Caryn Foster Durham, Class of 2008

Caryn Foster Durham
Chief Executive Officer /Owner, Charles Ryan Associates
Richmond, VA

What is new and exciting with you now or since your time with Lead Virginia?
I participated in the program in 2008 with, what is undeniably, the best class. Since that time, many exciting things have happened!

Among the most exciting was my company, Charles Ryan Associates (CRA), being named one of AdWeek’s Top Advertising Shops on the US. However, my most notable professional accomplishment was the successful purchase of CRA with my business partner. The firm has experienced steady growth in revenue, staff and real estate. In January 2016 we welcomed three of our long time employees as partners (two of which are Lead Virginia Alumni). We are a federally certified women-owned business and anticipate having our women business enterprise designation.

I serve as the secretary of the board of directors for the Virginia Industry Council and, most recently, have been elected as president for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Richmond & Southwest Virginia chapter. Additionally, I serve on the board of Virginia Craft Brewers Guild and Southeast Tourism Society.

Notable personal accomplishments include the completion of two triathlons and my oldest daughter getting both her driver’s license and a car.

How has your Lead Virginia experience influenced or shaped you as a leader?
My Lead Virginia experience helped me better define the type of leader I wanted to become. While I was a proven and established leader when entering the program, I was not an evolved leader.

Acceptance of the desire to grow beyond where I was as a leader allowed me to put a plan in place to achieve success. Further, the understanding that growth did not mean I was failing was freeing. While my evolution is not complete, I am a stronger and more empathetic leader as a result of my Lead Virginia Experience.

Since Lead Virginia, how have you put your social capital to work?
Social Capital is built on the belief that likeminded people can influence change – large and small. I didn’t realize it prior to my Lead Virginia experience but social capital is a large part of who I am as an individual and what we do as a company.

Some specific examples that come to mind include 1 – identifying the people who have aided in my success and making them my business partners so that we might build a better future for ourselves and our employees. 2 – identifying issues I felt passionately about and lending my time to them and 3 – seeking the opportunity to learn and listen to those who do not think like me son that I might better educate myself.

What is something that Lead Virginia inspired you to do that you were not doing before your class year?
My Lead Virginia Experience inspired me to do more than following along. I learned that sometimes you must be willing to be the one to take the chance and raise your hand to make sure something happens. On the many occasions I have raised my hand in the last eight years, I have been rewarded with expanded knowledge, a greater sense of purpose and the ability to know when not to raise my hand.

What did you expect from Lead Virginia going in? Did the program exceed your expectations and broaden your horizons?
My expectation going in to Lead Virginia was to learn about the issues facing Virginia and the way the different regions of the Commonwealth contributed to the picture as a whole. My expectation was fully met.

I did not expect to learn as much from my classmates as I did from the curriculum. The time we spent on the bus, onsite, in the classroom and at the bar was great, but the countless hours they have given me in counsel, experience and comfort since that time is beyond compare.

My participation in the alumni conferences has expanded my Lead Virginia network and I now have a wonderful, blended Lead Virginia family that expands beyond the borders of Virginia.

I expected education, I did not expect the lasting friendships.