By Miki Gilmore, Communications Associate, Arlington Chamber of Commerce 

​I’ve been at the Chamber for eight months now working in the communications role in a variety of capacities. The opportunity to grow within the role during my time at the Chamber has given me many learning moments that I will take with me for the rest of my career as a graphic designer.
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I was born in Yokohama, Japan then moved to Rockville, Maryland in 2006 where I have lived for the past 13 years. In 2017, I graduated Bryn Mawr College with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics. Once I finished school, I found that I wanted to embark on a more creative career path, so I enrolled at Montgomery College to explore a new passion for graphic and web design. 

By Indre Bauza, Supporting Strategies 

By Sarah DeVoe, Burdette Smith & Bish, LLC

By Marcio Silveira, Toler Financial Group 

By Hanna Kim, Intern, Arlington Chamber of Commerce 

I have been interning at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce for about seven months, since November 2018. My journey to the United States actually started when I was a student in China. I spent two-and-a-half years studying in China, where I had a lot of opportunity to work on projects with a Korean government agency, an international trade company, and a marketing firm.

Through those experiences, I started to study the growth and decline of small and medium-sized firms. During my last semester, I prepared a thesis about cases of direct investment by Korean companies in China. Once I completed my studies, I realized that I needed a comprehensive understanding of what America is like, because the U.S. and Korea have a close partnership – not only economically, but also politically.

By Matt Cheng, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
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From May 25 to September 8, 2019, the WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority commonly referred to as Metro) is closing six Metrorail stations south of National Airport to reconstruct outdoor platforms and conduct necessary maintenance.  For the past year, NVTC (Northern Virginia Transit Commission) has been working with WMATA and local jurisdictions to provide additional convenient options for riders to get around this summer, including free shuttles, enhanced Metrobus service, and enhanced local service.

​Free Shuttles

By Alexandra Suchman, AIS Collaborations

How often to you find yourself searching for an important document on your computer, but can’t remember where you saved it. Your thought process goes something like this: 

“Was it an attachment to an email I received? No. 
Did I get it via a link to a Google Doc? No.
I think I saved it to my hard drive. But which folder did I save it to? And what was the file name?” 

The search, which should have taken 30 seconds at most, has now eaten up more than 15 minutes of precious time. In the process, you’ve come across 5 other distractions, and can’t remember what you were looking for in the first place. Sound familiar?

Without organizing your electronic folders and files, every search is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

By R. Douglas Taylor, Jr., Bean, Kinney & Korman, PC

Workplace violence, a growing concern for U.S. businesses, became an unfortunate reality recently in Aurora, Illinois. A 45-year-old employee, tipped off that he was going to be terminated, came to work armed with a 40-caliber handgun, killing five coworkers. Tragedies like Aurora have Virginia employers considering, some for the first time, whether it has become essential to have a workplace security plan in place.

​If your business does not have a workplace security plan, or has been using one that has not been updated recently, now may be the time to act. Consider these tips for creating a safer workplace environment:

By Chelsi Dildine, Edward Jones

You should always be able to ask as many questions as you’d like when working with your financial advisor. So, before you have your annual review, think carefully about what you’d like to ask. Here are a few suggestions:

Are my goals still realistic? When you first began working with your financial advisor, you may well have articulated a number of financial goals. For example, you might have said that you wanted to pay for most of your children’s college educations, or that you wanted to retire at a certain age, or that you wanted to travel for two months each year during your retirement. In fact, you could have many different goals for which you’re saving and investing. When you meet with your financial advisor, you’ll certainly want to ask if you're still on track toward meeting these goals. If you are, you can continue with the financial strategies you’ve been following; but if you aren’t, you may need to adjust them.