April 4, 2023

ABOUT | MEMBER ADVANTAGES | UPCOMING EVENTS | JOIN NOW

MEMBER UPDATE

Building Regional Connections

For nearly 100 years, the Chamber has been a Chamber for business leaders with a record of actively advocating for and successfully achieving growth within our Greater Washington Region. We've accomplished this largely due to the quality and engagement of our members, who not only represent our Region's largest employers but are also recognized leaders themselves. Our members point to the many opportunities within the Chamber as critical connection-builders and a way to elevate their brands within the Region. We've highlighted these opportunities in our Member Journey and Chamber At a Glance guides. A sampling from both includes:

Corporate-wide membership. The Chamber represents 500,000 member employees. All employees from a member company are welcome to participate in Chamber events and programs.
Networking. We host more than 76 Chamber events each year—many of them free and members-only—through which members can connect with peers and Regional leadership. 60% of our event attendees are C-Suite professionals.
Advocacy. We maintain a full-time, dedicated Government Affairs staff that is available, at no charge, to assist members with Advocacy needs at the local, state, and federal levels. We invite interested members to join our Policy Committee and/or NOVABIZPAC.
Research. We conduct original regional research and programs focused on 1) Workforce, 2) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and 3) Civic Dialogue. Our ongoing and groundbreaking work and programs aggregate the great minds from academic and business organizations to develop real change for the betterment of all.
Representation. We are a business-to-business Chamber with members representing 20+ industries. We have made business growth our North Star, earning us a reputation as the Region’s business voice and a champion for business concerns.
Promotion. Members have many personal and corporate promotional opportunities available, from Chamber Partnerships and advertising to no-charge opportunities such as writing Member Blog posts sent to our 20,000+ database and providing testimonials. Members are additionally invited to share their expertise through panel participation and C-Suite topic creation.
Introductions. We can provide warm introductions with any other Chamber member upon request.

While we are the Region's largest Chamber, we pride ourselves on always being approachable and available for any of our members. We are the most impactful business advocate in the Commonwealth because our work drives advancement and opportunity for our members and Region as a whole. We are known as the Voice of Business within our Region and we invite you to join the conversation.

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NEWS YOU CAN USE

Governor Youngkin signs Chamber-backed workforce development bill, creating the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement

During the 2023 General Assembly Session, a total of 819 bills were sent to Governor Youngkin. Last week, he completed his review by signing 738 into law, proposing amendments to 78 and vetoed 3. The amendments and vetoes will be acted upon by the General Assembly when it reconvenes on April 12th.

The Chamber's top priority in this session was the workforce development consolidation effort. The Chamber's own NOVABIZPAC Chairman, Scott McGeary, Chamber DEI Board of Advisors director, Jim Dyke, and our Vice President of Government Affairs, Nick Clemente, worked daily with Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater to ensure passage of Delegate Kathy Bryon’s HB2195 , and Senators George Barker and Frank Ruff’s, SB1470. The effort resulted in a rare bipartisan victory that transforms Virginia’s fragmented workforce development system and creates the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement (DWDA). The Chamber is pleased to report that Governor Youngkin signed it on March 26th and it will become effective on July 1st. If you are with a member company and would like to more information on the Chamber's efforts this session, please contact Nick at nclemente@novachamber.org.

IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

Greater Washington Apprentice Network

April 4th | 2-3PM | Virtual, Free

SPEAKER: Debby Hopkins

Director, Workforce Initiatives

Appteon, Inc., who will be talking about the advantages of working with an intermediary to build an apprentice program. An apprenticeship intermediary is an organization with the capacity, expertise, and network to help businesses successfully create, launch, and expand apprenticeship programs.

The Greater Washington Apprentice Network (GWAN) brings together employers, academic institutions, public and private sectors. Employers gain access to best practices from organizational peers, sources of prospective apprentice candidates, support services, academic institutions, and training resources. The GWAN meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month for an Employer Briefing.

Young Professionals Spring Meet Up Members-Only

April 4th | 4-6PM | Patsy's American, Free

The Chamber is pleased to invite you to the Spring meet-up specifically for our business community's Young Professionals. Join us for happy hour at Patsy's American at the Bar in the Back.

* Registration is free, you're on your own for drinks.

Chamber 101 Members-Only

April 11th | 12-1PM | Virtual

This informational networking session will teach you about opportunities for engagement across a wide array of industries and subject areas. You'll learn:

How you can engage a broad spectrum of employees
How the Chamber's advocacy efforts and communications can support your business
The best ways for you to connect to the Chamber's base of innovative and influential member companies

and much more. This will be a great opportunity to network with other new members. This is a virtual event and will be provided through Microsoft TEAMS.

DEI Connects Members-Only

April 18th | 2-3PM | Virtual

SPEAKER: Demola Sholagbade, Vice President & Head of Diversity and Inclusion, ICF.

DEI Connects is an inclusive and collaborative community of members who seek to share, learn, and implement best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion in their employee culture, talent development, and employee recruiting and retention. NOVA DEI Connects welcomes all members interested in advancing their knowledge and understanding of successful DEI strategies to join us and each other in this opportunity. Each month the network will meet via Zoom to speak with a leader who will share their DEI best practices and programs.

