Women in Profile

Sandy Flaus
Sandy Flaus is originally from Berwyn, Illinois, and holds a BA in Sociology from Northeastern Illinois University, and an MA in Management and Human Resources from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.  She’s a lifetime learner and thinks of herself as an “Idea Person”.

Sandy has a wealth of experience in Human Resources, Health System
Administration, and Business Consulting.  In 2005, she started her Shaklee  Wellness business, and enjoys helping people get healthier and happier.

Her natural curiosity has generated a variety of interests, including:  travel,
photography, jewelry-making, cooking, reading, movies, ballroom dancing, Scrabble, music, and the arts.  She also enjoys swimming, windsurfing, kayaking with her dogs, and has completed the 150 mile bicycle ride to benefit Muscular Sclerosis three times. 

Sandy is active in charity, community, and Mensa events, and lives in Virginia Beach, VA, with her husband and three dogs.

Lynn Ailsworth
As a software consultant, Lynn Ailsworth focuses on patiently teaching clients how to get the most out of their accounting software. 

With over 24 years in public accounting and her experience with QuickBooks and Peachtree, clients find her to be an invaluable part of their accounting team.  The best part of owning Ailsworth Accounting & Software Solutions is hearing her clients say “now I can sleep at night” or “thank you for making my job easier”.

Lynn has two teenage children and a boyfriend of nearly 6 years.  Originally from Michigan, she has lived in Virginia Beach for over 28 years.  When she isn’t working with clients or composing her next newsletter, she enjoys playing tennis as well as traveling and scrapbooking.

Carol Curtis
Carol Curtis is a woman who strives for balance – with her career, her friendships and her family.

With over 23 years of professional construction experience, Ms. Curtis started Noah Enterprises, a general contracting firm in 2004. The company now has over 20 employees.

A Chesapeake native, Ms. Curtis is steadfastly committed to education.  She participates in workshops for her own knowledge and encourages her employees to make education a priority.  The Superintendents at Noah Enterprises all hold certifications in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CQM, First Aid and CPR, and OSHA 30 Safety classes, for example.  In addition, Ms. Curtis recently participated with the National Association of Women In Construction’s  Chapter 134 in helping a Chesapeake Girl Scout  troop acquire their “Ms Fix-It” badge.

Carol is constantly giving back to the community.  A founding member of the Salvation Army’s Women’s Auxiliary, she is a steadfast advocate for all of the programs for which the Salvation Army promotes.  In addition she, along with other Noah Enterprises, Inc. employee’s, support the Toys For Tots, Polar Plunge, Habitat For Humanity and various other local charities.

Carol’s first priority is her son, family and the company’s employees.  Her loyalty and concerns never cease, for she is always looking for ways to enrich their lives. 

Ritchie Gregory
C. Ritchie Gregory hails from upstate New York, and moved to Virginia in 1980. Self-employed as a photographer since 1982, she is the owner of R. Gregory Photography located in Little Neck and Sandbridge in Virginia Beach. Dedicated to producing what only the heart can see with the quality few can produce, she’s committed to providing heart-warming and creative portraits and wedding photography for the Hampton Roads community. Ritchie is a Certified Professional Photographer, and a member of the Virginia Professional Photographer’s Association and the Professional Photographers of America.

Because of her recognition of the importance of photography for all families, Ritchie is involved with local volunteer work. She frequently teams up with area non-profit schools, churches and charities for fundraising efforts. She partners with the Children’s Hospital for the King’s Daughters for events and programs such as the Buddy Brigade, and is the area coordinator for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. This program provides photography of terminally ill infants for families who forever cherish the images of a child who briefly graced their lives.

Ritchie lives in the Little Neck area of Virginia Beach with her husband, Mark, their two dogs and two cats. Her daughter, Emily is a junior at the University of Virginia where she is studying international affairs. Ritchie chills out at Chick’s Beach in the summer, and regularly enjoys walking the dogs with her husband.

