2022 Featured Speakers

Mayor of Winchester & Local Restaurant Owner

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Mr. Smith is owner and partner of Water Street Kitchen and Village Square Restaurant & V2 Bar, both on the Loudoun Street Mall. Mr. Smith has been very involved in the community since investing in Old Town Winchester in 2003 serving on the Planning Commission from 2010-2016 and the Old Town Development Board (OTDB) from 2004-2010. Mr. Smith was chairman of the OTDB from 2008-2010. He also served as a member of the Winchester Parking Authority from 2007-2008. Mr. Smith graduated from Charleston High School in Charleston, WV and attended Marshall University in Huntington, WV and the University of the District of Columbia.

Assistant Professor at George Mason University

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Dr. David Powers Corwin (they/them) is an assistant professor of Women and Gender Studies and Social Justice and Human Rights at George Mason University where they teach courses on LGBTQ+ related issues, feminist and queer theory, friendship studies, Appalachian issues, and television studies. They lead the effort to create Mason’s minor in LGBTQ Studies, one of the first of its kind at a public university in the Commonwealth. At Mason, they currently co-chair the LGBTQ+ Faculty and staff alliance and faculty advisor for Pride Alliance. For these efforts, the “Dr. David Powers Corwin Award for Teaching and Scholarship” was created in their honor. The award will be given out each year to a Mason faculty member whose teaching, scholarship, and activism center the experiences of LGBTQ+ folks.

Executive Director at Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau

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Virginia native Justin Kerns has lived in North Dakota, Colorado, Massachusetts and Southern California. He earned a Bachelor of Science with Honors and Master of Science with Distinction in Recreation and Tourism Management from California State University, Northridge, where he still teaches an online upper-division tourism course.

Justin found his true calling in the tourism world upon returning to Virginia in 2013 to raise his family, where he first worked as Tourism Director for Mecklenburg County. He joined the Winchester-Frederick County CVB team as Executive Director in 2015. He has served on numerous local, regional and state organizations and currently acts as the President-Elect for the Va Association of DMOs and is the VA State Chair for the Southeast Tourism Society Congressional Summit.

In his spare time he loves volunteer hockey coaching, managing a bluebird nesting trail, playing ice hockey gaolie

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Owner of Crystal Clear Financial Solutions

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Crystal Suber is the owner of Crystal Clear Financial Solutions, a small financial services company devoted to improving financial literacy and increasing wealth in marginalized communities.  She has been doing this work for 15 years across VA, MD, NC, and DC.  She is a proud alum of Virginia State and Grand Canyon Universities where she holds a B.S. in Economics and M.B.A. in Finance. Crystal Suber is a champion for the LGBTQ+ community.  She has given countless hours towards making VA a more inclusive place for all who reside and visit here.  Presently she serves as President of Patchwork RVA, a nonprofit dedicated to racial equity and voter education.  She is also the Treasurer for Baby Buns for Life Network, a nonprofit supporting families of preemie babies.  She is on the board of directors for the Richmond LGBTQ Chamber and Equality Virginia.  Crystal previously served as Vice-Chair and Treasurer at Diversity Richmond.  She serves her community with pride, always making time for her clients, business partners, and family, and friends.  Crystal is also a huge hip hop fan and she loves her Los Angeles Lakers!

Executive Committee Member at Racial Truth & Reconciliation VA

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Tina Stevens-Culbreath is Founder/Executive Director of I’m Just Me Movement, a nonprofit 501 (c)3 organization, and a Councilwoman on Stephens City Town Council. Tina is a trained Trauma Informed-Practitioner, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, & Forensic Peer Recovery Specialist Supervisor. Tina Stevens grew up with the struggles of being a bi-racial child, raised by a single mother doing her best to raise three young girls in Section 8 Housing Assistance in Alexandria, VA.  Her father died from a drug overdose when she was only seven years old, and her mother turned to alcohol to self-medicate. By age 8, Tina was helping her mother care for two younger siblings.

Tina Stevens met her now husband Rodney in high school and became pregnant. They worked hard to support a new family and graduate high school. By age 19, Tina and Rodney were the proud parents of three children. Both vowed to stay together and raise their children in a two-parent home. Already juggling raising their own three young children, attending school and working, Tina was advised by the adoption agency she would have to quit school to focus on raising the sibling group in order to qualify as an adoptive candidate. Four years later the adoption was finalized and Rodney and Tina, still in their twenties, were the parents of 6 young children.  She is very proud of her family and husband.

 Tina has faced adversity and barriers that have prepared her both personally and professionally to rise above challenges and excel. Her experiences have instilled a deep sense of commitment to making a difference in her community for children, adults, and families. She knows how hard it is to raise a family.  She is so passionate about ensuring people have the opportunity to achieve their goals and aspirations. Today, she has been presented with a bigger purpose in life, through her roles that empower people, especially youth and their families through IJMM Live Life Forward programs.