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You are hereBoard Members

 

Meet the Board of Directors

 

VBIA’s Board of Directors is comprised of a talented group of professionals who are dedicated to furthering entrepreneurship and small business development in Virginia.

 

VBIA Officers

 

President

William (Bill) E. Bean
Director
5308 Discovery Park Boulevard
Williamsburg, VA 23188
(757) 221-7825
 
Bill Bean is the Director, Technology and Business Center, College of William & Mary. He graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in electrical engineering. He spent over 30 years in technology based organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 1000 companies. His responsibilities have included those of engineering, sales and marketing management, and general manager and president for divisions of John Fluke Manufacturing Company (USA and The Netherlands), Marconi Instruments (The Netherlands, France, and USA), Schlumberger Smart Cards, and Wandel & Golterman’s Automatic Test Equipment Division. He later formed his own consulting company, RB Associates, which specialized in serving small technology companies. In addition to his duties as Director of the Technology and Business Center at the College of William & Mary, he is also managing the James City County Business Incubator. 

 

Vice President

Daniel (Dan) Girouard
Asset Manager
City of Hampton Dept. of Economic Development
1 Franklin Street, Suite 600
Hampton, VA  23669
(757) 728-5169
dgirouard@hampton.gov
 
Dan Girouard has worked for over 20 years in the field of community and economic development and has been employed by state, county and municipal governments, and as a corporate consultant with Ernst & Young. He has worked in the states of Colorado, Florida, Texas, and Virginia. Dan has honed his expertise in the areas of economic and community development, comprehensive and strategic planning, the development and implementation of state and local programs, program management and analysis, tax increment financing, and the creation of business assistance centers and business incubators. Mr. Girouard has undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Economics from the University of Northern Colorado and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning with an emphasis in Economic Development from the University of Colorado at Denver.

 

Secretary

Nancy Parrish
Small Business Development Manager, Franklin Southampton Economic Development, Inc.
Director, The Franklin Business Incubator
601 N. Mechanic Street, Suite #300
Franklin, VA  23851
(757) 562-1958 x303
nparrish@franklinsouthamptonva.com
 
Nancy Parrish, a native of Franklin, Virginia, was hired as the Small Business Development Manager for Franklin Southampton Economic Development, Inc. in 2007.  In this capacity, one of her primary responsibilities is managing the Franklin Business Incubator.  Since she was hired, Parrish has grown the client list from 14 to 28 businesses, graduating 8 companies in 4 years.  The Franklin Business Incubator received the Virginia Economic Development Association's Economic Development award for cities with a population of 10,000-15,000 in 2009; and, the regional award for the same by the Southeastern Economic Development Council in 2010.  Her successful bid for approximately $800,000 in local, state, and federal grant money has allowed the completion of the build-out of the incubator which opened in Spring 2006, expanding  the space to just over 40,000 square feet and enhancing its services.  Some of her proudest moments include when her first signed client - Highground Services, Inc. - received the VBIA's Client of the Year award in 2009, and was the first runner-up for the same award from the NBIA the following year.  This client was also recently named as the Franklin Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce's 2010 Small Business of the Year at their annual meeting held in March.
Prior to this, Parrish was a director with Franklin City Public Schools for 7 years after having been employed in various sales departments with Union Camp Corporation for almost 27 years.
Parrish received her undergraduate degree from Radford University and her Masters dregree from Virginia Tech.  She is extremely involved in her community where she sits on the Board for the Downtown Franklin Association, Franklin City Public School's Career and Technical Education Committee, and the Tourism Steering Committee.  She is also very active in her church and is a member of both the Virginia Business Incubator Association and the National Business Incubator Association.

Treasurer 

Judy Barral
Director
Fairfax Innovation Center
4031 University Drive, Suite 200
Fairfax, VA  22030
(703) 277-7701
jbarral@gmu.edu
 
Judy Barral was hired as the Director of the small business incubator program at George Mason University in January 2004.  In this position, Barral has grown the client list from 23 to 90 incubator clients, graduating 26 companies in 6 years and expanding the incubator space to 30,000 square feet.
 