Janet Dobson
If you were to look up the word “adventure”, you would find Janet’s name somewhere nearby!  Janet lives by the motto “I will not die an unlived life”. Janet is a marathon runner having completed 13 marathons, probably twice as many half marathons, and two sprint triathalons.

Despite being a healthy, active woman all her life, Janet was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer at the age of 46. Janet chose to tackle her cancer diagnosis head-on and elected to find all the positives that cancer has to offer--and yes, there are many positives in having cancer.  You just have to keep your eyes open to see them!  She continued exercising throughout her cancer treatments and credits that, and her prior strong physical fitness level, for helping her to endure the treatments as well as she did.
   
Founding Team Survivor Virginia Beach (TSVB), a non-profit organization for women living with cancer, was one positive that came from having cancer. Janet recently became an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, passing the exam 5 days after the 3 year anniversary of her diagnosis.  She plans to use this certification to offer personal training to TSVB members as part of the program. 

Residing in Virginia Beach, Janet is a landlord for a mobile home park. She is also mother to Stephanie, “the best daughter in the world” and a senior at the University of Maryland.  They both share a love for life and anything Disney!  

When not training or working out, she enjoys anything that gets the adrenaline pumping!  For more information on TSVB, visit www.teamsurvivorvb.org .

Sylvia Christian
Sylvia J. Christian of Virginia Beach was born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York. A Career and Life Coach, she is a former mental health counselor, college career and academic counselor, and a college instructor.

A Navy wife for 31 years, she has a husband, three daughters, and eight grandchildren.
Her hobbies include reading and starting new groups, such as book clubs and dinner clubs, that offer people an opportunity to get to know one other better.

Sylvia’s passion is to empower women to live their dreams—to believe in themselves and realize that their potential is endless. Her goal is to make a difference in their lives by helping them find passion, purpose and fulfillment in whatever they do.

Her coaching sessions can be done from the home; the only tools required are a phone and computer. A combination of exercises and questions allow her to discover hidden desires that many women have suppressed for years and to set them on the path of fulfillment.
(757) 648-1412,
woman2womancoaching@cox.net
woman2womanlifecoaching.com

Susan Martin
Susan Martin has enjoyed many careers:  teacher, military wife, mom, model, event planner, decorator and finally, Shaklee nutrition coach.

She has found enormous satisfaction in decorating for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Distribution, supporting Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge, and now in being on the Board for Victory Home – an in-house program for addicted, abused and abandoned men.

Susan is passionate about rescuing animals – wild and domestic, gardening and sharing flowers from her garden, working out,, and especially swimming in her lake with her dogs.  She can get five large dogs on a surfboard at one time much to the amusement of her neighbors.  Books, movies and  theater fill her evenings.  And she probably has the largest collection of whimsical dinosaurs – anywhere.

Susan’s greatest joy is helping people achieve better health because she is changing their lives forever. She and her rescued dogs and cats live on a lake in Virginia Beach and can be reached at mermaid4@cox.net.

Natalie Bray
Natalie Bray is a Hampton Roads native who has been involved in the arts since she was 15. She went to Cape Henry Collegiate, graduated from James Madison University (2000) with a BFA degree in studio fine art, and received her MFA in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2004. Upon graduating, she curated exhibitions for the college’s 15 galleries in Savannah, Atlanta and Lacoste, France.

Though she loved living in the beautiful, historic city, she missed her family and the beach culture. In 2006, Natalie moved back to Virginia Beach to work as a curator for the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia where she created exhibitions of contemporary art.

In the fall of 2008, called by her love for photography and a desire for a fulfilling interaction with people and their loved ones, Natalie changed careers. She was drawn to work at R. Gregory Photography because of Ritchie Gregory’s commitment to classically composed and authentic imagery. Natalie assists Ritchie in the studio and on location, and photographs weddings, engagement images, and pet portraits for the studio.

Natalie is a member of the Virginia Professional Photographers Association. She is also an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University, and serves on their exhibitions committee as an independent curator.