Amy-Sarah Marshall Presented with the 2016 Q Businesswoman Award at 2016 Chamber “Quadruplicity” Conference

written by Newspack Team | February 11, 2016

(Charlottesville, Virginia –February 11) 
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce today presented the Chamber 2016 Q Businesswoman Award  to Amy-Sarah Marshall.  The presentation was made during the 2016 Chamber Quadruplicity Conference, February 11th at the DoubleTree Hotel.  The Chamber Quadruplicity Conference is attended annually by more than 200 business and civic leaders. This year’s conference is the first Chamber Quadruplicity Conference to sell-out conference with more than 300 attendees.

Underwritten by University of Virginia Health System, the annual Chamber Quadruplicity Conference focuses on four elements of balance: Career, Life, Money & Health.  The conference is a full day of programming including this year’s keynote speaker Meredith Strohm Gunter from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Attendees participate in speed networking and have the option of attending one of six workshops held during the day, including a panel Q&A towards the end of the day.  Many local exhibitors participate to showcase their enterprises.

Amy-Sarah Marshall is founding president of the Charlottesville Pride Community Network, an organization dedicated to creating a vibrant and visible LGTBQ community presence that hosts the annual Charlottesville Pride Festival. In her work planning and putting on four highly successful festivals, with thousands in attendance, she has worked with local businesses, media, and other organizations in the area to produce an event that benefits the local economy and the community in general. An appointee to the Governor’s Task Force on LGBT Tourism and a member of the Human Rights Commission in Charlottesville, Cville Weekly named Amy-Sarah one of the area’s top 20 passionate people in 2013. She   co-founded and ran Cville Working Moms, a blog and support network with a large membership, and she’s a graduate of the City’s Neighborhood Leadership Institute and the Center for Nonprofit Excellence Board Academy. That’s her volunteer world — Amy-Sarah is also a web content strategist for UVA Health System, has two children, and is soon to be married to her partner of several years, Lisa Green.

After coming out as gay at age 16, Amy-Sarah found a passion for LGBTQ rights, participating in the ROSMY youth support group and performing outreach to area high schools. Since then, she has served as a ROSMY facilitator, conducted sexual education outreach, and has been organizing and speaking at LGBTQ community events, rallies, and forums in the Charlottesville area for over seven years.     

As President of the Charlottesville Pride Community Network, Amy-Sarah serves as a resource throughout the year for members of the community, including local businesses. Under her guidance, the Cville Pride project has helped sponsor many local events (the first-ever LGBT Youth Pride Picnic, Piedmont Virginia Community College’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” senior events, health forums, Book Festival panels, and the upcoming Big Read art contest), and she’s reached out to local businesses to ascertain how Cville Pride can partner with them to promote programs and events that benefit everyone in the local community. One of these initiatives has developed into the Charlottesville Area Safe Space Training Coalition, a joint venture that offers training and support to businesses and organizations looking to expand their ability to serve the LGBT population. The first Pride Festival in 2012 attracted several thousand people to the downtown area. The most recent, in 2015, had approximately 5,000 attendees. Amy-Sarah was proactive in working with local restaurants and businesses to drive festival attendees through their doors.       

Amy-Sarah, whose most recent volunteer efforts include holding writing workshop for the Women’s Initiative, has a particular interest in helping women (and youth) develop their skills and potential. She has brought a number of women into Cville Pride both as board members and volunteers, encouraging them to develop and use their strengths.

Amy Sarah also has a master of fine arts in poetry from George Mason University. She’s served as a web writing teacher, social media consultant, and website guru to nonprofits and individual business owners alike. Her daily work at UVA Health System includes online advertising, Google Analytics, SEO, editing and reputation management. She brings her passion for LGBTQ and women’s rights to work, writing about topics such as UVA’s clinic for transgender youth and the history of women in healthcare.     

Amy-Sarah has been an inspiration (acknowledged by many) to women in the community because of her role in raising the visibility of LGBT issues, bringing the first-ever Pride Festival to town, her advocacy about many issues, her passionate and open communication style, and her genuine concern for giving voice to all members of the community.

The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to representing private enterprise, promoting business and enhancing the quality of life in the Greater Charlottesville communities.  Founded in 1913, today more than 1,200 Chamber member and affiliate member enterprises employ more than 45,000 men and women in Greater Charlottesville, representing an estimated total payroll of more than $ a year.