Prior to this, Barral was Senior Project Manager for 10 years at Westar Group of Washington, DC, an international, privately held investment firm. Barral analyzed business opportunities and helped launch several new ventures, both in the United States and abroad.
 
Barral also spent several years with two French organizations, Arianespace and the LeClerc Group, setting up offices in Washington for their expansion efforts in the US.
 
After graduating from the University of Maryland, Barral lived in France for 10 years, where she earned a business degree in Wine Marketing in Bordeaux. Her proudest professional accomplishment during this period was selling advertising space to French businesses, known for their deep distrust of all things marketing.
 
 

VBIA Directors

 
Brian Baker
Executive Director for Entrepreneurship and Business Development
Center for Economic Development
University of Mary Washington
1125 Jefferson Davis Parkway, Suite 400
Fredericksburg, VA  22401
(540) 654-1096
 
Brian is the Executive Director for Entrepreneurship and Business Development at the University of Mary Washington's Center for Economic Development.  In that role he oversees the UMW Small Business Development Center, the Government Contracting Assistance Center, the Professional Services Center, Business Constellation, and several partnered business development initiatives.  In other capacities, he serves as a member of the Rappahannock Economic Development Corporation and the Corporate Development Committee, the Stafford County Economic Forum, the Virginia Small Business Development Center's Strategic Planning Committee, the Germanna Community College Workforce and Community Education Advisory Board, and the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce Leadership Fredericksburg Advisory Board.
 
Brian earned a BA in Economics and an MBA in Management from Mary Washington College.  He earned a Business Analyst Certification from the VSBDC in 2011.  In 2010 he was recognized as the VSBDC State Star for contributions in business development.
 
 
Jason Berry
Executive Director
851 French Moore Jr. Boulevard
Abingdon, VA  24210
(276) 492-2060
 
Jason Berry is the Executive Director of the Virginia Highlands Small Business Incubator, Inc. located in Abingdon, VA. He is a native of Abingdon, Virginia, and graduated from Abingdon High School in 1994, a graduate of East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2000.
 
Before returning to Abingdon in 2006, Jason spent six years working for the Department of Defense. He worked four years in the Pentagon for the Department of the Army and two years at the White House Military Office. In 2008, Jason was elected as a member of the Abingdon Town Council.
 
 
Jim Flowers
Director
2200 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000
Blacksburg, VA  24060
(540) 443-9100
 
Jim is now proudly approaching four decades as a senior executive and consultant to technology-based companies, most recently as architect and Director of the VT KnowledgeWorks business acceleration program at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. He is the current Chair of the Virginia Business Incubation Association.
 
Jim has served two companies as President, both university technology spin-outs, one from the University of Texas at Austin, and the other from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Both were acquired by major software companies.
 
Jim currently serves locally as founding president of the Board of Sustainable Blacksburg, regionally as a Board Member of the NewVA Corridor Technology Council, and as a Board Member of the Virginia Business Incubation Association.
 
He received his BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, and his MBA from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
 
Jim blogs at www.startwithmoxie.com and his first book, Moxie and other fundamental entrepreneurial concepts, was published in 2009.
 
 
James (Jim) K. Martin
Executive Director
Downtown Front Royal, Inc.
5658 Browntown Road
Front Royal, VA  22630
(540) 631-0006
sansfacon@comcast.net
 
Jim Martin currently serves as Executive Director of Downtown Front Royal, Inc., a community-based non-profit organization working with both the public and private sectors to preserve, develop, and promote Front Royal's historic downtown.  He is also a counselor with SCORE, providing professional counseling and mentoring to maximize the success of existing and emerging small businesses in the Northern Shenandoah Valley region.  In these capacities, he has collaborated with the Warren County Economic Development Authority and a private organization to found the Warren Incubator Network, and has expanded that into the Warren Entrepreneurial Network, focusing the efforts of local service providers on supporting entrepreneurs.  Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer for PRAMM Consulting, Ashburn, Virginia, where he managed multiple contracts with the National Science Foundation and US Department of Education.  Prior to PRAMM, Jim had an extensive military career in the United States Army.  He opened and managed field offices in the former Soviet Union, coordinating Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction programs.  A native of Richmond, Jim moved to Front Royal in 2001, and is a member of the Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce and serves as a co-director of the Blue Ridge Job Readiness Academy, providing pre-vocational job training for entry level workers in Warren County and the Northern Shenandoah Valley region.
 
