New In-Residence Positions at VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation
ANNOUNCEMENTS
VCU da Vinci Center announces the newest members of their team for the Spring 2021 semester.
Patricia Bradby, MBA: Ideator in Residence
Patricia Bradby finds her joy in connecting people to resources. While pursuing a BM in Music Business from New York University, she created a nonprofit organization to connect local public schools to university students equipped to teach simple lessons in marketing and entrepreneurship.
These lessons provided an innovative opportunity for schools to supplement the budget cuts to arts education with student-led art fundraisers.
Her passion for connection and community continued on with her to grad school at the University of Texas at Austin, where Patricia founded a new student organization within the full-time MBA program. The Live Music Association now connects MBA students to music-affiliated businesses in Austin where they can apply their learnings and expertise to one of the city’s premier industries.
After returning home to the Richmond in 2016, Patricia quickly became involved with TEDxRVA. In 2017 & 2018, she organized the TEDxRVASalons, bringing small groups together to discuss subjects of interest to the local community. The salons were an opportunity to connect motivated individuals to organizations through which they could engage more directly with the issues. The salons covered a wide variety of topics such as urban planning, human trafficking, and social entrepreneurship.
Patricia’s entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of Miss Priss Tea, a mobile tea parlor providing elegant afternoon tea experiences in Central Virginia from February 2016 through December 2019. Through this small business, Patricia quickly became acquainted with the female entrepreneurial scene in Richmond and was asked to lead a panel on community at the first Rebelle Con conference for women in 2017. Patricia also used her expertise to teach entrepreneurship to high school students throughout the region by volunteering as a Launch Lesson Instructor with Junior Achievement.
Patricia will teach INNO 651 and mentor for the VCU da Vinci’s MPI Capstone this Spring.
April Palmer: Founder in Residence
During her corporate career, April was a top sales performer for multiple Fortune 100 companies across different industries, driving double-digit growth across six- and seven-figure portfolios year over year.
Today, April uses her success across multiple industries to help “want to” preneurs become “entrepreneurs” by building strategies centered at the intersection of Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Experience. Her specialty is helping organizations achieve the growth needed to secure investor funding and establish their footprint in the marketplace.
April regularly pursues audacious goals with the hopes that she can find all the ways NOT to do something on her way to discovering how To Do the impossible.
April will teach Venture 460 and mentor for INNO 651 this Spring.
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