• Steinar M. Knutsen is the President of New Site Media Group, an Internet marketing and new media production company in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a seasoned strategic marketing professional with hands-on experience executing marketing campaigns at Fortune 500 companies and small to mid-size businesses.
Steinar is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, the author of the Internet Marketing Field Guide, founder and instructor at the Marketing Leadership Academy, and managing partner at Sproutsi, a social web and mobile application development firm. Steinar earned his MBA in eCommerce Strategy and International Marketing from Weatherhead School of Management.
You can catch up with Steinar on his blog at steinarknutsen.com.
• Alexandra Gibson - Overseeing and managing project development, scope and strategy is Alexandra Gibson, Managing Director. She has grown several businesses to be industry leaders by leveraging digital tools like Twitter and blogging to quickly catapult the companies to nationwide presence with limited start-up capital. Educated in economics and finance, and trained in sales and marketing, Alexandra combines understanding of business metrics and growth with creative marketing that shows results. Selected by Andy Sernovitz—adjunct professor in entrepreneurship and marketing at Northwestern and Wharton, best-selling marketing author, and President of SocialMedia.org—as one of the top 100 word-of-mouth marketers in North America, Alexandra provides strategic direction and works closely with project and account teams to develop and implement digital media campaigns.
She has presented at numerous events across the country, been interviewed for books, and been featured in several publications, including USA Today, where she was interviewed via Twitter with Jack Welch and Steve Case on the future of capitalism in the US. Alexandra also serves as Senior Director for Aspen Associates, a purchasing company that works with upscale and luxury hotel properties on capital expenditure projects across North America. Alexandra fine-tuned her socialness at Vanderbilt University where she graduated with a degree in Economics.
• Christine Kennedy is a leadership & life purpose coach and the Executive Vice President of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. She has coached people from all walks of life and works on variety of projects in the areas of workforce & economic development. She also administers the nationally award winning Leadership Lynchburg program. In 2010, she was appointed to the Governor’s Workforce Council which sets policy and direction for state workforce initiatives.
She has spearheaded the creation of several initiatives at the Chamber including the popular women’s series, the Women of Worth event, Business at Breakfast and the newest multi- regional endeavor, the SHAKA Project.
In her spare time she conducts on-site training and keynote presentations in the areas of strategic planning, leadership, personal development, change management, communication and attitude. She presents at local, state and national conferences and enjoys coaching individuals to achieve success in all areas of their lives.
• Stacey McDonough is the founder and principal attorney of McDonough Law, PLLC. The majority of her legal practice is devoted to representing local businesses and homeowners' associations and assisting individuals with business formation and transactions, estate planning and administration, and real estate matters. Stacey was an attorney with the Charlottesville firms Martin & Raynor, P.C. and MartinWren P.C. from 2006 to 2011 before founding McDonough Law, PLLC.
A lifelong Virginia resident, she graduated from Old Dominion University and earned her law degree from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association, and Women United in Philanthropy. In 2010, Stacey was voted a favorite local attorney by the readers of the Charlottesville Welcome Book. She lives in Crozet with her husband, two daughters, and one giant cat.
• Cheri Lewis represents clients in planning and closing their business and real estate transactions, and also practices land use and zoning, and community association law. Prior to opening Lewis Law Offices, Cheri founded The Closing Company, the first settlement and title company west of Richmond. She oversaw the growth of the Company to four offices and sold it to LandAmerica, then a Fortune 500 Company, in 2004.
Cheri received her bachelor’s degree in American Government from the University of Virginia and her law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William & Mary. She served for eight years on the Charlottesville Planning Commission, nine years on the Charlottesville Electoral Board, and is active on numerous other boards and efforts in the Charlottesville community.
• Brad Eure successfully ran, grew, and sold several radio stations in the Richmond, Norfolk and Charlottesville markets of Virginia to Saga Communications, a communications conglomerate in 2004, Brad is now an expert consultant to companies seeking to improve their management and build their success.
A graduate of The College of William and Mary with a BS in Business Administration, Brad is proud to have served as President of the Virginia Association of Broadcasters and as a member of the National Association of Broadcasters, as well as on the board of many local organizations including the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce and the Salvation Army. Brad is currently Vice Chair of the Board of Union First Market Bank, one of the largest independent banks in Virginia.
• Marga Odahowski is on the faculty of the University of Virginia as the Director of Studies for the International Residential College. Marga integrates information from the health sciences with cultural, social and spiritual studies to facilitate business leadership. She has developed and taught Mindful Leadership for the McIntire School of Commerce and as First Year Seminar at the University of Virginia.
Marga is a consultant with the Walker family Foundation, Kuttner-Kluge Foundation, and the Hawn Foundation, all which support the development of educational programs based in mindfulness. She is a member of the International Positive Psychology association, Mindfulness in education Network, the Association for the Contemplative Mind in Society and the International Coaching Federation.
