About Our Staff

The Hampton Roads Partnership maintains a full-time staff of six, located in its offices in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.


Dana Dickens
President & CEO
ddickens@hrp.org

E. Dana Dickens, III was appointed President & CEO of the Hampton Roads Partnership on January 7, 2005.  Dana is responsible for implementing the policies of the Partnership's Board of Directors and the general management of the Corporation.

Prior to coming to the Partnership, Dana was full time president/owner of First Service Insurance, providing life and health insurance, retirement services, and accident insurance for public schools in Virginia.

Dana has a distinguished background in public service in Hampton Roads having served as Vice Chairman on the Suffolk Planning Commission, and Chair of the Subcommittee on Ordinances. Later he successfully ran for City Council and became the first ever “rookie” Councilman elected Mayor. He served two terms as Mayor of the City of Suffolk.

Dana served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Hampton Roads Partnership prior to being appointed as its third president. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance and served as Vice Chair of the Mayors and Chairs Caucus of Hampton Roads.

Other leadership positions include the Chairmanship of the Western Tidewater Water Authority and member of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. He was Chairman of the High Growth Coalition and had an active leadership role in working with the General Assembly and the shelter industry on growth issues. The Virginia High Speed Rail Development Committee and the Urban Land Institute have elected Dickens to their Board of Directors.

Selected by the Rotary Club as Suffolk First Citizen 2003, Dana was also presented the award of excellence for the Local Government Elected Official from a City with population over 50,000 at the 2003 Annual Conference of the Virginia Downtown Development Association. The Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association selected him for their 2004 Leadership Award for excellence in Virginia planning. Dana was chosen Elected Official of the Year 2004 by the Virginia Downtown's Association, and served on the Virginia Municipal League's Legislative Committee. He also chaired the VML Finance Committee.

In 2006, Governor Timothy Kaine appointed Dana to the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

Dana graduated from NC Wesleyan College with a BA Degree in history. He and his wife, Linda Kay Rankin Dickens, reside in the village of Eclipse, located in Northwest Suffolk.




Donna Morris
Executive Vice-President
dmorris@hrp.org

Donna S. Morris has served as Director of Communications since the Hampton Roads Partnership was formed in 1996. Donna is responsible for managing programs relating to transportation, regional cooperation and performance-based planning. She handles member and media relations for the Partnership.

Before joining the Partnership, she was Director of Alumni Relations/Assistant Vice President of Development for Old Dominion University and Executive Vice President of the ODU Alumni Association, Inc. Donna was in chamber of commerce management for ten years prior to her work at Old Dominion University Collectively Ms. Morris has over twenty-eight years of experience in association management.

Donna currently chairs the Virginia Beach Community Services Board, a member of the 2007 CIVIC Leadership Class, and is Director Emeritus of the Old Dominion University Alumni Association.

Donna graduated from Old Dominion University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Special Education. She is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management at the University of Delaware, the Commonwealth Management Institute at the University of Virginia, and completed two years of the Academy for Organization Management at University of Notre Dame. She is a Portsmouth native and currently resides in Virginia Beach.



Andrew Sinclair
Program Specialist
asinclair@hrp.org

Andrew M. Sinclair joined the Hampton Roads Partnership in early 2006. Andrew’s responsibilities include the Partnership’s Regional Citizenship, Modeling and Simulation, and Government Relations efforts. With the Regional Citizenship campaign, Andrew promotes awareness of regional issues and their importance to our economy. Andrew’s involvement with the Partnership’s M&S efforts primarily consists of encouraging the transfer of technology from predominantly military uses to commercial sector for the benefit of the entire region. Andrew supports all of the Partnership’s legislative initiatives.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Andrew was the Member Services Coordinator with the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the Business Education Coordinator with the Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads, Inc. His experiences in those positions increased his awareness of regional issues and the need for cooperation between the localities.

Andrew is an Eagle Scout and currently serves as the Committee Chair for Boy Scout Troop 362 in Virginia Beach. He is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Chesapeake and graduated from the Lead Hampton Roads program in 2007.  Andrew is the Young Alumni representative on the Hampden-Sydney Club of South Hampton Roads’ Leadership Team. He sits on the board and is the immediate past chair of Virginia Ballet Theatre’s young professionals’ organization, BARRE. Andrew is a member of the Downtown Norfolk Council’s Downtown 100 and serves as Vice Chair of the Leadership Development Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Enhancement Committee and the Norfolk/Portsmouth Campaign Cabinet for the United Way of South Hampton Roads.

Andrew graduated from Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach and received a BA degree, cum laude, in Philosophy with Religion from Hampden-Sydney College. Andrew is a native Virginian and currently lives in the South Norfolk section of Chesapeake.



Joyce Thacker
Administrative Coordinator
jthacker@hrp.org

Joyce has been Administrative Coordinator for the Partnership since May 2000.  She is responsible for administrative support of the staff, bookkeeping tasks and day to day management of the office.

Before joining the Partnership, Joyce was Executive Secretary to the President of Sumitomo Machinery Corporation of America for 8 years, Executive Assistant to the Managing Partner of the Norfolk/Newport News office of Coopers & Lybrand for 11 years and has a total of more than 40 years of administrative experience.  Joyce was a charter member of Star Achievers, an association of the Administrative Assistants/Executive Secretaries to the top executives in the Hampton Roads region, and has served as a member of the Business Advisory Council to the Chesapeake Public Schools.

Joyce is a native of Portsmouth and a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School.  She attended Old Dominion University.  Joyce and her husband, John (“Jimmy”), currently reside in Portsmouth.  They have two sons, Kevin and his wife, Holly, who live in Suffolk, and Chad and his wife, Heather, who live in Virginia Beach.  Their family also includes two neurotic shelties, Cody and Delyla.



Shellie Foster
Receptionist
sfoster@hrp.org

Shellie joined the Partnership in August 2007. She is responsible for front desk duties such as answering the phone and taking messages, greeting visitors, and other various tasks.

Before joining the Partnership Shellie worked at Atmos Energy in Dallas, TX as an Administrative Assistant to the Director of Engineering for 8 months; then was promoted to an Operations Assistant working for the Director of Construction where she stayed for almost a year and a half. Shellie served as a Team Leader for the yearly United Way Campaign, was chosen to be on a panel to test and review the new employee online Code of Conduct training, and was also chosen to be on the Employee Activities Planning Committee but had to decline due to her plans to move to Norfolk.

Shellie graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology. During her time there, Shellie participated in the Student Government Association’s Aggie Recruitment Committee for 2 years where she served as a discussion group leader for visiting high school students and was a student recruiter. She also participated in the Sociology Club.

Shellie and her husband Timothy are originally from Dallas, TX. Timothy is an Aviation Mechanic in the U.S. Navy and is stationed on the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower. They currently live in Suffolk and have 2 dogs, a Beagle named Daisy Mae and a Chocolate Lab named Dallas.