Justin Ayars, JD

I come from a Las Vegas show business family and am a recovering civil litigation attorney turned entrepreneur. I have spent my entire life endeavoring to unite my inherent artistic disposition with my learned talents to prove that creativity and logic are not mutually exclusive concepts. While my career has taken me in several different directions, I now sit at the helm of Virginia's only statewide LGBT chamber of commerce, the Virginia Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce ("VGLCC").

Established in 2014 and launching in the spring of2015, the VGLCC seeks todiversify and strengthen Virginia’s economy by uniting the Commonwealth’s LGBTbusiness community and integrating that dynamic demographic into the broadermarketplace. Through the guiding principles ofadvocacy, collaboration and education, the VGLCC aims to promote economicequality by serving as the nonpartisan voiceof Virginia’s LGBT entrepreneurs, innovators, job creators and their allies. In short,the VGLCC’s objective is to effectively weave the story of the LGBT communityinto the evolving narrative of Virginia’s diverse 21st centuryeconomy.

Importantly, the VGLCC operates in concert with agrowing number of businesses and organizations against the backdrop of thedefining civil rights movement of the 21st century. Recently, theVGLCC partnered with:

· LeClairRyan – A national law firm headquartered inRichmond, VA.

· UniteVirginia – Virginia’s only statewideLGBT publication, launching its inaugural issue in June/July.

· Governor Terry McAuliffe – The VGLCC was given a seaton the Governor’s LGBT Tourism Task Force.

· The VCU Brandcenter – America’s top advertising andmarketing school. Over the next two months, a dedicated team of students andfaculty from the Brandcenter will develop a multifaceted marketing campaignthat distills the stories of (1) the VGLCC, (2) Unite Virginia magazine and (3) the Governor’s LGBT Tourism TaskForce into a single, clear and compelling marketing message—a message that is acall to action for LGBT businesses, working professionals and their allies tojoin the VGLCC as it works to strengthen and diversify Virginia’s economy.