2026 Chamber Board of Directors
The general governance, direction, finances, procedures, and policy-making responsibilities of the Chamber of Commerce are vested in the Board of Directors.
Dr. Mariane Asad Doyle, Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Chairwoman of the Board
Mariane Asad Doyle, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, is Executive Director of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE). She is an innovative diversity, equity, and inclusion leader and human resources professional with 20+ years experience in higher education and 15+ years in K12 administration.
Asad Doyle previously served as Chief Culture Officer at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. She also served in leadership roles with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the William S. Hart Union High School District, and as a lecturer in educational leadership and policy studies at California State University, Northridge.
Additionally, she currently serves as a member of the budget committee for the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation and is a long-range planning advisory committee member for Albemarle County Public Schools. She is Chair of the Chamber Public Policy Committee.
David Foky, WVIR-TV 29News
Vice Chairman of the Board
David Foky joined WVIR-TV in 2007 and since 2010 has been the station's News Director. His responsibilities include all aspects of the news operation including daily content, legal safeguards, long and short term planning, budgeting and hiring. David began working in broadcast news before his graduation from college and in those 30+ years has served as a reporter, producer, and in escalating management roles in both small and large markets.
David has been a visiting lecturer at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville and lead multiple sessions with business leaders in Charlottesville to help them manage their interactions with the media inside or outside of a crisis.
He has been a two term president of the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters, where he continues on the board as treasurer. He is a board member of the Charlottesville CrimeStoppers organization and was a founding board member of the Leadership Charlottesville Alumni Association.
David G. Mitchell, Great Eastern Management Company
Vice Chair - Finance
David G. Mitchell is Director of Development & Construction for Great Eastern Management Company. He oversees residential and commercial construction projects and manages new project development. Mitchell graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. In 1999 he formed Southern Classic, Inc., a construction and development company.
Mitchell is a current member of the Miller School Board, Crozet Citizens Advisory Committee, and Albemarle Conservation Easements Authority. He has served as a board member for the Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development, the Government Affairs Committee of the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association, Places 29 North Citizens Advisory Committee, Albemarle County Fiscal Impact Advisory Committee and Richmond Home Builders Association Board.
Nicole Hawker, Heart and Soul Fitness with Nicole
Secretary
Nicole Hawker, a Charlottesville native, is the Founder of Heart and Soul Fitness, a nonprofit studio launched in 2022 to make fitness and wellness accessible to all. With a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Johnson University and over 15 years of experience supporting families and children in the foster care system, Nicole seamlessly blends her expertise in counseling, community engagement, and fitness.
An ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, and Certified Yoga Teacher, Nicole is deeply involved in her community. Nicole graduated from the Leadership Charlottesville Class of 2019 and the CNE Board Academy Class of 2023. She had served on the boards of the Black Professional Network, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, and the Charlottesville Minority Business Commission.
A devoted wife of over 30 years and mother of three adult children, Nicole’s passion for wellness and service drives her mission to empower individuals and strengthen her community.
Tom Barrow, Woods Rogers
Tom is an accomplished government contracts attorney with extensive experience managing multimillion dollar government contracts from both within and outside the government. He understands the needs of all parties involved in a supply or distribution contract and uses his experience to negotiate on behalf of his clients regarding non disclosure agreements, teaming agreements, reseller agreements, distribution agreements and more, with a focus on information technology and software procurement. In addition, Tom provides strategic guidance on Small Business programs, FAR/DFARS regulations, government expectations, compliance, and risk mitigation.
Tom is a frequent panelist and guest speaker on Small Business issues, IT matters, and appropriations law. He also develops and delivers training courses on procurement and fiscal law to company leaders and sales teams. Tom retired from the Army in 2019 after twenty years of active service, including three years as a professor and vice-chair for the Contract and Fiscal Law Department of the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. Tom concluded his Army service as a government contracts attorney for the Space and Missile Defense Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL.
