Frazier Millner Armstrong – Community Curator, One Small Step

Frazier Millner Armstrong is a strategist and advisor whose passion is making things happen…whether that is helping an organization find and execute its highest and best purpose or working with clients to refine and share their stories, she thrives on finding solutions and overcoming challenges.
Frazier is a collaborative thought-leader with a results-driven track record of success. She has been recognized for creating and leading clear strategic and innovative solutions, and has more than 25 years of broad-based communications, media, and marketing experience.

As a consultant and strategist, Frazier specializes in organizational capacity building, marketing and strategic communications, media and public relations, and fundraising planning and strategy. She is an award-winning writer and marketer with deep experience in both corporate and non-profit
sectors.

She is currently working with Storycorp’s One Small Step program as a Community Curator to bring people together for civil conversations. Until June of 2021, Frazier served as Executive Director for Capital Trees, a non-profit, urban greening organization.

In addition to her consulting work prior to Capital Trees, she was Director of Advancement and Patron Communication for the Richmond Symphony. Before that, she had a long tenure with the Richmond Times-Dispatch as Vice-President for Audience and Content Development. Her other career
highlights include consulting and full-time engagements with 64 Magazine, The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, and The Richmond Forum as well as several advertising agencies. Frazier attended Hollins University and graduated from VCU with a BS in Mass Communications.

A dedicated community advocate, she is a Past President of the Board of the YWCA and recently co-chaired their Capital Campaign. In 2021 she was appointed by Governor Northam to serve as a Commissioner on the Virginia Commission for the Arts. She has also served on the boards of the Library of Virginia Foundation, The Woman’s Club and Leadership Metro Richmond.

She currently serves on the Boards of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Cultureworks and Capital Trees. She recently served on the Advisory Board for VCU’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. She received the YWCA’s Outstanding Woman Award for Media and Marketing and was recognized by Virginia Business Magazine as one of 100 People to Know as an Impact Maker.

Frazier grew up in Chatham, Virginia where she learned an appreciation for hard work and the value of kindness, community service, good books, good friends and a sense of adventure. She was raised by a village of strong women who set fine examples of how tenacity, determination, servant
leadership and good sense can make a difference in the world. She married her soul-mate Brad Armstrong 11 years ago and enjoys gathering friends, books, being outdoors, gardening and learning more about life everyday!

Myra Goodman Smith – President and CEO, Leadership Metro Richmond

Myra is seen as a community connector with her lifelong knowledge of our region and its diverse leadership. Growing up in Richmond afforded Myra opportunities to work with and learn from key community leaders, beginning with her appointment as a City Commissioner at 18. A few of Myra’s life experiences growing up in Richmond are shared in the books Overcoming Bias: Building Authentic Relationships Across Differences and the Handell Museum exhibit Growing Up in Civil Rights Richmond: A Community Remembers.

Serving as President and CEO of Leadership Metro Richmond for 15 years, Myra is seen as a leader in the nonprofit sector, having a broad knowledge of management, leadership, and governance, often serving as an advisor, instructor, and guest lecturer. Before LMR, Myra served as an executive at the United Way for 23 years in various programs, operations, and fundraising roles. In addition, she has held positions as an institutional researcher and an economic and community planner.

Myra has been recognized for her leadership and recently received the Virginia Black Business Leaders Award from Virginia Business magazine. Myra has served on numerous boards and is a board member of the Association of Leadership programs. She is a graduate of LMR, Class of 2006. Myra holds a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and an MPA from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is married, a
mother, and a grandmother.

Valerie Slater – Executive Director, RISE for Youth

Valerie Slater leads the RISE for Youth Coalition and advocates for the rights of system involved youth. Previously Valerie was a Juvenile Justice Attorney with Legal Aid Justice Center and coordinated RISE efforts while it was housed in the JustChildren Program of LAJC. Valerie has also worked to protect the rights of children with disabilities in community, residential and juvenile justice facilities throughout the Commonwealth at the disAbility Law Center of Virginia. Valerie earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Colorado State University. Valerie has dedicated her life’s work to advocacy in its many forms to preserve and protect our most valuable resource, our youth. Valerie brings to the RISE team an unwavering commitment to strengthening youth and communities to lead the efforts to realize their visions for change.

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