Kristie Helmick Proctor, Virginia Rural Center Executive Director, Appointed to Innovation and Entre
RICHMOND, Va. – The Center for Rural Virginia is pleased to announce that its Executive Director, Kristie Helmick Proctor, has been appointed to serve on the Executive Committee of the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of its parent authority, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority (IEIA). Kirk Cox, the Republican Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, provided Proctor’s appointment to the Board.
“I’m delighted to serve and continue to help bring a voice for rural Virginians to CIT,” Proctor said. “Some of the very core focus areas of CIT are those we continue to emphasize in our efforts to grow rural Virginia and the opportunities for businesses and residents there, namely supporting economic development and helping entrepreneurs launch, grow and scale to a point that their technology firms are creating the very high-paying jobs that Virginians need.”
CIT creates technology-based economic development strategies to accelerate innovation, imagination and the next generation of technology and technology companies. Created in 1985, CIT, a non-profit corporation, plugs gaps at the earliest stages of the Innovation Continuum – commercialization and seed funding – as it helps entrepreneurs launch and grow high-growth technology companies and create high-paying jobs for the future.
To facilitate national innovation leadership and accelerate the rate of technology adoption, CIT creates partnerships between innovative technology start-up companies and advanced technology consumers.
CIT also works to build the infrastructure for new innovation economies with expert broadband strategies.
Proctor was also confirmed this year by Governor Ralph Northam as the newest member of the Broadband Advisory Council.
“A lack of broadband access is the number-one challenge rural Virginia faces,” Proctor said. “We can't have positive economic development – or fulfill our mission to grow rural Virginia – without it.”
The Broadband Advisory Council, which is overseen by CIT, was established in Virginia’s executive branch to advise the Governor on policy and funding priorities to expedite deployment and reduce the cost of broadband access in the Commonwealth. It is comprised of 14 members: six legislators, four ex-officio members and four citizen members. The Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce and Trade, along with the Executive Director of the Virginia Rural Center, serve as ex-officio members.
A lack of access to broadband, Proctor said, impacts everything from schools and workforce development, to business and health care, to real estate.
“Businesses and residents in rural Virginia cannot compete without the broadband access,” Proctor said. “Coming together collaboratively to identify innovative solutions through groups like the Broadband Advisory Council is how we will get there.”
About the Center for Rural Virginia: The Virginia Rural Center is a collaborative partnership of the Center for Rural Virginia and the Council for Rural Virginia. Together, these two organizations work with federal, state and local policymakers as well as business leaders to grow economic opportunities and preserve the quality of life throughout rural Virginia. To learn more visit www.cfrv.org.
About the Center for Innovative Technology: Since 1985, CIT, a nonprofit corporation, has been Virginia’s primary driver of innovation and entrepreneurship. CIT accelerates the next generation of technology and technology companies through commercialization, capital formation, market development and revenue generation services. To facilitate national innovation leadership and accelerate the rate of technology adoption, CIT creates partnerships between innovative technology start-up companies and advanced technology consumers. CIT’s CAGE Code is 1UP71. To learn more, please visit www.cit.org.