Ravi Cooper, United Way of Greater Charlottesville
Ravi Cooper joined the United Way of Greater of Charlottesville in July 2018 as the President and CEO. Her career in nonprofit leadership started as the Campaign Manager for the Charlottesville Waldorf School with a $3 million-dollar campaign to build an environmentally sustainable school. Her commitment to supporting the environment and sustainability led her to AHIP- Home Repair Nonprofit as the Director of Development and Marketing in August of 2010, where the mission is to focus on rehabbing existing older homes for low-income families. Ravi developed their fundraising program from a $50,000 a year revenue stream to $1.1 million over the course of seven years. In June of 2015, Ravi joined the Piedmont Family YMCA as the Development and Marketing consultant to complete a $19-million-dollar Capital Campaign to build a 77,000 square foot facility in McIntire Park. This project supports Ravi’s life-long passion for community health accessibility.
Ravi currently serves as the immediate past President of the Blue Ridge Mountains Rotary Club, is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Miller School of Albemarle, and a Board member of Virginia Career Works Piedmont. Additional Board work has included serving on the Salvation Army Board chairing the strategic planning committee and the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association as the chair of the marketing committee. Ravi holds a degree in Communications with a focus in Public Relations as a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society from George Mason University and has completed a certificate in Business Marketing from UVA Darden School of Business.
Chris Engel, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic Development
Chris Engel is the Director of Economic Development for the City of Charlottesville. In this role, he leads the City’s efforts to build wealth and grow opportunity for all members of our community.
Engel has a bachelor’s degree in geography from Mary Washington College and a master’s degree in planning from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and is a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) where he is a certified economic developer (CEcD). Chris is a graduate of Virginia’s statewide leadership program; LEAD Virginia, as well as Leadership Charlottesville and the Senior Executive Institute for leaders in local government.
Lisa Jones, Virginia Credit Union
Lisa M. Jones is a native of Richmond, Virginia. Lisa is a graduate from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in U.S. History. Lisa currently resides in Charlottesville and is the Assistant V ice-President for Virginia Credit Union, Charlottesville, VA. Lisa has been in the finance and banking industry for over 40 years. Lisa’s desire is to help her members gain financial independence and find financial solutions which can save time and make money while offering convenient banking options.
Lisa has worked with other local chambers and has served on the board in various cities, prior to coming to Charlottesville. Lisa is an active member of the Charlottesville Chamber where she has proudly served during the last four years. Lisa currently participates in the Business Women’s Roundtable and recently joined the Chamber’s new Chamber Champions ambassador program.
In the local community, Lisa is an active member of the Charlottesville Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and actively involved in her church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Charlottesville, VA. Lisa also enjoys working with the medical mobility repair industry to assist customers with installation, service and repair.
Emily Kilroy, Albemarle County
Emily Kilroy is Director of Economic Development for Albemarle County. She has been with Albemarle County for 10 years, starting in the County Executive’s Office working on public engagement. She was promoted to lead the new Communications and Public Engagement Office in 2018. She later served on the County’s Executive Leadership Team as the Assistant to the County Executive before taking on the interim role in Economic Development. As interim director, she oversaw key initiatives aligned with the County’s long-term economic strategy, including the partnership agreement with Home Depot for the first redevelopment at Fashion Square Mall and preliminary work for developing the next economic development strategic plan.
Kilroy’s educational background includes a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from American University. She is also a graduate of the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia.
Allison Linney, Allison Partners
Allison Linney is the President and Founder of Allison Partners, a woman-owned small business founded with the belief that people are at the core of an organization’s success. Allison received her B.A. in English from the University of Virginia and then worked as a consultant within Accenture’s Human Performance Service Line. She returned to Charlottesville to get her M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business and started Allison Partners while she was a student.
Together with her colleagues, Allison brings both sound theory and practical experience to the challenges of organizational development. Now in its 25th year, Allison Partners serves clients throughout Virginia and around the globe by helping clients navigate the “messy, complicated, wonderful people stuff” that happens at work.
Allison has helped leaders, managers and employees be more effective in industries ranging from consumer products to government services to healthcare. Her expertise spans leadership development, professional coaching, organization design and development, group facilitation, training, change management, and advisory services. She was selected as the 2018 Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year. Allison supports many local nonprofits, has served on a variety of boards, and is especially proud to be Chair Emerita of the University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies board.
Carolyn Rainey, Bank of America Charlottesville
Carolyn has been with the Bank of America for 42 years and, prior to her current role, served as a Business Controls Manager for Consumer & Small Business. During her career with Bank of America, Carolyn has worked in various areas of the company including Marketing, Technology, Operations, Regulatory Relations, and Consumer & Small Business. Carolyn is responsible for connecting the banking and investment resources offered through the Bank of America's eight lines of business to people and companies across the Charlottesville/Harrisonburg area. She also leads the effort to deploy Bank of America’s resources to address social concerns, strengthen economic opportunity, and build strong communities, as well as supports the health, safety, and engagement of local employees.
