Keynote speaker Kim B Miller took the stage and began the 2024 Women Impact Virginia Summit with a non-traditional haiku, catching the audience of about 100 women leaders, innovators, and community members off guard. 

"Are Your Roots Adaptable?" she challenged, her voice a melodic blend of poetry and purpose. 

As the first Black poet laureate for Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park, Miller knew something about breaking ground and growing in unexpected places.

"You were looking for someone powerful. I handed you the mirror,” Kim recited during her morning session, one of many prompts for her listeners to engage in self-reflection and recognize their own power. 

The third-annual Women Impact Virginia Summit at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg emphasized the power of women in leadership and helped to build confidence and skills among aspiring leaders across industries. The theme, “Rooted in Purpose,” invited speakers to center their topics about finding, keeping, and balancing purpose with growth. 

Participants also chose from a selection of breakout sessions featuring both tactical workshops and storytelling sessions throughout the day. The morning breakouts featured physician and author Sheetal Ajmani; Alex Veatch, CEO and creative director at Letterpress Communications; and fine artist, researcher, arts administrator, and educator Eliza Lamb, who used directed art to challenge participants to explore themselves and their personal journeys. 

Diana Schwartz, CEO of Danville’s River District Association; Rachel Coleman, a writer and author; and Aaisha Hamid, vice president of diversity and inclusion at Alliant Insurance; spoke in the afternoon breakout period. Topics for the sessions focused on finding purpose, preserving boundaries, maintaining balance in growth, and harnessing radical action and risk to create advancement. 

Three women sit on chairs on a stage.
Virginia Tech's Victoria Ferguson (from left), Mikaela David-John, and Mackenzie Locklear spoke on the Hokie Highlight panel. Photo by Diane Deffenbaugh for Virginia Tech.

Each year, the Women Impact Virginia summit features a Hokie Highlight segment to highlight work being done by Virginia Tech students, staff, and faculty to further women’s growth, leadership, and empowerment. The Hokie Highlight panel at this year’s summit included speakers who are enrolled members of the Monacan Nation, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, and Lumbee Tribe and invited them to discuss the past, present, and future of Indigenous communities.

  • Victoria Persinger Ferguson, program director for Solitude and Fraction House at Virginia Tech, spoke about her career-long efforts to further Indigenous representation at the university and beyond.
  • Mikaela David-John, associate director of the Student Opportunities and Achievement Resources (SOAR) program at Virginia Tech, shared her experiences as an underrepresented minority during her undergraduate and graduate studies, and described her work to promote Indigenous identity and representation within the university community.
  • Mackenzie Locklear, president of the Virginia Tech chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and Vice President of Native@VT, provided powerful insights into her experiences as an Indigenous student and leader at Virginia Tech, as well as her broader engagement in various communities.

The discussion highlighted the critical importance of Indigenous voices in advancing cultural awareness, representation, and advocacy within higher education and beyond.

“Chef T” Gregoire of Union 41 restaurant in Bristol closed out the day. Inspired by her deep connection to her roots and her desire to bridge the gap between the family and farm, Gregoire has embarked on a mission to create a dining experience that celebrates the African diaspora's rich flavors while incorporating Appalachian seasonal ingredients and her professional flair. 

She described to summit participants how her grandmother's influence of cooking and living in the islands at a young age gave her the strong roots she needed to pursue a meaningful career as chef and restaurant owner, while the social climate around the pandemic influenced her career path. 

Women Impact Virginia is a collaboration between the university’s Commonwealth Campus Centers in Richmond, Roanoke, Newport News, and Abingdon, and the Reynolds Homestead in Patrick County, all part of Outreach and International Affairs.

See a photo gallery from the summit.

- Written by Kristin Hylton

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