Lisa Sims

Lisa Sims is the chief executive officer for Venture Richmond, Inc., a non-profit organization that engages business and community leaders in partnering with the city to enhance the vitality of the community, particularly downtown. Venture Richmond promotes the betterment of downtown through economic development, marketing, promotion, advocacy, and events. Previously she was Deputy Executive Director, overseeing festivals and events, marketing, and development.

​

Before Venture Richmond, Lisa was vice president of marketing for what is now Richmond Region Tourism, and before moving to Richmond in 1998 she was executive director of the Asheville, NC, Convention and Visitors Bureau. Lisa is originally from Nashville where she worked with Opryland USA, and the Country Music Foundation/Country Music Hall of Fame, in Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising, Promotions, and Events, specifically related to the travel and tourism industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications/journalism and formerly worked as a reporter and editor for community newspapers in Tennessee.

​

Over her career, Lisa has served on a multitude of boards and committees for community, state, and national organizations with both personal and professional affiliations. She is a breast cancer survivor and was formerly chair of the board for Susan G. Komen, Richmond, and a member of the Massey Cancer Center Advisory Board.

​

Lisa currently serves as chair of the board of directors for Richmond Region Tourism and on the boards of Richmond Forum, the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC), the Richmond Performing Arts Alliance, Bridge Park RVA, GO Virginia Region 4 Foundation, and Activation Council. She is a member of the Forum Club, Leadership Metro Richmond Class of 2003, and Richmond Real Estate Group.

​

Named one of Richmond’s “most powerful people” in arts and culture by Style Weekly (2016), Lisa was also named a “Person of the Year” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch (2017), an Outstanding Woman of the Year by the YWCA of Richmond (2018), a recipient of the Strong Voices award from the Richmond Times-Dispatch (2019), and as one of the Women Who Drive Richmond (2024).

​

She and her husband have lived in Richmond’s Fan District for 23 years and have three grown children.

​

• Favorite Venture Richmond Event: Richmond Folk Festival
• Favorite Downtown Attraction: The Valentine Museum
• Downtown Fun Fact: Manchester became an incorporated town in 1769 and an independent city in 1874. In 1910, it merged by mutual agreement with the City of Richmond, and three years later Manchester neighborhood and downtown were joined in a new way-both physically and symbolically-when the old Mayo Bridge was replaced by a new concrete bridge.