Candace Mraz is an Entrepreneur, Event Strategist, Producer, & Inclusion Advocate. Her career spans 24 years in event management & production, and non-profit administration. She infuses the arts into her work and uses her diverse perspectives, personal experiences, creative ideas and passion for inclusion to engage and inspire audiences.

In addition to creating Mraz & Company, Candace co-founded FreeHorse Arts a 501(c)(3) ensemble of collaborative innovators who customize integrative arts programs and creative equine experiences for people of diverse abilities. Candace is also a managing partner of Sugar Creek, a new event venue and destination in Virginia with a mission to build a sustainable workplace for people with varying abilities, reimagining how we work and play.

Candace is a Co-Producer of the Emmy Award winning Documentary Film: FROM THE WINGS: The LIVE ART Story and the former Executive Director and Vice President of Development for the American Heart Association in Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke, Virginia. Candace modernized the Heart Walk, Heart Ball & Go Red for Women events with an emphasis on digital media production and innovative donor engagement.

For 8 years, as the Senior Director of Development for SPARC, Candace championed a $6M capital campaign including the cash purchase of a $2.5M two-acre campus and construction of fully accessible instructional studios. Candace was also instrumental in developing and implementing the fundraising and event strategies for SPARC’s nationally recognized inclusive arts education program and music concert, LIVE ART.

Candace is attracted to complex strategic and tactical challenges and her expansive career includes work with World Healthcare Congress, World Tech Congress, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), The Jason Mraz Foundation, Letts Consult, St. Margaret’s School, Richmond Times Dispatch & Em Forme magazine, Benchmark Hospitality, Virginia Ability and Retro Hospitality.

Candace holds a certificate in Fundraising & Development from the University of Richmond’s Institute on Philanthropy and studied Business Administration at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She enjoys getting her hands in the dirt each morning as a team member at The Freckled Flower Farm in Montpelier, VA, hiking in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains any chance she gets, live music and a great glass of bourbon. Her proudest development project is raising her two daughters, Chaney and Ruby in the “Center of Universe” Ashland, VA.

Jane brings 30 years of diverse leadership experience to her work from both for-profit and non-profit organizations in business and community development, market expansion, operations, start-up programming, and project management, including a decade of health care delivery system strategy and contracting work in positions in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Honolulu.

Jane earned her degree in Boston at Simmons University with a B.A. in Economics, and enjoyed an economics policy exchange program at the American University while working at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. In her healthcare career, she developed an expertise in building communities and serving diverse, under-resourced communities. While working as the Director of Member and Provider Services at the San Francisco Health Plan Jane managed a multilingual department and supported stakeholders in six hospitals, 34 clinics and 1,000 ancillary providers after being hired to design and establish operations and enrollment, member services, provider relations and quality improvement systems.

In more recent years Jane earned a Certificate in Women's Leadership from the Yale School of Management's Executive Education Program, and developed an expertise in program development in the arts and community building. In 2009 while raising her sons, Jane trained with the Love & Logic Institute in Denver and founded a consulting business as a parenting educator and public speaker. In 2012 Jane began volunteering her time in service to two area performing arts organizations in committee and board positions with Hartford Stage and Unified Theater with a special interest in programs designed to engage students of all abilities. This interest also led to seven years of involvement with Richmond, Virginia’s, Live Art program, created by SPARC, in a variety of volunteer roles and as a sponsor.

In 2018, Jane founded CT Inclusive Arts, with non-profit fiscal sponsorship via Fractured Atlas, and secured funding, designed programming, marketing and publicity campaigns, and created a network of community partners and engaged professional singer-songwriters/bands and over 100 people in various roles to offer inclusive arts classes and a performance experience for young people with varying abilities, in greater Hartford. Covid-19 forced the cancellation of their major production and fundraiser that was scheduled for March 2020. During this time, Jane began collaborating more regularly with Candace Mraz, which led to her transition to the Mraz & Company team full time in 2021.

Jane joined Mraz & Company in 2021 and has been working with Mraz & Company clients as a project lead and business strategist. With a rich background of experiences, Jane brings an acute attention to detail and an innate knack for development, marketing and strategy work, community building, event, program design and implementation to the team. In her free time Jane can be found chasing sunsets, enjoying her young adult sons, and exploring local music and art with her husband Mark, a visual artist, musician and educator.

For more than 25 years, Shawn has served as a leader in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. His leadership experience extends to sales, marketing, operations, event planning, and project management.

