We Are Business

Leader 2 Leader Series:
Join Chamber President and CEO, Susan Spears on a journey as she interviews some of the top community leaders in this series. Susan and her guests will share their insight and wisdom on making teams more effective, leveling up your communication skills, and building the courage to lead during difficult times. The Leader2Leader series is about making the most of it all —with insights, research, advice, practical tips, and expertise to help you become the leader you desire to be.

Today's Guest: Joe Caliri, President, SimVentions

 Episodes will be launched bi-weekly Thursdays.

Leader 2 Leader Series:
Join Chamber President and CEO, Susan Spears on a journey as she interviews some of the top community leaders in this series. Susan and her guests will share their insight and wisdom on making teams more effective, leveling up your communication skills, and building the courage to lead during difficult times. The Leader2Leader series is about making the most of it all —with insights, research, advice, practical tips, and expertise to help you become the leader you desire to be.

Today's Guest: Martha Hutzel, Library Director, Central Rappahannock Regional Library

 Episodes will be launched bi-weekly Thursdays.

Leader 2 Leader Series:
Join Chamber President and CEO, Susan Spears on a journey as she interviews some of the top community leaders in this series. Susan and her guests will share their insight and wisdom on making teams more effective, leveling up your communication skills, and building the courage to lead during difficult times. The Leader2Leader series is about making the most of it all —with insights, research, advice, practical tips, and expertise to help you become the leader you desire to be.

Today's Guest: Dr. David Sam, former President of Germanna

 Episodes will be launched bi-weekly Thursdays.

About Dr. David Sam:
Born in Pennsylvania, David Anthony Sam is the proud grandson of peasant immigrants from Poland and Syria. For much of his life, he lived and worked in the Detroit area, graduating from Eastern Michigan University (BA, MA) and Michigan State (Ph.D.). Over his career he has been a retail salesman and then partner/manager of a small music and electronics store, a college adult and transfer advisory, a student services administrator, a community college dean, a vice president for academic affairs and workforce development, and then retired after 10 years as Germanna Community Collee’s fifth president.

He lives now in Virginia with his wife and life partner, Linda. They have two children and three grandchildren.

Sam has written poetry and other work for over fifty years. His poetry has appeared in over 100 journals and publications and his poem, “First and Last,” won the 2018 Rebecca Lard Award. Six of his collections are in print including Final Inventory (Prolific Press 2018), Finite to Fail: Poems after Dickinson, the 2016 Grand Prize winner of the GFT Press Chapbook Contest and Dark Fathers (Kelsay Book: 2019).

He currently teaches creative writing at Germanna Community College and serves as regional Vice President on the Board of the Virginia Poetry Society.

Leader 2 Leader Series:
Join Chamber President and CEO, Susan Spears on a journey as she interviews some of the top community leaders in this series. Susan and her guests will share their insight and wisdom on making teams more effective, leveling up your communication skills, and building the courage to lead during difficult times. The Leader2Leader series is about making the most of it all —with insights, research, advice, practical tips, and expertise to help you become the leader you desire to be.

Today's Guest: James Roberson, Founder/President, 516 Project

 Episodes will be launched bi-weekly Thursdays.

Leader 2 Leader Series:
Join Chamber President and CEO, Susan Spears on a journey as she interviews some of the top community leaders in this series. Susan and her guests will share their insight and wisdom on making teams more effective, leveling up your communication skills, and building the courage to lead during difficult times. The Leader2Leader series is about making the most of it all —with insights, research, advice, practical tips, and expertise to help you become the leader you desire to be.

Today's Guest: Donna S. Krauss, Stafford County Government

 Episodes will be launched bi-weekly Thursdays.

Donna's Bio:
Donna Krauss has made her career serving Stafford County Government for the past tweny years. She began her career as a social worker within the Department of Social Services in January of 2000. In the years that followed she has had various roles. She became the Assistant to the County Administrator for Human Services in 2005- 2008. She became the Director of Human Services in 2008 and in 2018 also became the Director of Community Engagement. On July 1, 2019, she became the first woman Deputy County Administrator for Stafford County.

Donna has a Bachelor of Liberal Studies in Child and Adolescent Development from the University of Mary Washington and a Master of Public Administration from Old Dominion University.

Donna is a graduate of LEAD Virginia, Leadership Fredericksburg, and the University of Virginia’s Senior Executive Institute. She is member of several professional associations to include the Virginia Local Government Management Association, International City/County Management Association, Virginia Association of Local Human Services Officials, and Virginia Women Leading Government.

Donna is active within her community and participates on various Boards to include the Be Well Rappahannock Council, Women United Council, Rappahannock Area Youth Services and Group Home Commission, Rappahannock Area Community Criminal Justice Board, the Community Collaborative for Youth and Families, and the Youth First Partnership.

Donna is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, has severed on the Vestry, lead the Christmas Outreach program, and has taught Sunday School for three- and four-year old’s for over 15 years.