Workforce Network

April 25th | 2-3PM | Virtual, Free

SPEAKER: Michael Glascock, Regional Program Manager, Virginia Values Veterans will talk about the V3 Program which helps employers develop and implement long-term strategies and nationally-recognized best practices in recruiting, hiring and retaining Veterans.

Are you interested in finding innovative solutions to our region’s workforce challenges? Then please join us for the next meeting of the Workforce Network. The Workforce Network is an inclusive and collaborative community of workforce professionals and others interested in workforce innovation. Monthly meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of each month.

Wellness in the Workforce Part 2: Understanding Obesity’s Impact on the Workforce & How to Combat It

April 25th | 11:30AM-1:30PM | The St. James

Keynote: Lydia Wang, Medical Account Associate Director, Novo Nordisk

Moderator: Ruth Williams-Brinkley, President, Mid-Atlantic Region Kaiser Permanente

Panelists:

Christina Gallagher, Senior Center Administrator, George Washington University
Kyle Russell, CEO, Virginia Health Institute
Craig Dixon, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, The St. James

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing, and progressive disease that affects over 30% of Virginia's adult population and continues to grow in prevalence. It acts as a driver for a multitude of other serious health conditions and has been linked to $147 billion dollars in annual medical costs within the US alone. Despite these staggering numbers and the disease's impact on both our population and businesses, comprehensive care for obesity faces barriers in the form of stigma, bias, perception, and access to care.

Join us at The St. James on April 25th for Part 2 of our Wellness in the Workplace Series which will focus on the impact obesity has on our business community before covering ways to combat it. During this event, our Keynote, Lydia Wang, Medical Account Associate Director, Novo Nordisk, and our panel of experts will discuss what role organizations can play to support this serious, complex, and chronic condition with a profoundly negative impact on health and quality of life.

C-Suite Roundtable By Invitation, Members-Only

May 3rd

Our next Roundtable will be held over lunch on May 3rd and will feature Todd Marks, Founder, CEO, & President of Mindgrub Technologies.

Get ready to ignite your curiosity and broaden your horizon as we present an electrifying fireside discussion on Artificial Intelligence! Join us for lunch at the prestigious Tower Club in Virginia as the Chamber dives into the exciting world of AI and its numerous applications. Be a part of a thought-provoking conversation on how ChatGPT, Machine Learning and Robotic Process Automation are transforming industries.

If you would like to add your name to our C-Suite Roundtable list, please contact Carmen Sevilla, Chamber Senior Manager, Member Engagement, at csevilla@novachamber.org .

Greater Washington GovCon Awards

Apply by June 2nd

Founded in 2002 in the shadow of 9/11, the Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards have honored an industry that is vital to our society and its citizens for two decades. The Greater Washington Government Contractor Award is the premier event honoring the leadership, innovation, and commitment to excellence of the people and businesses in the region’s government contracting community.

Presented by the Chamber and the Professional Services Council (PSC), the Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards winners are announced at an evening gala. This unique networking event draws more than 1,000 industry and government leaders.

The Greater Washington GovCon Awards will be held on November 1st at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner.

Apply Here

Annual Members' Meeting Members-Only

June 6th | 8:30-10AM | Westwood Country Club

Save the date for the Region's best networking event! This members-only event is a who's who of Regional leadership, making it a key business connection opportunity. Registration will open soon.

Distinguished Service Awards

Apply by June 23rd

The Distinguished Service Awards are dedicated to honoring successful veteran-owned businesses in the Greater Washington business community that have demonstrated strong business performance and who have made meaningful contributions to help Veterans succeed. The awards are presented to individuals, companies, and non-profit organizations in recognition of community stewardship and business leadership. The awards will be given out in the following categories: Veteran-Owned Business of the Year, Veteran Service Organization of the Year, and Veteran Employee of the Year.

The Distinguished Service Awards will be held on September 12th from 8:30-10:30AM at the Army Navy Country Club, Arlington.

Apply Here

MEMBER ADVANTAGE

MEMBER NEWS

Recovery Program Solutions of Virginia (RPSV) invites you to join our effort to supply new undergarments for homeless adults in Northern Virginia because good hygiene is dignifying. Most of us take for granted that we can change into clean clothing whenever we want. That’s not the case for those without a home. Learn more here.

Now is the time to develop the next generation of female leaders. UVA Northern Virginia's new offering for high-potential female employees, the Young Women's Professional Development Program, equips early-career women with the skills, tools and confidence to thrive in your organization from Day 1. Join us for the inaugural cohort this June! Learn more here.

Riverside Research, an independent, nonprofit company, announces it has been awarded the Technical Sensors Radar Support (TSRS) Contract. The $18.6M, seven-year, sole-source contract provides the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) with mobile sensor engineering, operations, programming, logistics, and sustainment support. Learn more here.

Would you like to include your member organization's news in our next Doing Business issue? Sharing news is free for all members! All you have to do it complete the form on our website found here. The deadline to submit news is Friday at 12PM prior to our Tuesday newsletter.

Submit Your News

Doing Business is the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce's weekly e-newsletter focused on member-relevant news, Council Series updates, and upcoming events. Each month we will feature advocacy updates, a message from our President & CEO, and member-written blog posts. Subscription sign-up and past issues may be found on our website.

Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce

7900 Westpark Drive | Suite A550 | Tysons Corner | VA | 22102

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