Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Schwartz. She and her team shared their story with us below:
Diana L. Schwartz, MSARP, has led individuals, teams, businesses, and organizations to successful outcomes since 1989. With over two decades of nonprofit leadership with organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the March of Dimes, Schwartz has lived and learned experience in Board Governance, Fund Raising and Fund Development, Advocacy, and People Management. In addition to her nonprofit expertise, Schwartz has been steeped in Economic Development (EcDev) and the Main Street America Approach for the past decade.
Schwartz earned her Main Street America Revitalization Professional (MSARP) credential from the Main Street America Institute in 2017. In addition to a slate of additional professional endeavors, including retail management, owning a Construction company, and even Cake Decorating, Schwartz has become a regional, state-wide, and nationally recognized leader in historic downtown and commercial corridor redevelopment, entrepreneur ecosystem and economic development, collaborative leadership systems development, and nonprofit organizational management. A prime example of this experience is outcomes; under Schwartz’s leadership, the River District Association was awarded the Great Amercian Main Street Award (GAMSA) by the National Main Street Center/Main Street America in March 2023. A particular strength of the program is the commitment to the work of DEI by both the board and staff.
With a reputation for being an innovative change agent, Schwartz is regularly invited to participate in thought leadership opportunities throughout Virginia and North Carolina. Recent examples include assisting in the development of the Strategic Plan for the Virginia Main Street Coordinating Program, speaking at the March 2023 North Carolina Main Street/Rural Economic Development conference, and regular participation and planning in economic development-related projects/planning for the City of Danville and Danville Regional Foundation, a regional foundation widely respected as a ‘think-tank’ in addition to their funding initiatives.
Schwartz is also an accomplished public speaker with exceptional written, oral/electronic communication and presentation skills and decades of experience on stages, television, workshops, and national conferences. Schwartz is a recurring featured speaker at the National Main Street conference, held annually. Schwartz gave her first public speech to 600 people at Clintwood Elementary School (VA) at the tender age of 9 and completed her first TEDx talk in October 2020, the subject being the correlation between civic self-esteem and downtown revitalization.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been an incredible journey, from working in fast food as a teenager to being recognized as a subject matter expert in downtown revitalization and entrepreneur ecosystem work. I have faced many challenges along the way, one of the most significant being my beliefs about myself because I lacked a college degree. For many years, I allowed this to dictate where I thought my professional ‘place’ was in the world of work; as I began to accumulate more experience, credentials, and learning experiences, I moved away from feeling ‘imposter syndrome’ to leading my community and region and feeling confident in doing so.
As you know, we’re big fans of the River District Association. What can you tell our readers who might not be as familiar with the brand?
Most recently, Schwartz has been recognized for excellence in leading the River District Association (RDA), a Great American Main Street Award-winning (GAMSA) organization for the second year running; this recognition is in large part due to helping to attract more than $310MM in private investment to the downtown and developing a slate of start-up business programs being replicated in communities in multiple states. More than 60 businesses have opened or expanded in the downtown district since 2017.
RDA is mainly known for our innovative suite of entrepreneur/small business support systems; the RDA Dream Launch Bootcamp, a free 6-week training course for anyone interested in the basics of starting a business, has had more than 500 participants since 2018 and distributed than $500,000 in grants to start-up businesses in the area. More information about our programming success can be found at www.
What does success mean to you?
I can tell you what success does not look like – measuring myself by comparing others. For me, doing better than I did before, learning from mistakes, celebrating the wins, and, most importantly, do not stop trying – this is what success is to me. I recently heard someone say, “Doing things right is the best. Doing things wrong is the second best. Doing nothing at all is the worst.” Success looks like showing up; some days are heavy – it feels like you are trying to sprint underwater – but I’m succeeding as long as I am trying. Win or lose.
Pricing:
- We are a 501(c)3 Not for Profit and all services are free to River District Businesses and Stakeholders
Contact Info:
- Website: www.riverdistrictassociation.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riverdistrictassociation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DowntownDanvilleVA
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartzdiana/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DowntownDanVA
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@riverdistrictassociation/featured
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