Industry expertise
Anne Marie Lauranzon
Anne Marie is an accomplished and passionate marketing and communications executive with over 25 years of experience in developing system-wide strategic marketing and communications programs. She has proven expertise in branding, content creation, media, public, and community relations, website management, and crisis communications, particularly in the healthcare and higher education sectors. Anne Marie is an expert in crafting compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences and executing integrated marketing strategies that enhance corporate reputation and drive brand growth. She is skilled in managing high-stakes communications, fostering stakeholder relationships and engagement, and leveraging data-driven insights to inform decision-making and achieve business objectives.
Recognized for exceptional leadership, vision, and strategic thinking, Anne Marie has the ability to navigate complex challenges with agility and precision. She has successfully led five long-range communications plans with internal and external constituents for nationwide K-12 systems, and other non-profit organizations. She brings a wealth of community involvement and government relations experience with membership in numerous professional organizations and is an alumna of Leadership Metro Richmond.
She has served on numerous boards including the Reynolds Community College Board, where she chaired the Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Workforce Development Committee. A thirteen-year member of the Hanover County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, her committee developed the county’s first master plan for Parks, earning the Wilder Governor’s Award for Excellence. Additionally, she chaired the Patrick Henry YMCA Board and led the land search committee for its current facility in Ashland.
A past member of the Better Business Bureau Board and the Hanover County Planning Commission, she was also appointed to Plan RVA Board, which promotes cooperation and collaboration among nine localities in Central Virginia.
Megan McMahon
Dr. Megan McMahon is an Instructional Designer and UX Specialist with expertise in developing impactful learning experiences that bridge cognitive science with practical application. With a PhD in Experimental Psychology and over nine years of experience across C2C e-commerce, healthcare, and education sectors, Megan has refined her ability to translate complex user insights into effective learning strategies that drive measurable outcomes for organizations.
At VCU's da Vinci Center, Megan serves as an Innovation Fellow where she empowers organizations to transform their approach to professional development through research-informed instructional design. Her expertise in the science of learning and memory allows her to create educational experiences that optimize knowledge retention while her UX background ensures these experiences are intuitive and engaging for diverse learner populations.
Megan excels in building comprehensive learning journeys, having designed curricula on specialized topics like disability studies and developed courses that prepare students for complex challenges through innovative pedagogical approaches. Her deep commitment to experimentation—designing small tests, learning through action, and iterating—drives her approach to crafting microcredentials that deliver both immediate value and lasting impact.
A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with doctoral and master's degrees in psychology, Megan also holds a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from William & Mary. Based in Richmond, Virginia, she is active in the local product and design community and brings her passion for learning science to every consultation, workshop, and educational initiative she undertakes.
Lisa O’Mara
Lisa O’Mara is the Director of Investor Relations at Locus, a community development financial institution dedicated to creating more equitable access to capital in housing, green energy, and small businesses. With 15 years of experience as a philanthropic advisor at the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, Lisa has honed her skills in guiding corporations, financial institutions, place-based foundations, and other impact investors to leverage their assets for meaningful community impact.
Lisa is particularly adept at facilitating communication across generations of donors, helping them build values-based family mission statements that ensure their grantmaking is both personally fulfilling and impactful for the community. Her deep passion for philanthropy drives her to seek out collaborations in thought leadership and educational programming that advance the philanthropic and impact finance sectors.
A proud graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Bryce Harlow Institute of Government Affairs at Georgetown University, Lisa is also a certified 21/64 advisor. Based in Richmond, Virginia, Lisa is always up for a good conversation, especially when coffee is involved.
Linda Wilkinson
Linda has been working in the nonprofit sector for 25+ years. Her career includes resource development and lobbying for large health systems, vulnerable and marginalized patient populations, and leading programmatic, systems and legislative changes for some of the largest national health organizations in the United States and Poland. Until June 2019, for eight years she served as CEO of the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (VAFCC) where she supported more than 60 clinics serving 73,000 patients with their medical, dental, mental health and pharmaceutical needs valued at $131M.
Recognizing Linda’s integrity, commitment to helping vulnerable communities, and ability to successfully manage public funds, Linda was chosen to help oversee a $100M portfolio of COVID-relief funding for small businesses for the Office of the Governor for the Commonwealth of Virginia and re-designed a $500M pharmaceutical program for an international relief organization – both in 2020.
Recently, Linda worked with an international group of healthcare providers to develop a Center of Excellence in Poland for Ukranian soldiers and civilians suffering from PTSD/Acute Stress Disorders/Polytrauma sustained in the war with Russia. Her career development impact exceeds $100M.
Furthering her commitment to public service, the Governor of Virginia appointed Linda to the Family and Children’s Trust Fund Board of Trustees in 2020; she was elected Chair of the Board in 2022. In 2021, the Hanover County Board of Supervisors appointed her to the county’s Community Services Board to advocate on behalf of residents with various behavioral health needs including substance use disorder.
She is a very proud alumna of Randolph-Macon College where she serves on the Alumni Society Board of Directors and the Physician Assistant and Nursing programs advisory councils. She also studied at Virginia Commonwealth University, Johns Hopkins University and in 2019 achieved a Masters Certificate from Michigan State University in Strategic Business and Leadership. She is certified by BoardSource in Board Education and recently achieved a CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) certification.