Women Impact Virginia
Women Impact Virginia Summit at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center on Wednesday, October 4. Registration open now!
Empowering Women in the Workplace
The Women Impact Virginia Series aims to advance women leaders in Virginia. Each event will promote connections, engagement and empowerment of women who feel a desire to impact their community.
The Women Impact Virginia Summit will be held Oct. 22, 2024 and will feature a range of speakers sharing stories of personal success and struggle along with tips and tools for building confidence and influence at work.
Petrina Carter, WIV regional event speaker
Petrina Carter is the President/CEO of Tri-County Community Action Agency (TCCAA) an agency focused on empowering individuals and strengthening communities. Tri-County services are available to members of Halifax, Mecklenburg, and Charlotte Counties in Virginia. Her agency believes in the strengths of all members of the communities and look forward to a community where everyone lives a thriving life. Petrina holds a Master of Science degree in Training and Development from University of St. Francis and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Before joining Tri-County, Petrina was the Senior Manager for the Virginia Employment Commission’s Danville Local Office, working diligently to empower communities through economic and employee development. She has served in various positions throughout the region including Director of Career Services at Averett University and Executive Director of DOVES, Inc. Her strong background in the social services, education and business have allowed her the ability to empathize with the members of the community while working diligently to effect change on a broad scale. She has served on the Board of Directors for The Halifax Chamber of Commerce, The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and Big Brother Big Sisters. She currently serves on the Board of Commissioners for the National Community Action Partnership’s Economic and Mobility Commission, The ARC of Southside and serves as the Chair for Virginia’s Community Action Partnership’s Racial Equity committee. She has been actively involved in community work for some time, also serving on the Boards of Southside Virginia Society for Human Resource Professionals and Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act of the West Piedmont (WIOA). Petrina is a licensed Minister and believes Jesus was the first and best community organizer. She is the proud mother of four adult daughters, who are very accomplished. They have graduated from universities across the country including Spelman College, University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, Illinois Institute of Technology and Virginia Commonwealth University. Her greatest pride is her three grandchildren, ages 7, 5 & 3. She hopes we will all work to deliver a better world to them. |
Diana Foley is a community health worker - Firefighter/Paramedic currently employed at Martinsville Fire & EMS and specializing in Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH). She now serves the City of Martinsville and Henry and Patrick counties. Diana is a member of Virginia Women of Fire & EMS and the national organization of Women in Fire. She currently serves on the Western Virginia EMS protocol writing committee. She has also volunteered for over 20 years at the Smith River Rescue Squad and Woolwine Fire Department in Woolwine, VA.
Beth Simms is Director of Economic Development for Franklin County. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science from Ferrum College and is the Vice President of Ferrum College's Alumni Board of Directors. She is a 2017 alumni of the E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders program and is currently enrolled in Virginia’s Rural Leadership Institute. Beth is an innovative community developer with a unique blend of experiences in education, hospitality, small business ownership, and local government. She lives in Rocky Mount with her husband and two dogs.