Rooting for Richmond

Innovation. Impact. Inspiration. Meet eight leaders, personalities and community makers who have deep connections to Richmond and are finding extraordinary ways to contribute to the region they love. They range widely in age and represent a spectrum of civic involvement; some wield public influence, while others lead behind-the-scenes efforts to get the job done, but they are all groundbreakers in their respective areas.

Gary L. Flowers

Striving for a Richmond renaissance

“My father always extolled, ‘Don’t forget your Egypt,’ meaning, no matter where you go in life or what mountaintop, don’t forget from whence you came,” says national radio host, Jackson Ward tour guide and political analyst Gary L. Flowers.

Born in Richmond, Flowers’ local roots run deep — he attended Richmond Public Schools, graduated from the University of Virginia, and then trained at the law firm of Hill, Tucker & Marsh before working as a special assistant to Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. But don’t let those city connections fool you: Flowers’ impact expands well beyond the region.

Among his many accomplishments, he is most proud of two: assisting the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in launching the New York-based Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project to provide equal opportunities for culturally diverse employees, entrepreneurs and vendors, and, as the executive director of the Black Leadership Forum, at UVA, impacting legislation at the congressional, state and local levels.

But he was led back to Richmond. “I heard my father’s voice from the grave saying, ‘Boy, stop trying to save the world, and go home and take care of your mama and your sister.’ And I complied,” he says, sharing that he took care of his mother until she died in 2022.

An eighth-generation Virginian, fifth-generation Richmonder and fourth-generation son of Jackson Ward, Flowers had another reason for coming home: “I believe God sent me back to Richmond to stir the pot of passivity into a Richmond renaissance,” he says.

Calling himself a modern-day abolitionist and referring to Virginia, and the city of Richmond in particular, as “Ground Zero for the American Empire,” he looks forward to a day when “the wealthy will take their boots off the necks of the poor and those who just want to grow in Richmond.” He has ideas for shaking up the General Assembly, transforming abandoned tobacco warehouses into centers for 21st-century technology, improving the faculties and infrastructure of Richmond Public Schools and revitalizing the arts. Flowers sees himself as part of a future Coalition of Conscience — a phrase he borrowed from the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — that would “transform the commonwealth of Virginia from feudalism to a forward-thinking state.”

Flowers’ “pot-stirring” currently includes giving historical, 20-stop walking tours of Jackson Ward and hosting “The Gary Flowers Show” on WOL News Talk 1450 and 95.9 FM on Sunday mornings. —Julinda Lewis

Dr. Alice Coombs

Pursuing character and integrity

The rap group N.W.A. put Compton, California, on the map in the 1980s with their explosive debut album. Around the same time, Richard Williams was training his two young daughters, Venus and Serena, to become tennis legends.

Twenty years before the world’s attention was turned to the Southern California city by those icons, Alice Coombs grew up there with her parents and five siblings. She developed an interest in learning how the human body works and, as a medical student at UCLA doing rotations through area hospitals, became frustrated with the health care disparities she witnessed in her community.

Decades later, that combination of interests led Coombs to becoming the first Black woman president of the Medical Society of Virginia, a membership and advocacy organization for medical doctors. Elected in October 2023, she is only the fourth female president of the century-old nonprofit and the first person to have served as president of two state medical societies (she led the Massachusetts Medical Society in 2010).

Coombs says she has always been guided by her mother’s encouragement. “She told me that I was going to grow up to be something special, that ‘You can make it if you try.’”

As a young doctor, Coombs originally left her home state to pursue a residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. As her career continued, she also was advocating to improve the profession, leading American Medical Association efforts to eliminate health care disparities and improve diversity, as well as influencing health care legislation. She joined the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in 2017 and has chaired its Department of Anesthesiology since 2021.

Part of the key to her success, she says, is looking for the qualities she most admired in her mother when hiring for her team. “My mother had character and was a woman of integrity — everybody in the neighborhood trusted her,” she says. She attributes her strong work ethic and motivation to do well and pursue excellence to her mother, as well.

Coombs plans to use the same principles as president of MSV to focus on “best care.” She explains, “Best care encompasses so many things. I’ll be looking at the impact of legislation on the practice of medicine — and I mean every aspect of it, thinking of patients first.” —Holly Rodriguez

Patrick Mamou

Orchestrating change

Patrick Mamou is a multifaceted force: a poet, emcee, filmmaker, producer and founder of The Mamou Group. “But who I really am depends on the day” and the needs of his many projects, he says. “Just call me a creative producer.”

