE, KB Home, Sunny Delight and Solatube International, to name a few. She has received over 45 awards for her work, including the Bank of America Enterprise award. She has a journalism degree, a marketing degree and an MBA, unusual for her field.
Brandon is the CEO and Founder of Parkes Philanthropy, a social impact consulting firm, managing over 90+ years of collective experience. Parkes Philanthropy is dedicated to equip the non-profits, corporations and individuals with the ideas and resources and support they need to positively impact the world.
He previously served as a Senior Consultant for Bridge Philanthropic Consulting LLC, nations largest African-American fundraising firm. Prior, he was the Nonprofit Engagement Manager at CariClub, an AI tech company that connects young professionals to leadership roles on nonprofit boards.
He has formerly worked in a corporate philanthropic capacity for companies such as Morgan Stanley and Toyota.
Through these professional titles, he gained experience supporting effective philanthropic strategy that increases social impact, external/internal engagement and nonprofit capacity building. He was humbled to be named one of CauseArtists’s “20 Inspiring African Americans Impacting the World Through Social Impact & Social Innovation,” named one of Startup Boost’s NYC 33 under 33, and has been featured in several publications such as Black Enterprise, Blavity, Nonprofit Technology News, and Blacks in Technology. It’s Brandon’s passion to empower any constituent looking to make a positive social impact on the world.
He previously served as a Senior Consultant for Bridge Philanthropic Consulting LLC, nations largest African-American fundraising firm. Prior, he was the Nonprofit Engagement Manager at CariClub, an AI tech company that connects young professionals to leadership roles on nonprofit boards.
He has formerly worked in a corporate philanthropic capacity for companies such as Morgan Stanley and Toyota.
Through these professional titles, he gained experience supporting effective philanthropic strategy that increases social impact, external/internal engagement and nonprofit capacity building. He was humbled to be named one of CauseArtists’s “20 Inspiring African Americans Impacting the World Through Social Impact & Social Innovation,” named one of Startup Boost’s NYC 33 under 33, and has been featured in several publications such as Black Enterprise, Blavity, Nonprofit Technology News, and Blacks in Technology. It’s Brandon’s passion to empower any constituent looking to make a positive social impact on the world.
Brandyn Campbell combines her passions for communications and diversity to help businesses build and articulate their commitment to racial justice. The founder of Brandyn Campbell Communications, she has worked with high-profile clients, including the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL. Drawing on her 15 years of experience managing diversity issues in international education and facilitating Diversity & Inclusion trainings for educational leaders, Brandyn’s Antiracism Consulting helps organizations identify opportunities to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout their communications.
