As a graduate from Christopher Newport University, Shannon Edwards learned young that giving is truly the greatest success in life.  After graduating from CNU Shannon married her fellow Alumni Shawn Edwards and now reside in Poquoson where they raise their two daughters, Harper and Macie.  Shannon manages and runs one of the leading Real Estate Teams in the Coastal VA area.

Lacey Grey Hunter has been a resident of the Hampton Roads Community since her parents moved her into her residence hall room at Christopher Newport more than 17 years ago. After completing her studies at Christopher Newport, Lacey Grey earned her master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of South Carolina.

She is passionate about the Greater Peninsula and enjoys giving back through Impact 100. She currently serves as the Director of the President’s Leadership Program at Christopher Newport and as an adjunct faculty member for leadership studies. In her free time, Lacey Grey enjoys playing volleyball and horseback riding.

Brynn Beal lives in Poquoson with her husband and 2 boys. She is a Solutions Architect at NTT, Ltd., a global technology services company, and has been in the technology industry in both sales and technical roles for 11 years. She loves black licorice, New Yorker cartoons, and spending time with her family. You’ll find Brynn spending her free time on the boat with her family, reading, or exercising.

Roxanne grew up in the Hampton Roads area graduating from TNCC with a degree in Business Management. She currently resides in Poquoson, VA with her husband of 20 years and two energetic boys.

Roxanne works from home as a domestic engineer while helping her husband to run a successful e-commerce business.  For more than 15 years their business has grown from the ground up with perseverance and determination to make a better life for there family. Roxanne’s passion has always been to give back. Paying it forward while making an impact on others to help fellow women rise and succeed in life.

Joan was born in Virginia as an Air Force Dependent, and was raised across the country and overseas.  Joan attended Bradley University in Peoria Illinois earning a BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences, and a Masters in Audiology at Northern Illinois University.  She worked as an Audiologist at the Institute of Logopedics in Kansas, the Callier Center for Communication Disorders in Dallas, TX, Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, as well as several ENT offices in Illinois, Wisconsin and Virginia.

Her love of quilt making has become a hobby for hire to help quilters finish the quilts they have pieced.  She loves to read and cook, and golf.

Married 38 years and residents of Newport News for 30 years, Jeff and Joan raised three children in Newport News.  They are proud grandparents of 5.  She and Jeff enjoy time on the golf course, hiking and traveling to see children and grandchildren in North Carolina, Florida and Washington, as well as family in the Midwest, and west coast.

IMPACT 100 is a rewarding way to give back to the needs in her community and she has served in the organization since its inception; the first four years reviewing grants, and most recently in helping to manage the growing membership.

Bio Coming Soon!!

Alyson Heidenthal works for The Rutherford Mortgage Team powered by Caliber Home Loans. Prior to jumping into her new role in the mortgage industry, Alyson worked as a Health Care Administrator for 8 years. Alyson is passionate about helping create a better community for future generations. In her free time, she  loves being with her family, laughing, exercising, and being at the beach. She lives in Newport News with her husband and 3 children.

Amanda has taught Preschool in Poquoson for the last 7 years, which has been a great match to her love for creative & crafty self-expression.

She lives for adventure alongside her husband and kids. You’ll find them all outside as often as possible, at the beach, on the water, or taking day trips to new places. Amanda loves cooking, reading and exercising with a deep love for a good book, a glass of good red wine, and the perfect lemon pound cake. (Hence the exercising!)

Amanda was born and raised in Poquoson and is currently a new resident of York County (and loving it!)

Erica McMannes is COO and co-founder of Instant Teams. Erica found her calling in Silicon Valley in 2012, as a founding member of 3 startups focusing on user acquisition and community growth. She has been an Active Duty Army Spouse for 20 years and found the mobility and freedom as a remote professional to be something she wanted to replicate for more people. Erica is an expert at leading teams in a remote environment and starting and running a successful business as a military spouse and female founder. Instant Teams is a remote team marketplace providing remote  customer support and operations pipelines for companies with military-connected talent located globally in every timezone enabling 24/7 support.

Erica holds a Bachelors of Science in Human Ecology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and a Masters Degree with honors in Human Ecology from Kansas State University. She is an alumni of the FI, Patriot Boot Camp, V-WISE, and BlueStartUps programs, and also a two- time winner of grant led startup pitch competitions. Erica has led conversations on military spouse employment and remote culture in various events including Hubspot’s Inbound Conference, 2 time presenter at the Military Influencer Conference, the Department of Defense’s Annual Military Spouse Employment Partnership Summit and also serves on the Hampton Road’s StartWheel Board of Directors.

Bio Coming Soon!!

Crystal Howser has worked with children for over 15 years. She has been described “freakishly enthusiastic” about early childhood development and advocacy. She has had many roles in early childhood education. She is now an Infant and Toddler Specialist with the Center for Child and Family Services. She is a certified trainer through the Program for Infant and Toddler Care, out of West Ed in California, as well as a CLASS observer.

She is an active member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, as well as a committee member of the Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children, and a member of the SECOVA-the South Eastern Chapter of VAAEYC.

Crystal received her undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee, where she fell in love with early childhood education, working at the local child development center on campus, and her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Virginia Commonwealth University.

She is a wife and mother who enjoys time with family and friends, advocacy work, and exercising!

Ruth Anne Reed joined Atlantic Emergency Solutions in May of 2015 with over 10 years of progressive experience in Human Resources. As the Vice President of Human Resources, Mrs. Reed is responsible for the overall operation and management of Human Resources inclusive of benefit administration, compliance, employee relations, classification and compensation, recruitment and selection, and development.

Mrs. Reed’s prior experience includes serving as the Director of Benefits and Compliance at Patient Advocate Foundation and Human Resources Generalist with the City of Newport News. Throughout her 12-years at Patient Advocate Foundation, Mrs. Reed served in many capacities to include administration, corporate development and human resources. Additionally, she served as Co-Chair for their annual Patient Congress and Promise of Hope events and managed their Scholarship for Survivors program. During her almost 3-year time with the City of Newport News, Mrs. Reed’s primary responsibility was to serve as a strategic partner to her 9 assigned departments by providing guidance and assistance in the areas of recruitment and selection, employee relations, performance management, classification and compensation; reviews personnel actions and provides recommendations to ensure consistent application of human resources policies and procedures.
Ruth Anne is a graduate of Christopher Newport University’s with her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. She is a member of both the Society of Human Resource Management as well as their local chapter, PenSHRM which she assisted with the start up of the chapter and served on the board for two years. She also serves on multiple committees for local philanthropic organizations.