Donna and her daughter Amanda live in Stafford County. They have a beloved dog Farfalina. Donna loves to hike, kayak, travel, and go on adventures with friends, most recently skydiving.

Leader 2 Leader Series:
Join Chamber President and CEO, Susan Spears on a journey as she interviews some of the top community leaders in this series. Susan and her guests will share their insight and wisdom on making teams more effective, leveling up your communication skills, and building the courage to lead during difficult times. The Leader2Leader series is about making the most of it all —with insights, research, advice, practical tips, and expertise to help you become the leader you desire to be.

Today's Guest: Brooke Miller, Owner & Team Lead, Brooke Miller Real Estate

Leader 2 Leader Series:
Join Chamber President and CEO, Susan Spears on a journey as she interviews some of the top community leaders in this series. Susan and her guests will share their insight and wisdom on making teams more effective, leveling up your communication skills, and building the courage to lead during difficult times. The Leader2Leader series is about making the most of it all —with insights, research, advice, practical tips, and expertise to help you become the leader you desire to be.

Today's Guest: Ginni Mastin, President, Matern Staffing

 Episodes will be launched bi-weekly Thursdays.

Have there been challenges in your life where you wonder if you'll ever get through them? In this transparent conversation, Angela Rivers shares her story of going from having a successful career to becoming paralyzed overnight. She reveals her struggles, her triumphs, and how you can turn some of your darkest moments into something new and better.

For the Month of May, Barbara Gustavson - Discover Next Step brought a new series to life on the We Are Business Podcast in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month. Thank you Barbara and outstanding guests for sharing tools and tips on ways to get your spark back.

Host: Barbara Gustavson, Founder, Discover Next Step

Guest: Angela Rivers, Fredericksburg Region of UMFS

Angela Rivers; Resource Parent Recruiter for the Fredericksburg Region of UMFS and creator of podcast FXBG Mission. Professionally, Angela is a community advocate for high-risk children and families in the ‘Burg. She is on the board of Safe Harbor as well as serving as Secretary at the Mental Health Association of Fredericksburg. In the community, Angela is an unwavering champion; striving to help children heal and grow from past trauma and abuse. A mom to two littles, she serves as PFA President at Fredericksburg Academy. Angela is passionate about her career and has big dreams for the community and for herself. She aspires to create further awareness for the needs of the Fredericksburg region; allowing people to know that they are not alone.

Struggling with focus, attention, and losing motivation in your work? Dr. Dunn shares simple tips (backed by neuroscience) that can help boost your productivity.

For the Month of May, Barbara Gustavson is bringing a new series to life on the We Are Business Podcast in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month. Join Barbara and subject-matter experts as they share tools and tips on ways to get your spark back.

Host: Barbara Gustavson, Founder, Discover Next Step

Guest: Dr. Alex Dunn, University of Mary Washington

Alexandra M. Dunn, Assistant Professor of Management, is an organizational scientist who teaches management, human resources, and organizational behavior in the undergraduate and MBA program.

She is a member of the Fredericksburg SHRM chapter and SHRM-CP certified. She enjoys collaborating on research projects with undergraduate and graduate students, professors from UMW and other universities, and local businesses.

Her research focuses on creating supportive work environments, recruiting and onboarding, high-reliability organizations (e.g., firefighters, police officers), and how to design effective surveys.

Dr. Dunn’s work has been published in numerous academic journals including the Journal of Business and Psychology, Human Relations, and the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. She also has co-authored work that appears in The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science and has contributed to The SAGE Encyclopedia of Industrial Organizational Psychology.

Dr. Dunn’s work has been quoted in multiple media outlets including Men’s Health, the Charlotte Business Journal, and Fredericksburg.com. She has received fellowship awards from the National Science Foundation and P.E.O. International and was recently awarded the Waple Professorship at UMW.

Find yourself getting stuck in a cycle of anxiety or fear about your life or business? Dr. Daniel Amen shares how you can interrupt these thoughts and re-pattern your brain to a more empowered way of living.

For the Month of May, Barbara Gustavson is bringing a new series to life on the We Are Business Podcast in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month. Join Barbara and subject-matter experts as they share tools and tips on ways to get your spark back.

Host: Barbara Gustavson, Founder, Discover Next Step

Guest: Dr. Daniel Amen
Dr. Amen is a child and adult psychiatrist, twelve-time NY Times bestselling author, and founder of Amen Clinics, with 8 clinics across the United States. Amen Clinics has the world’s largest database of brain scans related to behavior, totaling more than 160,000 scans on patients from 121 countries. Dr. Amen’s research team has published more than 80 scientific articles on his work and Discover Magazine named his research as one of the Top Stories in Science for 2015. Dr. Amen has also hosted 14 popular public television shows about the brain and is regarded as a gifted teacher. His new book is titled Your Brain is Always Listening.