Shawn earned a Biology degree from Longwood College and thereafter, landed a role as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep at Roche Laboratories, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Nutley, NJ. His territory covered Northern Virginia and parts of West Virginia and Maryland. He quickly developed a knack for sales strategy and relationship selling. His skills earned him sales awards and travel incentives for reaching and exceeding sales goals.

Despite his sales success, Shawn felt a ‘call’ to ministry and began studying Christian Counseling at Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham, MD. He then joined the staff of Destiny Baptist Church in Martinsburg, WV, as the Pastor of Mission and Outreach. He also served as the Executive Director of the church’s non-profit, The Imani Foundation. In those capacities, Shawn engaged the church in its first overseas mission projects while leading 12 separate ministry teams focused on serving youth and families within the Martinsburg community. In addition to the pastoral duties of preaching, teaching, and counseling, he acquired skills in grant writing. Through the foundation, he developed partnerships and garnered funding from Ryan Homes, Berkeley County Board of Education, and American Public University to run summer youth programming at the local Boys & Girls Club. Shawn also began significant advocacy work with other marginalized groups, including individuals with HIV/AIDS, veterans exiting drug rehabilitation programs, and at-risk youth.

In 2007, Shawn left the ministry to serve as Vice President of Operations for ECDA Acquisitions, an event production company focused on youth athletics. As the leader of the east coast division of this Ohio-based firm, Shawn honed his skills in marketing, project management, and budgeting. He led a team of 40+ full-time, part-time, and contract staff members in the planning and execution of more than 20 events at various arenas and convention centers along the east coast. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the organization’s strategic planning efforts and was a leader in the design of the company’s online registration and payment platform. While at ECDA, Shawn attended the University of Richmond to complete a certification in Business Coaching.

Shawn returned to his passion for advocating for marginalized communities in 2016 by taking on the Director of Workforce Development role at Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia. As the director, Shawn led a team of 75 staff members engaged in job readiness, job placement, and employee support activities for TANF recipients, those released from incarceration, immigrant and refugee populations, and individuals with educational and other barriers to work. His regional team served the southeastern portion of the state and operated programs out of 3 community employment centers. Shawn then matriculated to the Director of Vocational Services position, which offered the same services with a specialized focus on individuals with disabilities. This opportunity required him to work closely with the organization’s accreditation and compliance teams which enabled him to lead his staff through several successful CARF re- accreditation processes and Medicaid audits. His work in this division led to an appointment by the Virginia State Senate to serve on the Employment Service Organization Steering Committee (ESOSC), a group formed to advise the Commissioner of DARS (Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services) on how to allocate state and federal funding for disability employment services.

Presently Shawn serves as the State Director for the Virginia Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), a Medicare advocacy program focused on educating and supporting seniors in preventing, detecting, and reporting healthcare fraud, errors, and abuse. Shawn leads a team of a hundred paid and volunteer staff in providing services statewide through sub-contract partnerships with the state’s 25 local area agencies on aging. His work with the SMP led him to author 101 Fraud Tips, an economic empowerment resource designed to help seniors protect their assets and identity from scammers. Shawn travels the state making presentations and serves as an SME on various panels and committees.

As a consultant, Shawn focuses on strategic and organizational development for non-profits, and churches; business coaching for non-profit and church leaders; and developing programs that serve marginalized communities. In addition, Shawn is a dynamic motivational speaker. His speaking topics include personal and leadership development and fraud prevention.

In his spare time, Shawn volunteers in many capacities. He’s continued his advocacy work by serving on the boards of Diversity Richmond, Virginia Ability, and the Virginia SALT Council, organizations that serve the LGBTQ, disabled, and senior communities, respectively. A 2018 graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond (LMR), Shawn served on the organization’s Finance committee, and in 2021, Governor Ralph Northam appointed him to the Longwood University Board of Visitors.

Shawn has two sons, Shawn II, and Vaughn. He resides in Richmond, VA.

Keir has over 15 years of deep experience in Agile Operating Methodologies, Product Management, Organizational Change Management, Process Management, and DE&I Frameworks. A native of Virginia, Keir earned a BA in Fine Arts from Hampden-Sydney College where he was a mainstay on the stage as a cast member of Alpha Psi Omega. He has spent time in several industries and is most proud of helping to launch the Visa Canada Signature Concierge program at Allianz, facilitating corporate technology migrations and applying a home-grown Agile framework in Human Resources at Capital One, driving Agile operating model and product management adoption transitions at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and his ongoing advocacy work in the disability and Indigenous American communities in the greater Richmond area.

