Jarrod serves as the Community Development Regional Manager for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. He joined the Richmond Fed in January 2023, bringing almost three decades of experience in community development. He has designed, launched, and managed innovative programs that have brought together the public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to address complex social challenges. Prior to joining the Richmond Fed, Jarrod spent 12 years at Enterprise Community Partners, providing housing and community development technical assistance and capacity building support to nonprofits, neighborhoods, cities, counties, states, and the federal government.

Chris Thompson is the Director of Strategic Housing at Virginia Housing where he leads a team charged with developing and managing relationships with the Commonwealth’s Housing Services Delivery Network. Mr. Thompson coordinates the design and delivery of trainings intended to strengthen the ability of local officials, land use planners, planning entities, and housing developers to better address local affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization issues.

Edwin Gaskin is founder and president of Echelon Resources, Inc., a Virginia-based historic property redevelopment firm that specializes in redeveloping buildings that have outlived their original use and that often are blighting their host communities. The Echelon team works as a Developer/Owner across Virginia and North Carolina, often in smaller markets - working closely with the local government partners to produce a shared success. The Echelon team manages projects from concept to completion, including analyzing site feasibility, developing project financial models, managing investor participation, directing construction activities, and supervising sales and/or leasing activities. Edwin Gaskin also has 20+ years doing investment real estate and has extensive experience working in economic development at both the state and local government levels.

Ron Blackwood is Vice President at L.G. Flint General Contractors and Partner in the Blackwater Run neighborhood. With almost 30 years’ experience, Ron has designed and developed multiple multi- family communities, condominiums and residential. Ron has also rehabilitated 9 communities, over 500,000 SF of commercial space and redesigned numerous homes. He has extensive knowledge of development, construction, design and construction management.

Tracey Ballagh, Executive Director of Rush Homes and a U.S. Army veteran, dedicated nearly 19 years to serving the City of Lynchburg as a police officer and in Adult Protective Services. She is a passionate advocate for marginalized populations, working to advance affordable, accessible housing for those most in need.

Daryl is well-known in his Lynchburg community as a creative leader. He is an active real estate developer focusing on adaptive reuse through his development and construction company - Penny Lane - rebuilding + restoring commercial and residential mixed-use throughout forgotten spaces of Lynchburg. Previously he was VP of Marketing for luxury leather brand - Moore & Giles. Prior to his service at Moore & Giles he worked for more than 10 years as an Art Director in the advertising and marketing world. He has also served as Chairman of the Daily Bread and as an adjunct college professor for both Liberty University and the University of Lynchburg. Learn more about Daryl at: www.pennylaneproperties.com and www.darylcalfee.com

Sarah Quarantotto is the Executive Director of Miriam’s House in Lynchburg, VA. With a Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University, she has led the organization since 2010, expanding services and programs for households experiencing homelessness. In 2015 Sarah was recognized by Lynchburg Business Magazine as a Top 20 Under 40 Professional and in 2024 was recognized by Lynchburg Living Magazine as a Community Champion.

Bryan Phipps is the President and CEO of People Incorporated of Virginia, bringing nearly 26 years of experience in nonprofit development and management. He specializes in securing and deploying investment capital, project development, and community outreach to support economic development initiatives in low-income communities.

Terrick holds a Bachelors in Psychology, Bachelors in Biblical Literature, and Masters in Counseling. He has over 40 years’ experience working in Community Mental Health, mostly in residential programs such as foster care, transitional homes, and correctional institutions.

He has been the Director of the Lighthouse Community Center for 11 years and was instrumental in helping to develop and design the concept of the Lighthouse Beloved Community. The first of its kind, Community Land Trust, offering wraparound supportive services, on location, on a single tract of land.

Shelby Carney is the Special Projects Director at the Partnership for Housing Affordability (PHA), a nonprofit focused on expanding access to housing through policy, research, and collaboration. In her role, Ms. Carney works with local governments, developers, and key stakeholders to administer investment programs to build and preserve quality affordable housing in the Richmond region.

Michael Craig is a PhD Research Economist for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research, where he focuses on topic areas related to housing supply and affordability, mortgage finance, urban planning, and disaster resilience and recovery. Michael lives in downtown Lynchburg, sits on the board of the Fifth Street Community Development Corporation, and was previously an economics professor at the University of Lynchburg.

In August 2023, Stephen Versen began serving as Deputy Director the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. In this role he serves as the organization’s Chief Operations Officer, leading the development and implementation of the Commission’s strategic initiatives, managing Commission staff and taking the lead on economic development projects. Previously, Stephen spent nearly 15 years with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services administering the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) fund, an incentive grant program for attracting new and expanding agriculture- and forestry-based business to Virginia.

Stephen’s other work experiences include the City of Staunton’s Department of Economic Development and the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Virginia Main Street program, where he assisted communities with their downtown revitalization efforts. He most recently worked at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership as a Business Manager in Regional Talent Solutions and Business Outreach team. Stephen graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelors of Business Administration (Economics & History Majors) and received his Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University. He lives in Richmond with his wife and three children.

Tory is Program Manager for the Real Estate Office of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and has been part DHCD for nearly ten years. He currently manages the Enterprise Zone, Industrial Revitalization Fund, and Port Host Communities Revitalization Fund programs. He has also worked with the GO Virginia and Virginia Main Street programs in his time at DHCD. Tory has nearly 20 years of community and economic development experience at both the state and local levels in Virginia and Missouri.

Courtney Mailey is the Program Manager of Virginia’s Main Street America Coordinating Program. In addition to leading the VMS team, Courtney is a passionate small-scale real estate developer, and she has been working in community and economic development for 20+ years. She loves old buildings, fresh ideas and more. Courtney has worked with the International Economic Development Council, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, The Flax Trust of Northern Ireland, and the Virginia Wine industry.

Laura Dupuy works at the Virginia Community Development Corporation (VCDC), a non-profit equity firm investing in affordable housing, historic preservation and community development projects throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. For the past seven years, Dupuy has managed the activities of VCDC’s lending affiliate, Virginia Community Development Fund (VCDF), a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE) eligible to apply for and deploy New Market Tax Credits. She participates in the VCDC Development team, working to provide services in real estate development financing to projects and developers, many of whom are eligible to receive tax credits from programs such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Historic Preservation Tax Credits, and New Market Tax Credits.

Ms. Dupuy is the former executive director of the Lynchburg Neighborhood Development Foundation (LNDF), a non-profit housing finance and development organization serving the needs of low-income residents of Central Virginia. During her tenure, she financed more than 300 first-time homebuyers, developed 100 affordable rental units, and renovated a former car dealership into three community health center clinics.

Ms. Dupuy is an attorney, previously with the Virginia Legal Aid Society, and has been engaged in housing and poverty advocacy throughout the state for more than 37 years. She has served on several non-profit boards and statewide organizations and is currently serving as a Commissioner of the Lynchburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Ms. Dupuy is a graduate of New York University and George Mason University Law School and is a member of the Virginia State Bar. She has a daughter, Dessi, who is an award-winning athlete and professional football player in Sweden.

Brent is the Senior Commercial Banking Executive for Freedom First Federal Credit Union. Brent has worked in banking for the last 18 years between the Roanoke and Lynchburg markets and has helped grow FFCU to over $275MM in assets in the Lynchburg market in just over 3 years. Brent graduated from Liberty in 2007 with a degree in Business Finance and again in 2010 with an MBA specializing in Leadership.