Dale Nash, CEO and executive director of Virginia Space, speaks about the mission and history of Virginia Space and the opportunities for commercial space flight out of Wallops Island.

Virginia’s higher education system, consistently ranked as one of the best in the country, is well established as an elite talent incubator. But the Commonwealth’s universities, both public and private, also serve as a launching pad for startup companies.

Virginia’s infrastructure investments underpin business resiliency.

Drake Goolsby is chief commercialization officer at Luna Labs, a Charlottesville-based company that helps develop advanced technologies in biotech, advanced materials, and engineered systems for government, military, and industrial clients. VEDP Vice President of Manufacturing Sneha Atwal spoke with Goolsby about Luna Labs’ research activities.

VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi spoke with Ambassador Yui, who took over as the Taiwanese representative to the United States at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) in December 2023, about the trade relationship between Virginia and Taiwan.

Virginia has the second-largest population of veterans in the country, with nearly one out of every 10 residents a former service member. The state’s community colleges and veteran job training programs are working in concert with industry to offer veterans numerous options for retraining, within months or even weeks, to well-paying civilian trades and careers in the infrastructure and logistics industries and beyond. 

VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi spoke with Earl Buford, president of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning about CAEL’s mission and work, best practices for getting workers the training they need for the jobs they want, and the family history that motivates him. 

Steven Chen is the founder of PFP Cybersecurity, a cybersecurity firm in Fairfax County, and a partner at Blu Venture Investors, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage firms in several fields, including cybersecurity. VEDP Vice President of Knowledge Work Meghan Welch spoke with Chen about the cybersecurity funding environment in Virginia.

VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi spoke with Andy Edmunds, director of the Virginia Film Office, about the ins and outs of the film industry in Virginia and the economic impact of film production.

Fairfax-based ANRA Technologies works to create order from unmanned chaos, with an assist from VEDP’s VALET program.