Keir is an Eagle Scout and is constantly finding ways to get into nature – even in his wheelchair. He loves plants and animals and regularly provides snake relocation services in his community along with his three kids and wife. He spends as much time as possible building community and plays music in several local bands where he sings, plays guitar, and plays percussion. He has sung and performed all over the Eastern seaboard and Western Europe, including Nôtre Dame in Paris, Nôtre Dame d’Amiens, Penshurst Place in England, the all-Indigenous choir celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, and virtually every United Methodist church between Virginia and Florida.

Keir met Candace Mraz between sets while he was performing at a local concert, and their shared passion for advocacy and the arts created an instant connection. He loves using design thinking and creative problem-solving techniques paired with Agile delivery methods and equity frameworks to deliver meaningful, needle-moving results for his customers.

Kelly has traversed the globe gaining professional experience in business development, non-profit administration, and event management working in both non-profit and for-profit organizations all while strengthening her intercultural competence. As a dynamic leader, Kelly is passionate, creative, and determined with 20+ years of diverse experience in networking, community engagement, marketing, leadership, fundraising, & education. She excels at magnifying the work of businesses and organizations through networking and storytelling.

Starting her career in the field of education, Kelly refined her skills in storytelling, training, and motivating. As a professor of International Business in Taiwan, Kelly equipped eager business students to work for, lead, and start global businesses. When she moved back home to Virginia, she and her partner, Sara, immediately started a flower farm and florist, and quickly connected with active and involved nonprofits and businesses. She then took the position of Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at SPARC (School of Performing Arts in the Richmond Community), where she worked with Candace Mraz, Founder of Mraz & Co. to secure funding and expand their network of community partners.

While working in the nonprofit world, Kelly cultivated strong relationships with leadership teams & corporate management teams and grew her expertise in program & business development. She also expanded her knowledge and increased her network by participating in the Manifest Equity Conference, the Moose Management Academy, AFP’s International Fundraising Conference, among several other conferences training experiences.

In 2018, Kelly was recruited to amplify all aspects of rural nonprofit, The Montpelier Center for Arts & Education through marketing, storytelling, and networking as well as strengthen organizational synergy. Kelly engaged communities and sponsors through in-person & virtual events and aligned those events with the mission, vision, and marketing strategy of the non-profit. In just 3 short years, The Montpelier Center’s programming and events dramatically expanded, their social media presence and followers skyrocketed, and donations & income more than doubled.

Recently, Kelly has put her energy into her business, The Freckled Flower Farm, by expanding product and program development in Central Virginia. Kelly’s ‘let’s shoot for the stars…and this is how we are going to get there’ approach has led to exponential growth, awards, significant grants & sponsorships for the businesses and non-profits she’s worked with.

Kelly received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Campbell University, studied Educational Leadership at Golden Gate Seminary & Intercultural Studies at Union University, and received her International MBA from Providence University. While in school, Kelly was an avid supporter of nonprofits and regularly volunteered for underserved communities in Asia, Latin America, and the USA. When she’s not working, Kelly enjoys exploring new towns & live music with her wife, Sara, experimenting in the kitchen, and having fun while making memories with her niece and nephews.

For more than 30 years Bob Tarren has been upending convention while transforming brands, growing sales, and expanding market share. His reputation for thinking both big and strategically has been recognized with more than 2 dozen national and regional advertising, and communications awards. As Director of Marketing and Communications for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts he transformed a sleepy institution into a top 10 national attraction and relaunched the museum into the jewel of Virginia. He accomplished similar outcomes for the Science Museum of Virginia and the Frick Pittsburgh.

As Chief Marketing Officer of Murphy Arts District he created the marketing and launch strategies that resulted in more than 7 billion media impressions in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone Magazine, USA Today and more… for a tiny start up in the middle of nowhere.

His data-driven strategies helped Circuit City overtake Best Buy, Amazon and Walmart in share and sales in the $4 billion TV category and earned a congratulations letter from Steve Jobs for his work on the Apple business. His data-drive ideation on Circuit City’s Innovation team led to a new store concept. In Tarren’s first startup, he led the sales force and marketing department to become Virginia’s Small Business of the Year and was featured on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list three years in a row.