Mamou’s role as a spoken-word artist began in the 1990s during informal meetings with local rapper-poets Martin Reamy and Nyaze in a tiny downtown Richmond apartment. Those sessions led to the birth of Jazz Poets Society, which performed spoken-word lyrics backed by a jazz band at the now-shuttered Underground Railroad Jazz Cafe, a local club. A fan base grew, and the group released two albums. Although Jazz Poets Society disbanded, Mamou went on to release a music video on BET and continues to perform; he’s known for his thought-provoking, socially conscious lyrics.

Now the founder and creative director of The Mamou Group, a boutique advertising agency he started in 2006, Mamou offers marketing, digital and production services. “I am the creative director and a liaison between the client and their project,” he explains. “Whether it be a commercial or short, this allows me to get a sense of what their needs are so that I can help develop a solution to market their business, brand or organization.”

Mamou also develops his own films and music videos. His short drama “Together” premiered in 2021 at the Afrikana Independent Film Festival, and “7” was selected by the Richmond International Film Festival the same year; he currently has two feature films in editing. “Film is an area that I knew I could lean into more because of my collective experience as an independent artist, manager of Jazz Poets Society and as a producer,” he says. “Film requires all that I have to offer.”

After moving to the city with his family as a child, Mamou graduated from Richmond Community High School, then earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg and returned to Richmond. “I always had a sense of pride for the creativity that was coming out of Richmond. Artists like D’Angelo proved that I didn’t have to move somewhere else to be able to have a voice,” he says.

Although Richmond isn’t considered a primary market, it presents a draw for aspiring creatives and artists. “My goal is never to be a big fish in a smaller pond,” Mamou says. “I believe that if you have direction and focus, you can make things happen in a smaller pond quicker than you could in a bigger pond. A secondary market with consistent traffic allows for one’s craft to be brought in front of the right eyes.”

Despite the opportunities, the city still has challenges, says Mamou. “You can still feel the weight of some of Richmond’s past. Once I traveled to different cities, I was able to see a difference in the balance of culture. Richmond is missing this, particularly in business interactions and with people of color. Old Richmond still exists.”

However, Mamou remains hopeful that the next generation will help shift mindsets. He’s investing in the future he wants to see through his creation in 2022 of MAMU, a free streaming platform that features pilots, premieres, music videos, documentaries, web series and feature films from independent artists worldwide. “I’m a visionary,” Mamou says. “I like to take chances on things that I believe in. I see challenges as opportunities to create a new path.”

Mamou adds that his dreams transcend personal aspirations.

“I want to use my streaming platform and agency to leave a lasting imprint on the world,” he says, “creating videos and ads that challenge mindsets about community barriers and, especially, addressing homelessness. I want to make Richmond a better community.” —Amanda Eaddy McKeithan

Sheriff Alisa A. Gregory

Being part of the solution

Henrico County Sheriff Alisa A. Gregory says she follows rules of good conscience when it comes to managing her staff and the inmates she’s responsible for.

 She promotes from within and prefers to recruit people who live in the community they will be serving. She believes jail is an opportunity for rehabilitation and has little interest in the charges against an inmate. “I love people,” she says. “Sometimes good people make bad decisions, but that doesn’t mean they are bad people.”

For Gregory, the bigger question is, what caused the individual to be charged? “I want to know what deficiencies led them to make the decisions that they did, because that can be corrected,” she says.

Her goal of helping people in her community may be the reason that in 2019 she became the first woman and the first Black elected sheriff of Henrico County — and why she won a second term in 2023.

Gregory lived in the city of Richmond until third grade, when her family moved to eastern Henrico County. She worked with the U.S. Postal Service before entering law enforcement, a career path she had never considered until frustration pushed her to think about jobs beyond the post office. “I had to work weekends, and I had kids,” she explains. A deacon in her church recommended that she apply to be a deputy sheriff — a position that would give her some weekends off.

She did not know self-defense techniques and had never shot a gun, but she got a job in 1998 as a Henrico deputy, the start of her 25-year career in law enforcement.

The sheriff disagrees with people who complain that the system of justice and law enforcement is too broken to be fixed. “Oh, it is fixable,” she says, “but the truth is, it takes all of us to make it work. I continually have conversations with people in the community about all of us being a part of the solution.” —HR

Landon Johnson

Aiming for the goal

Landon Johnson signed a contract to play with the Richmond Kickers shortly before his 17th birthday.

It had been his lifelong dream to become a professional soccer player, but most don’t realize their dreams quite so young. “I remember going back as far as probably when I was about 6 years old, I used to always joke about how I didn’t like reading books and going to school. I used to tell my aunt, ‘I don’t need to do all that because I’m gonna go pro anyway,’” he says.