 
Oliver McBride
Executive Director
Crossroads Institute
1117 E. Stuart Drive
Galax, VA  24333
(276) 236-0391
omcbride@crossroadsva.org
 
Oliver McBride serves as the Executive Director of the Crossroads Institute, an innovative educational/economic development engine in Galax, VA, which seeks to revitalize the region's economy through an emphasis on entrepreneurship and education. The Institute hosts a business incubator, community college classes, and regional economic development efforts. Before joining the Crossroads Institute staff in 2007, Dr. McBride accumulated 36 years of credited experience in the Virginia public school system. He served in the Henry County and Halifax County Public Schools as a teacher, principal, and administrator; he spent the last 18 years of his career in education as Superintendent of Carroll County Public Schools. In addition to performing his duties as Executive Director of the Crossroads Institute, Dr. McBride is a past Chairman and current special advisor to the Board of Directors of the Council for Rural Virginia and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Rural Virginia.  Oliver holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Richmond and a Master’s and Doctorate in Education from the University of Virginia.
 
 
Ronald J. Monark
Director
Alan B. Miller Entrepreneurship Center
College of William & Mary, Mason School of Business
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA  23187
(757) 221-4100
ron.monark@mason.wm.edu
 
Ron is Managing Director of the Alan B. Miller Entrepreneurship Center and teaches entrepreneurship courses  at the Mason School of Business of the College of William & Mary.  He has 25 years' experience as Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer in information (Mitchell International and KLM Automotive Publishing), transportation (ATE International), and manufacturing (Morgan Yacht) companies.  He has also participated in five new business startups.  Ron's initial business experience was with McKinsey & Co.  He has also taught entrepreneurship and business strategy courses at UCSD for 12 years.  Ron received an AB degree in Economics (Phi Beta Kappa) from the College of William & Mary and an MBA from the University of Chicago.  He has served his alma mater in several capacities, including Chair of the W&M Foundation, Chair of Swem Library Board, Chair and/or regional director of several fundraising efforts and is currently Chair of the Smithsonian Libraries Board.
 
 

Ex-Officio

Sandy Ratliff
Business Services Manager
VA Dept of Business Assistance
P. O. Box 446
Richmond, VA  23218-0446
(804) 371-8260
sandy.ratliff@vdba.virginia.gov
 
Sandy Ratliff is a seasoned economic developer with over 20 years of experience serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. An accomplished industry recruiter and marketer, her vision and expertise in job creation and business retention have driven notable enterprise growth in the customer services industry in far southwest Virginia. Her achievements have been featured in Virginia Business, Telemarketing Magazine, Bristol Herald Courier, Roanoke Times, Southern Business Development, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and National Business Incubation Association.
As the Business Services Manager for the Virginia Department of Business Assistance (VDBA) in the agency’s Abingdon office which serves 23 localities in Southwest Virginia, Ratliff works with new and expanding businesses to offer startup consulting, community support services, sales growth mentoring, finance counseling and business information assistance.   Ratliff’s primary focus is entrepreneurship development. She has led the creation of several programs including the Enterprise Fair, Small Business Fundamentals Workshop Series, Social Media for Small Business and Virginia’s signature business outreach program, the Entrepreneur Express Workshop, that has expanded to every part of the state linking start-ups and existing businesses with resources needed for growth. Prior to joining VDBA, she served as Director of Marketing for the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and was responsible for the marketing and recruitment of new industry to a seven-county, one-city region. 
Ratliff is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute through the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, and Virginia Intermont College, Bristol, Virginia. She is a member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association, Mountain Empire American Red Cross Board of Directors, Birthplace of Country Music Marketing Committee, Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission Marketing Committee, Bristol TN/VA Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and Virginia Business Incubation Association Board of Directors and resides in Abingdon, Virginia.