Candace Mraz is an entrepreneur, development expert, event strategist and ally to people with disabilities, especially in the workplace. With over 25 years of development, hospitality & event management experience, Candace infuses the arts into work and uses her professional & personal experiences, creative intelligence and dedication to inclusion to engage and inspire audiences, both internal and external.

Candace’s expansive career, beginning with hospitality sales & marketing and event management, includes work with World Healthcare Congress, World Tech Congress, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), The Jason Mraz Foundation, Letts Consult, St. Margaret’s School, Benchmark Hospitality, Retro Hospitality, Raleigh News & Observer, En Forme Magazine, The Richmond Times Dispatch, Trueline Brands, Richmond Raceway, Virginia Ability and more.

In 2020, Candace successfully launched Mraz & Company, an agency of creatives, business strategists, storytellers and event professionals. Candace is also a managing partner of Sugar Creek, a new event venue and Agri-tourism concept in Central Virginia with a mission to build a sustainable workplace for people with varying abilities, reimagining how we work and play.

Candace is a Co-Producer of the Emmy Award winning Documentary Film: FROM THE WINGS: The LIVE ART Story and former Executive Director and Vice President of Development for the American Heart Association in Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke, Virginia. Candace modernized the Heart Walk, Heart Ball & Go Red for Women events with an emphasis on video production and innovative donor engagement.

For 8 years, as the Senior Director of Development for the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC), Candace led efforts to raise nearly $13 million to fuel SPARC’s program and capital growth. Candace was also instrumental in developing and implementing the funding strategies for SPARC’s nationally recognized inclusive arts education program, LIVE ART.

Candace holds a certificate in Fundraising & Development from the University of Richmond’s Institute on Philanthropy and studied Business Administration at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Candace also works as a wedding consultant for The Freckled Flower Farm in Montpelier, VA and her proudest development project is raising her two daughters in the “Center of Universe”, Ashland, VA.