And he has done just that. Johnson signed a United Soccer League Academy contract — designed to provide a career path to the profession for promising youth prospects — with the Kickers in July 2023. In September, he became the first Kickers player on a USL contract to sign professionally with the club, as well as the youngest professional player ever to sign with the Kickers.

The Chesterfield County native started his soccer career playing for Chesterfield United at age 4, moving on to the Richmond Strikers and Richmond United. At age 15, he moved to Georgia to play for the Atlanta United Academy — a youth development program similar to the USL Academy. “I moved down there for a year, and right when I got down there, I got a stress fracture in my back,” Johnson says. “It was a pretty hard time. There were times when I couldn’t even run, and I thought, ‘Maybe this isn’t the path for me.’” Being away from home brought other challenges as well. “Atlanta is a big city. It’s just a lot different from my home.”

Fortunately, he had a strong support system there: two fellow players from Virginia, a former coach who had relocated to Atlanta and was working at AUA, and and his older brother, Ty, who  had played for the Kickers in 2021 but now attends the University of North Carolina. “Playing soccer in college was never really that big of a thing for me — I always wanted to go pro,” Johnson notes. He moved back home in mid-2023 and shortly after was offered the USL Academy contract with the Kickers.

Johnson’s debut was a “friendly” — noncompetitive game — against Comunicaciones FC, a club based in Guatemala City, on July 18, 2023. “There’s a night I’ll probably never forget, when I made my debut … and also getting my first professional start,” he says. “We were training the week before, and I got put in the starting team. I didn’t think too much of it; I thought maybe the coach was trying me out. We got about halfway through the week, and [realizing I was going to start] I called my parents and my brother.” His parents attend every home game.

Although he’s just getting his start as a pro, Johnson sees himself as a mentor to other young players. “Keep dreaming and dream big. There’s gonna be hardships, but I saw a quote somewhere that said, ‘If a mountain was smooth, you wouldn’t be able to climb it.’ That’s a good way to live life. There’s going to be challenges, but keep going and don’t give up. If you give up, you only let somebody else win.”

What does the future hold? “For the team, I haven’t got a win yet, and I want to score my first goal,” Johnson says. Personally, he hopes to play in Europe eventually. And, he adds, “I’m still going to further my education out of high school. I don’t know when, but it will definitely happen.” —JL

Keith Balmer

Championing inclusivity in Richmond’s electoral landscape

City of Richmond General Registrar Keith Balmer is commited to reshaping election administration. His dedication echoes through his favorite quotes: “The road to democracy begins with you” and “All roads lead to the ballot box.”

With responsibilities that wax and wane depending on election timelines, Balmer oversees an intricate ecosystem that includes coordinating poll locations; training election officials; printing, dispatching and securing ballots; updating technology; communicating with voters; and everything else that ensures precincts are primed for Election Day. He knows the system because he’s worked in every capacity within it.

Balmer, who assumed his duties in May 2021, is the first Black person to serve as Richmond’s general registrar. He didn’t plan to be an election official. “Elections aren’t planned jobs; they happen unexpectedly,” he says. He had aspired to be a journalist after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in mass communications. But then his godfather, Sam Phillips, died, and Balmer answered a phone call that changed his trajectory. “I remember being unemployed and answering the phone right before the November 2010 election,” he says. “Mary Fitzgerald [a longtime Election Board employee who staffed polling locations] was on the other side of the call. I had to let her know that my godfather, who had worked the polls for years, had passed. After sharing her condolences, she asked if I would work the polls in his memory. The rest is history.”

After that first election, Balmer started managing election signage, logistics and training. He took on various roles over the years, including a yearlong stint in a registrar’s office in Northern Virginia that he says was instrumental in broadening his expertise. After returning to Richmond, he collaborated with the Virginia Department of Elections and served as a state subject matter expert.

Although Balmer grew up in Seaboard, North Carolina, Richmond was always a second home, and his connection runs deep. “During the summer, I would come to visit my dad,” he says. “I knew that I was coming to Richmond after graduation. Seaboard was a farming community, and I wanted to explore the world.” He says his experiences at VCU sculpted his understanding of the city. “VCU helped me to come into my own. Back at home, I was used to just Black or white people. At VCU, I was able to connect with many ethnicities and nationalities.”

Balmer not only envisions an inclusive future for Richmond, he’s working toward it with groundbreaking initiatives including Richmond’s first bilingual ballot. “I know the city of Richmond. It informs my decisions,” he says. He acknowledges that challenges loom — he cites affordable housing among them — but Balmer hopes for a city where opportunities abound for every resident, transcending backgrounds or neighborhoods. He dreams of a local school system that inspires participation in the democratic process and a community engaged in elections beyond the big presidential races.

