RICHMOND ? Governor Mark R. Warner today announced the creation of the Director?s Advisory Council on Women?s Business by the Virginia Department of Business Assistance (DBA). The 19-member work group is charged with evaluating the needs and challenges facing Virginia women-business owners. The Advisory Council?s goal is to make recommendations to DBA as to future initiatives that would best promote the growth and success of this fast-growing sector of the Virginia economy. ?Due to the increasingly vital role women and minority-owned firms play in Virginia?s economy, I have sharpened the focus on these business communities, with new initiatives designed to strengthen their opportunities in the marketplace,? said Governor Warner. The Governor?s Executive Order 29 on Equal Opportunity in State Procurement focuses on assuring the best opportunities for small, women, and minority business owners. With the Governor?s Executive Order 35, the Governor?s Advisory Commission on Minority Business Enterprise was established. ?As a parallel to the Governor?s related initiatives, DBA has established the Director?s Advisory Council on Women?s Business,? said Chuck Mills, Agency Director of DBA. ?We are eager for the Commonwealth to explore the challenges facing Virginia women business owners and establish initiatives that best serve this group, now, and into the future.? According to a 2002 study conducted by the Center for Women?s Business Research, Women-Owned Businesses in Virginia - 2002, there are almost 149,000 women-owned firms in Virginia, comprising 30% of privately held companies in the state. This study also documents that sales and employment rates of Virginia women-owned firms exceed statistics for the national averages. DBA?s Advisory Council on Women?s Business has a six-month work plan and is targeting September 2003 for presenting its exploration summary and key recommendations to DBA and the Warner administration. A list of the Council members can be found below. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance is working continuously to promote the growth and success of businesses in the Commonwealth. DBA is the state?s central business information resource, providing access to capital, incentives for workforce development, and business counseling. Members of the Virginia Department of Business Assistance?s Director?s Advisory Council on Women?s Business * Catherine Giordano (Chair), Knowledge Information Solutions, Hampton, VA * Rooz Dadabhoy (Co-Chair), Data Concepts, LLC, Richmond, VA * Gail Bolt, R & K Engineering, Roanoke, VA * J.B. Bryan, J. B. Bryan Financial, Richmond, VA * Betty Graumlich, McSweeney & Crump / NAWBO, Richmond, VA * Francine DeFerreire Kemp, Diversity Works! Inc., Herndon, VA * Suzanne Lay, Washington County Chamber, Abingdon, VA * Linda Lumpkin, Tappahannock-Essex Chamber, Tappahannock, VA * Sparrow Mahoney, Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Richmond, VA * Jenny Martin, Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, VA * Laurie Moran, Danville-Pittsylvania Chamber, Danville, VA * Nicole Nelson, Custom Made Consulting, Norfolk, VA * Andrea Phelps, Attorney, Hampton, VA * Holly Shulman, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA * Georgia Anne Snyder-Falkinham, Snyder & Associates, Blacksburg, VA * Dorothy Wood, JDW Construction, Virginia Beach, VA * Julia Lee, Access Systems, Fairfax, VA * Gena Thompson Burr, GTT Enterprises, Chester, VA * Louisa Strayhorn, Strayhorn & Associates, Virginia Beach, VA

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