Tactically, Tarren is responsible for many ‘firsts’ - the first use of SMS messaging by a national retailer to market to college students, first use of an app to allow users to create their own Chihuly glass art by blowing into the phone, the first partnership with international best-selling author Patricia Cornwell for a custom in-bar mystery to sell Guinness beer, the first feature story in Wine Spectator of the Virginia Wine Industry, and the first use of Augmented Reality in a partnership with Starbucks.

His entrepreneurial roots began with a small business founded with his college roommate. That retail startup grew into stores around Virginia, and ultimately the largest screen-printing plant on the country with Nike, Pepsi USA, and Benetton among its clients. The company was awarded Virginia Small Business of the Year by the Small Business Association and selected to Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies 3 years in a row.

Tarren has taught two senior level university courses: ACUMEN (the business of advertising), and EMPATHY (the art & science of account management).

Jill has more than 20 years experience in global business development, in partnership with growing young companies and the Fortune 100 alike. Her most recent focus prior to establishing Sugar Creek with Candace was the development of digital diversity and inclusion curricula for corporations such as USAA. She has a particular proficiency in communications, including brand development, web design and digital marketing, and is the owner of Jill Taylor Creative, a digital marketing and website design company. She has developed brand identity for over 100 clients across the globe. Her fundraising and event production experience dates to 2010 when she founded We Have Hope, an event held in Richmond, Virginia, to benefit Down syndrome research and LuMind IDSC. Her passion for seeking projects that support authentic inclusion was born in 2001 when her daughter, Hope, was born with Down syndrome.

Jill has a BS in Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University and lives in Richmond with her husband, three kids, a lazy lab, and a retriever mix.

Martin, an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, founded Martin Montgomery Films in 2018 after more than twenty years telling stories. He first started as a professional actor and director on theatrical stages, and later found a love for storytelling behind the lens. Rising to the role of Creative Director and Partner with humanstory, a production company specializing in micro- documentaries for non-profit organizations, educational institutions and beyond, Martin co-directed, produced, filmed and edited From the Wings - a LIVE ART story, that was Martin’s first feature documentary beginning in 2011. This experience confirmed that his true passion was the power of storytelling with a camera.

In the LIVE ART story, Martin followed students with disabilities and typically developed students on a journey of working together and creating performance pieces with teachers from SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community), that also involved Virginia based musicians and nationally acclaimed recording artists in a major culminating concert production. This film awarded Martin his first Emmy.

Over the span of eight years while working with SPARC on the LIVE ART program, Martin also directed, filmed and edited three major concert documentaries that were aired in Virginia and picked up nationally by American Public Television. During this time, Martin worked with hundreds of amazing students of all abilities, hundreds of groundbreaking teachers and multi-talented recording artist such as Jason Mraz, k.d. lang, Josh Groban, Rob Thomas, Sara Bareilles, Paul Williams, Christina Perri, Keb’ Mo’, MILCK, Hanson, Ben Lee, Raining Jane and actor Richard Jenkins.

Martin Montgomery Films’ latest project, HEARD, produced by Belltower Pictures and VPM was awarded an Emmy in June 2021. In HEARD, Martin directed, filmed and edited the full feature documentary that illuminated the personal stories of those living in and coming out of public housing in Richmond, Virginia. HEARD aired throughout Virginia and was also picked up nationwide by American Public Television.

While working as a director, producer, cinematographer and editor on projects of every scale, from mini-documentaries and small business promotion projects, Martin Montgomery Films also proudly directed two major projects for recording artist Jason Mraz in 2018/2019 including a documentary movie entitled, Have it All The Movie, that chronicled Mraz’s self-discovery that a successful career in music comes with a responsibility to shine the light on others that have helped him along the way. Have It All The Movie can be seen on Amazon Prime. Martin also conceptualized and directed the music video for Mraz’s song Love Is Still The Answer from his Know album and it has been viewed over five million times.

During Martin’s nine years as Creative Director and Producer with humanstory, he also worked with the likes of Facebook, The Voice, Ranger Boats, Enjoy Life Foods, Deep River Snacks, Petmate, Funko, Graze, World Pediatric Project, Numotion, Vispero, PlayCore, B&W Growers, Simpson, Virginia Is For Lovers, University of Richmond, and many more. With humanstory, Martin directed, filmed, wrote and edited the Emmy award winning, A Bridge of Hearts - a Richmond Ballet story. This documentary followed the journey of Richmond Ballet performing four American Ballet’s in four cities in China, including Beijing and Shanghi and received Emmy recognition in 2019.

Martin holds a B.F.A. from Longwood University and is a proud husband and father to Ellie and Aiden.