作者:安布尔·肯尼迪
Virginia Business magazine named three of Old Dominion University's leaders to its list of "100 People to Meet" for 2022: Jessica Whitehead, Narketta Sparkman-Key and Jerry Cronin.
The list highlights the state's "innovative, impactful businesspeople and trendsetters" in several categories, 包括天使, 建筑商, 教育工作者, 富有进取心的, 主机, 影响制造商, 创新者, 新的人, public faces and rainmakers.
Whitehead is highlighted as an "影响制造商" for her leadership as executive director of ODU's Institute for 沿海适应 and 弹性, a job she started in February. She told the magazine her fascination with weather events began with a tornado warning as a child; now, she is focused on the "humanitarian and policy aspects of climate change, including adapting to it and building resiliency against it."
Earlier this year, Whitehead was selected to serve as chapter lead for the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a congressional report produced by the U.S. 全球 Change 研究 Program. She will coordinate development of the Northeast chapter of the report.
在“教育工作者”类, Sparkman-Key is recognized for both her day job as director for faculty diversity and retention, and her passion project, a handbag design business called Belinda Bea. The vegan handbags in her "Boss Bags" line are intended to empower carriers to take ownership of their lives and careers. The magazine notes that, in her capacity at ODU, she's "spent a significant amount of energy promoting inclusion and diversity, including developing a website that spells out ODU's values for prospective faculty members."
Cronin is included as an "创新者." The executive director of the OpenSeas 技术 创新 Hub leads efforts seeking solutions for the maritime and coastal arenas, focusing on commercializing and operationalizing innovation. He told Virginia Business his career has always required learning "a new subject matter or new nuance or new field on a pretty regular basis."
今年9月, Virginia Business highlighted OpenSeas' work to find commercial opportunities for resilience innovations, such as collaborating with Ferguson Enterprises to develop sensors that detect groundwater inflow into wastewater treatment plants.
The 100 People to Meet list also includes ODU alumni Rus Hayslett Jr., vice president of operations for Virginia Natural Gas; Sylvia Bugg, chief programming executive and general manager for general audience programming for PBS; and Drew Ungvarsky, founder and CEO of Grow.
Read the full list of Virginia Business magazine's 100 People to Meet 在这里.
