Senior Vice President at The McCormick Group:

Janet Osborn - 2022 Impact Honoree

"In short, because the traditional ways of recruiting and retaining employees are not keeping up with the needs of business. For example, we (and many other employers) have found that hiring only graduates of four-year colleges limits our pool of talent and sometimes results in higher turnover as new hires quickly become overqualified for and dissatisfied with entry-level roles. By introducing innovations like the apprentice program, we have been able to improve retention and tap into a broader supply of talent. It wasn’t easy to change mindsets about old ways of sourcing talent, but like many innovations, once hiring managers saw the quality of talent and the results, the change has been transformative. We have a saying 'talent is widely distributed, opportunity is not.' Apprenticeships offer employers a viable and affordable talent strategy to tap into new pools of talent and enhance the diversity of their workforces."

The Chamber is proud to announce that Maria Harris Tildon will Chair our Policy Committee for 2022-2023. Maria was recently appointed as the new vice president for state and local affairs for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine. She will lead the Office of State and Local Affairs, spearheading Johns Hopkins’ legislative and regulatory agenda throughout the Washington, D.C. region. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, she held progressively senior leadership roles with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. 

We extend a big thank you to outgoing Policy Committee Chairs Kathy Albarado of Helios HR and Laura Linn of Dewberry for their exemplary leadership.

The Policy Committee has also set its schedule for the 2022 fall sessions to develop the Annual Legislative Agenda. As in 2021, the process will kick off with a lunch at the Chamber office in Tysons. This lunch will provide an opportunity for Policy Committee members to get to see one another in person before moving to Zoom for the rest of the process. If you would like to learn more about joining the Policy Committee, please contact Vice President of Government Relations Clayton Medford at cmedford@novachamber.org 

September 27th – Meeting 1 – Education & Workforce 

Submit your goodwill stories by July 8th for our Positively NOVA! Summer Issue

Our Chamber member community has proven its generosity time and again through donations and give-back efforts, and we want to showcase that good work in both our upcoming Positively NOVA! summer edition and our website. Help us spread goodwill vibes by letting us share your member story with the world! Send a 2-3 paragraph write-up, at least one photo from the effort, and your logo to communications@novachamber.org by July 8th for inclusion in this special issue.

Vaccination Requirement: Upon review of both the CDC guidance on community levels of COVID-19 and its website listings showing our own Northen Virginia counties' positive case percentages, the Chamber has removed its proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Additionally, the Chamber will no longer require masks be worn. You are welcome to wear a mask if that makes you comfortable. 

KayAnn Schoeneman has been named President of the Curley Company. She will lead the agency alongside founder and CEO Jennifer Curley. Learn more here.

The University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies is excited to launch a new Guaranteed Interview Program where companies are connected with students completing their certificates, connecting workforce talent to positions. Contact Lesa Hanlin at Lesa@virginia.edu for more information on becoming an inaugural partner. Learn more here.

Deltek announced its renamed customer conference Deltek ProjectCon will be held live this November. The annual customer event is back in-person at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, November 15th-18th. Learn more here.