Richmond Neighborhoods: A Community Conversation

Mark your calendars, Richmond, because we're less than a week away from the second "Evening at Morton’s: An Online Community Conversation" of the year: "Richmond Neighborhoods: The Changing Character of the Places We Call Home."

In case you're not familiar with this unique "online chat" it goes like this: every other month Morton's, The Steakhouse, in partnership with Hodges Partnership and Richmond.com, hosts a private dinner in which a handful of community members are chosen to dine and chat about a specific topic and all of Richmond is invited to listen in via live blog here or follow @richmonddotcom while we live Tweet the event.

The topics and panel are picked in advance, but the direction of the conversation is up to you, Richmond.

Richmonders are invited – nay, encouraged – to participate by submitting questions in advance (emailed to content@richmond.com) or during the discussion via Twitter by using the hashtag #steakchat. You can even leave you questions as comments at the end of this article.

John Sarvay, founder of Floricane and the popular Richmond blog "Buttermilk and Molasses," moderates the discussion and keeps the whole thing in check.

And this month's topic, which starts on Tuesday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m., is especially exciting since it hits close to home (pun intended) for all Richmonders: "Richmond Neighborhoods: The Changing Character of the Places We Call Home."

Essentially the topic is about Richmond neighborhoods – anything about neighborhoods – the schools, development, river life, dining, community involvement, crime – it's up to you. And thanks to this exciting panel, which includes a School Board member, the city's Director of Community Development, a council member, a historian and a realtor, it's sure to be a great discussion.

You can learn more about the panelists in their bios below, but in the meantime Richmond, start thinking about your city and your neighborhood. We've got a lot to talk about.

Panel for Richmond Neighborhoods: The Changing Character of the Places We Call Home

Don Coleman, Richmond School Board

Don Coleman is a community leader who passionately cares for the City of Richmond. He has a reputation of building vital connections within the City. He has a long history of working to promote growth and change within his community. Don lives with his wife and two daughters in the East End of Richmond.

Don believes success is possible for EVERY child. Don understands the challenges of coming from a disadvantaged background. He grew up in a foster home in the East End of Richmond. As a volunteer in the Virginia Heroes Program, Don has been a real-life role model to youth in overcoming challenges. Click here to learn more about Don.

Rachel Flynn, Director of Community Development, City of Richmond

Rachel Flynn joined the city of Richmond in March 2006 as Director of Community Development. She is a licensed architect and has practiced both architecture and urban planning for over 20 years.

Prior to her arrival in Richmond, she was Director of Community Development in Lynchburg, Virginia for eight years. Rachel is a graduate of Harvard University, where she received her Masters in Public Administration, and a graduate of the Catholic University of America, where she received her Master of Science in Engineering/Construction Management and her Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Rachel is on the Sweetbriar College Board of Trustees and was appointed by Governor Mark Warner to serve on the VA Board of Historic Resources. Click here to learn more about Rachel.

Chris Hilbert, Richmond City Council 3rd District

Chris Hilbert is the 3rd District Northside Representative for the Richmond City Council. In November 2004, Chris was elected to a two-year term on Richmond City Council representing the 3rd District which covers the Northside neighborhoods of Battery Park, Bellevue, Edgehill, Ginter Park Terrace, North Highland Park, Northern Barton Heights, Providence Park, Washington Park, Virginia Union University and portions of Rosedale, Southern Barton Heights and most of Ginter Park. In November, 2006, he was re-elected without opposition.

A native of Tennessee, Chris received his BS in Finance and an MBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Before taking his current position at VHDA in 2002, he had an 18-year banking career. Chris and his wife, Sheila Mandt, a non-profit fundraising consultant, have lived in Ginter Park since 1995 and are members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Click here to learn more about Chris.

Rick Jarvis, Realtor, One South Realty Group

Rick Jarvis was born in Henrico, raised in Bon Air and educated at both the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, Rick has spent all of his life in and around Richmond, having lived in the City, Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover.

With a business degree from the University of Richmond (Marketing/Economics), Rick decided to further pursue his interests in real estate through the Real Estate and Urban Development program at Virginia Commonwealth University at the graduate level. Click here to learn more about Rick.

Jeffrey Ruggles, Curator of Prints and Photographs, Virginia Historical Society

Although not born in Richmond, Jeffrey Ruggles has lived in the Richmond area since high school. He received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.F.A. in design/photography from Virginia Commonwealth University. In the 1980s, Ruggles worked as a photographer for the 1708 Gallery and Anderson Gallery and assisted with text, illustrations, and the design of 32 Canal Walk Historical Marker panels installed between downtown Richmond and Brown’s Island.

Ruggles has been a curator at the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) since 2002. He began as assistant curator before being promoted to Curator of Prints and Photographs, the position he holds today. While at the VHS, Ruggles has curated two online exhibitions and four physical exhibitions. Ruggles is currently working on Organized Labor in Virginia, an exhibit that opens at the Society in September 2010. Ruggles also helped organize "Hidden Things Brought to Light: Finding Lumpkin's Jail and Locating the Burial Ground for Negroes," a conference at the Virginia Historical Society in February 2009. In addition to his work at the VHS, Ruggles is the author of "The Unboxing of Henry Brown" (Library of Virginia, 2003). Click here to learn more about Jeffrey's upcoming exhibits.

Chris Small, Realtor, Small & Associates

Growing up in Suffolk, Chris Small had visited Richmond many times as a child. Chris decided to attend VCU and he hasn’t moved more than a few blocks since the first day he arrived on campus more than 25 years ago. Always one to give back to the community he loves, Chris has been instrumental in many historic preservation and renovation projects, served as Vice President of the Historic Richmond Foundation and been a member of the architecture review board (CAR).

At the age of 18 he earned his real estate license and was practicing his career while he worked toward his degree. His passion for the area, its people and its properties fueled his success, and he earned certification as a historic homes expert from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A quarter century later, Chris has established himself as one of Richmond’s leading real estate brokers and built Small & Associates, a premier boutique real estate brokerage, from the ground up. Click here to learn more about Chris.