Carolyn is a native of Charlottesville and currently serves as the vice chair of the Jefferson School Foundation, Advisory Board Lifetime Member of the Salvation Army, Piedmont Virginia Community College Educational Foundation Board, and Piedmont Housing Alliance Board.
She is a graduate of Louisiana State University where she earned a Master of Arts degree in Latin American Studies and she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dr. Jean Runyon, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Jean Runyon, PhD, is the sixth president of Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC), one of Virginia’s twenty-three community colleges, with a service region that includes the City of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. In this role, Dr. Runyon provides principle-centered, strategic leadership to set the vision and direction which advance the college’s mission, promote student success, and strengthen pathways to graduation and meaningful careers. Her leadership emphasizes building and sustaining strong regional and community partnerships that align with workforce needs and expand the college’s impact across the region.
Prior to accepting the presidency at PVCC in 2022, Dr. Runyon was the campus vice president at Front Range Community College's Larimer Campus in Colorado from 2015-2022. Runyon was a professor at the College of Southern Maryland from 1985-2007 and the director of the Innovative Teaching Center from 2000-2007. Runyon holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Education with a concentration in Education Technology Management from Northcentral University, a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Bloomsburg University.
Hasmukh Shah, INV Group, LLC
Hasmukh Shah is a Charlottesville real estate entrepreneur whose story reflects hard work, resilience, and the power of opportunity. After immigrating to the United States alone at age 17 with less than $2,500, Hasmukh built a successful multi-million-dollar real estate business. One which he started while working full-time at the University of Virginia as a nuclear medical technician.
Born in Nairobi to Indian parents and raised in Kenya, Hasmukh was just 13 when his father passed away. This experience ultimately shaped the determination he needed to forge his own path. His journey eventually led him to Charlottesville, where he studied, worked, and earned his U.S. citizenship. Over a 20-year career at UVA, he advanced through multiple technology roles before retiring in 1998.
Today, Hasmukh owns and manages a portfolio of properties in and around Charlottesville and actively mentors aspiring entrepreneurs and community members. His story is one of perseverance, purpose, and paying forward the opportunities that once seemed out of reach to a young man on a plane from Africa in 1969.
Abdi Somo, UVA Medical Center
As chief administrative officer of the University of Virginia Medical Center, Abdullahi Somo, MBA, collaborates with senior executives, physician leaders, faculty, and team members on a broad range of strategic priorities, system initiatives, and major projects. Somo is excited to be part of an exceptional UVA Health team, working together on the mission to provide excellence, innovation, and superlative quality in the care of patients, the training of health professionals, and the creation and sharing of health knowledge within a culture that promotes equity, diversity, and inclusiveness.
Prior to Joining UVA Health, Somo served in the perioperative services at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, OSU Brain and Spine Hospital, and Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. His focus was operational efficiency, growth and expansion, and financial stewardship.
Somo holds a master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Franklin University's Ross College of Business and a bachelor of science in Molecular Genetics from the Ohio State University. Somo is Lean Six Sigma Certified and a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP) by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Lois Stanley, University of Virginia
Lois Stanley serves as the Senior Vice President for Operations, overseeing the functions of the Office of the Architect for the University, Business Services, Facilities Management, and the University Building Official. Throughout her career, Stanley has combined strategic planning with effective oversight of both physical assets and services to university communities, and her experience demonstrates notable depth and breadth in capital planning and business services.
Stanley previously served as Vice President for Campus Planning and Operations at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, where she launched construction of a transformational, three-phased, sustainable student housing program. Along with her leadership team at Brandeis, she established a policy-based space governance process; implemented a five-year capital budget planning process; developed a 20-year campus decarbonization plan; and created a long-term plan to reduce a backlog of deferred maintenance.
Stanley grew up in Virginia Beach and earned a Bachelor of Science in business management from Virginia Tech and a Master of City Planning from Georgia Tech. She earned a Ph.D. in urban studies and planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her dissertation analyzed the redevelopment of closed military bases in rural areas.