Virginia Leadership Institute set to honor rising young African American leaders

The Virginia Leadership Institute will hold its “Top 10 Under 40” awards ceremony on May 7, to honor 10 of the region’s rising young African American leaders in business, politics and community involvement.

According to Krysta Jones, the founder and president of the Virginia Leadership Institute, the event will help raise the profile of achievements made by African American professionals in Northern Virginia.

The honorees include:
Dana Taylor

Dana Taylor is the founder, CEO & chief strategist of Intelligent Ethos, Inc., which serves small businesses in fields such as cyber security, data consulting, market research, and other technology and technical services areas. Taylor also leads the Executive Circle Dinner program for the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce and launched a mastermind group for early-stage women-owned businesses that meets monthly at the City Club of Washington.

Terron Sims

Terron Sims is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

He served in Iraq from May 2003 to July 2004. During both Obama campaigns, he was the director of Virginia Veterans and Military Families for Obama and served on the defense and veterans policy teams. Sims is president of the Northern Virginia Black Democrats, chairs the Democratic Party of Virginia’s Veterans and Military Families Caucus and is on Virginia’s 8th Congressional District steering committee.

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