Speakers Bureau

Robby Demeria, Founding Board Chair of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Phlow

Robby Demeria is the Founding Board Chair of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. He also serves as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Phlow, one of the Alliance’s valued members. Prior these roles, Robby served as Virginia’s first deputy secretary of commerce and trade for technology and innovation, where he guided the administration’s policy and initiatives related to those focus areas and was the chief architect of the innovation-led entrepreneurship and tech-based economic development agency, the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority. In addition, Robby has served as a trade association executive for nearly 15 years, serving as the president of the Richmond Technology Council and vice president of Government Affairs for the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. While overseeing the technology council, Robby founded its first foundation for technology education, launched one of the largest – and still running – women in technology conferences in the southeast U.S., and championed programs that highlighted and grew the region’s tech talent. Robby has served on many regional and statewide boards focused on issues from youth entrepreneurship to computer science education. He is a proud lifelong Virginian and graduate of George Mason University.

Vanessa Womack, Inclusive Community Development Coordinator for Alliance for Building Better Medicine and Activation Capital

Vanessa Womack is the Inclusive Community Development Coordinator for Alliance for Building Better Medicine, a program of Activation Capital. She is responsible for the Equity Plan execution for community dialogue in Region 4. This process requires the inclusive engagement of all impacted stakeholders and conflict resolution that accounts for the history and negative legacies of development. Her goal is to execute a series of inclusive community dialogues to discuss, inform, and engage targeted populations identified in the Alliance’s Equity Plan. In addition to her critical role at the Alliance, Vanessa serves as a business instructor at Bryant & Stratton College and a facilitator in leadership, governance, DEIA, soft skills, and team dynamics. She developed the successful LinkedIn Learning course “Managing A Diverse Team” which launched in 2018 and has accumulated nearly 150,000 global learners. Vanessa publishes a monthly newsletter on LinkedIn entitled ‘Pass It On,’ about diversity, leadership, and education. She wrote the audio course on Listenable, “Practicing DEI Can Improve Organizational Culture,” launched in 2020. And she completed a certificate for training from the University of South Florida – MUMA School of Business for DEI in the Workplace. Other experiences include being BoardSource Certified Governance Consultant; Lead Faculty-Area Chair in the School of Business at the University of Phoenix former local campus in Richmond, VA; coaching and facilitating career transitioning clients for future jobs and entrepreneurship; public speaker and radio show host, On Track with Vanessa Womack. Vanessa earned her undergraduate degree from Baruch College (CUNY) and MBA from Averett University, (Danville, VA). She is a member of Leadership Metro Richmond (LQ 2006) in Richmond, Virginia.

Jennifer Wakefield, APR, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Richmond Partnership

Jennifer Wakefield, APR, is the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Greater Richmond Partnership (GRP), a valued member of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. In her role, she is responsible for collaborating with public and private sector stakeholders to set and drive the organizational vision for GRP as the lead regional economic development organization for the City of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. She assumed her current role in February 2021 after serving as Interim President and CEO twice, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Marketing for the organization. In this time, she created a new strategic framework for the organization, doubled the size of the Board, added new investors increasing the budget by more than 15 percent while reducing administrative expenses and created new committees to engage investors in the work of GRP. Prior to joining GRP, Jennifer served as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Orlando Economic Development Commission (now the Orlando Economic Partnership) for 11 years.

Jennifer has a master’s degree in communications from the University of Central Florida and a bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising from the University of West Florida. She holds the Accreditation in Public Relations designation, signifying a high level of professional experience, competence and ethical standards. She is a former adjunct communications professor at the University of Central Florida. Jennifer is a board member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), on the IEDC Economic Development Research Practitioners council and has served as a regular speaker at IEDC marketing courses and conferences. She is a member of the American Marketing Association and the Public Relations Society of America. In Greater Richmond, she is on the Management Roundtable, the Richmond Federal Reserve Industry Roundtable, University of Richmond Robins School Executive Advisory Council, the City of Richmond Economic Vitality Advisory Committee, the I-64 Innovation Corridor Research Council, the Japan-Virginia Society and is part of the VCU Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Cluster Development Program.

Jennifer has been named among Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect, Top 40 Under 40 Economic Development Professionals by Development Counsellors International and International Economic Development Council and Top 40 Under 40 professionals in Orlando by the Orlando Business Journal. She has won numerous local, regional, national and international awards for her work. She is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Orlando and a 2018 graduate of Lead Virginia.

Keith Boswell, President & CEO of Virginia’s Gateway Region

Keith Boswell is the President and CEO of Virginia’s Gateway Region, a valued member of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. At Virginia’s Gateway Region (VGR), Keith leads the private, nonprofit economic development organization’s efforts to market the Tri-Cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg and the surrounding counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George, Surry and Sussex. With a diverse professional background including manufacturing, retail and economic development, Keith serves as the primary advocate for economic development in Virginia’s Gateway Region. Prior to joining VGR in May 2018, Keith invested 21 years working with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership where he facilitated 567 company location and expansion announcements that created 82,047 jobs and $7.97 billion in investment. Keith earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University (1983), an MBA from the University of Richmond (1989) and is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma (1998).

Elizabeth Creamer, Vice President of Workforce Development for CCWA, a division of Brightpoint and Reynolds Community Colleges

Elizabeth Creamer is Vice President of Workforce Development at Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA), which serves as a founding member of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. As the workforce development division of Brightpoint and Reynolds Community Colleges, CCWA is the go-to resource and partner for the region’s businesses seeking talent and for individuals looking for training, advancement and high-demand career opportunities. CCWA offer pathways to success, meeting the needs of organizations, employees and job seekers. As part of her goal to grow a strong workforce in our region, Elizabeth is helping the Alliance for Building Better Medicine with unique programs designed to prepare talent across the region to fill new jobs in pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Previously, Elizabeth served as advisor for workforce development in Governor Terence R. McAuliffe’s administration and as director of education and workforce development in Governor Bob McDonnell’s administration. She also served as assistant vice chancellor of career pathways and workforce development programs for the Virginia Community College System and in academic administration positions at Virginia Peninsula and Camp Community Colleges.