“I want people to know that their votes matter, not just for the presidential election,” Balmer says. “Going out into the community, shaking hands at the polling stations and educating people about the role of the general registrar helps to build the trust needed for successful elections. We are going to have the best election office in the state of Virginia.” —AEM

Tiara Holloway-Wilkerson

Redefining design and community

A native Richmonder, self-taught decorator and the creative mind behind Vivacious Interior by Tiara and the RVA Design Group, Tiara Holloway-Wilkerson has cultivated a passion for design amidst the city’s rich cultural tapestry.

Holloway-Wilkerson describes herself as a beautiful butterfly with an unconventional journey. “I was that quiet girl that enjoyed being behind the scenes,” she says. “I went to school for [information technology]. Decorating for others never crossed my mind. I just enjoyed doing things in my own home.”

Her trajectory shifted when she received an invitation 12 years ago to Design Camp at High Point Market, the North Carolina furniture and design event. It was a turning point that ignited her passion for interior design. “I had no business license, no business name,” she says. “To be in the room with so many ... established business owners was scary. It took me six months to get my business license because of fear.”

After praying and reflecting, she decided to take a leap of faith, and Vivacious Interior by Tiara was born. The name, she says, reflects her business ethos, “symbolizing life in its fullest essence.”

Holloway-Wilkerson’s roots influence her artistic perspective. Growing up in the East End, she was captivated by the city’s architectural marvels, including The Jefferson Hotel and Main Street Station, and she says they breathed life into her creative spirit. To this day, Richmond’s vibrant street art, color schemes and graffiti serve as a wellspring of inspiration for her designs.

“As a little girl, I would walk Broad Street with my grandmother,” she says. “Now that I am older, I can reflect on the structure of those old buildings, like The Jefferson Hotel, and on how much Richmond has changed over the years. Though there have been changes, the roots of those buildings are still there. This reminds me not to be afraid to mix history with something new.”

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unexpected opportunity for Holloway-Wilkerson, who created a virtual design package for clients. “COVID is when I blew up,” she says. “I was working with a family of six before the lockdown. Though we were shut down, they asked if I could focus on painting first. I agreed, because I didn’t have to be present. The next thing I knew, I picked up five or six full-service projects in one month. It was nonstop.”

Holloway-Wilkerson has faced challenges, particularly as a Black female decorator seeking recognition in a traditionally exclusive industry. “I struggled with establishing boundaries with clients so that they wouldn’t take over the projects that I was hired to complete,” she says. “I also struggled with finding mentorship when I first got started in the industry. It was hard to gain respect from male and veteran designers.”

This struggle birthed the RVA Design Group, an organization fostering collaboration and growth within the design community, in March 2023. In its first year, the group partnered with magazine companies and hosted a black-tie gala as well as giving interior designers, organizers, stagers, contractors and real estate professionals a space to grow through mentorship.

Holloway-Wilkerson envisions establishing interior design internship programs for local colleges. She wants to share her commitment to diversity, collaboration and fresh ideas as well as champion the younger generation’s potential to elevate every facet of the city. “I want RVA Design Group to be a space that shows the behind the scenes of interior design,” she says. “[Students] aren’t getting these hands-on opportunities in college. This will be a safe place for these individuals to learn and ask questions.” —AEM

Rev. Rodney Waller

Learning, teaching, changing lives

When Rev. Rodney Waller was 9 years old, his father died in his arms. Two men had been racing their cars and crashed into the vehicle occupied by Waller and his father.

“Just before the accident, he’d told me that he felt that he’d received a calling from God,” the 54-year-old Lancaster, Virginia, native says. Waller has been living his father’s calling — and his own — for the past 15 years as senior pastor of First African Baptist Church in Richmond. The house of worship is the third-oldest African American church in the United States.

Although he did not know it at the time, Waller says his interest in the Bible and enthusiasm for sharing what he learned and understood about it, combined with his father’s death, laid the foundation for his current career path. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religious studies from Virginia Union University, a master’s in divinity from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at VUU, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Virginia University of Lynchburg. And he continues to learn and grow.

“I earned my MBA from Virginia Union University in 2022,” he says. “Being a minister is a mix between learning and being taught.”

First African Baptist Church had grown to about 800 congregants before the COVID-19 pandemic but is still working to reclaim those numbers. Waller is proud of the programs he has developed for members of the church, such as a weekly program for youth that provides tutoring, meals and healthy recreation. He has plans for further growth, however, and his vision for the church’s future is ambitious: “I want to build a unified church where all people can come and worship God at the same place,” he says. “I also want us to continue having an impact on the lives of persons who are less fortunate, focusing on feeding the poor and helping the homeless.” —HR