Rebecca Ivins
Rebecca Ivins joined the UVA Foundation in July 2025 as Research Parks Director, bringing extensive private sector experience to lead the expansion and attraction of innovative companies to the North Fork.
With a career spanning business development and construction management roles at leading firms like Hourigan Group, Gilbane, and Jones Lang LaSalle, she has consistently focused on building partnerships and strengthening communities. A dedicated civic leader known throughout Virginia for her commitment to workforce development, infrastructure, and defense affairs, Ivins has served across many boards, including key roles with the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development.
Ivins attended the University of Akron and earned a mini-MBA from the University of Richmond. In her personal time, she is a golf enthusiast and has enjoyed watching her four children grow into adults.
Nikki Hastings, Ph.D.
Nikki Hastings is President and co-founder of CvilleBioHub, a nonprofit organization supporting biotechnology innovation and company growth in Virginia. She earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from UVA and previously held leadership roles with several early-stage biotechnology companies, including HemoShear Therapeutics and Contraline. Hastings also serves as adjunct faculty at UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, where she directs the Biotechnology Track in the M.S. in Commerce program. Her work focuses on entrepreneurship, economic development, and building the infrastructure and partnerships needed to grow Virginia’s innovation economy.
Susan K. Payne
Susan K. Payne brings decades of regional marketing leadership, community-focused advocacy, and a deep dedication to the Charlottesville area to the Virginia Ice Sports Board of Ambassadors. As the former President of Blue Ridge Group and long-time partner at Payne, Ross & Associates, she has spearheaded influential public relations and fundraising initiatives across the region. Her proven background in commercial development—including managing marketing and leasing for a 1.2 million-square-foot center and directing marketing for Wintergreen Resort—provides crucial insight for the new Ice Arena project with the University of Virginia Foundation. A deeply engaged partner to the University, Payne currently serves on the board of the UVA Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and was honored with Madison House’s Leading the Legacy Award. Her extensive local board service, including the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, highlights her commitment to community growth. Honored as Business Person of the Year by the Charlottesville/Albemarle Chamber of Commerce, Payne’s trusted leadership and passion for regional progress will be invaluable in bringing the Ice Arena vision to life.
Tim Wendell
Tim Wendel’s books include Summer of ’68, the novel Rebel Falls, and Going for the Gold: How the Americans Won at Lake Placid. Early writing assignments involved covering the NCAA-winning Minnesota Golden Gophers and the 1980 American team. (Coach Herb Brooks and several key players were mainstays on both squads.) Tim grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada and later appeared on the iconic television show, as well as ESPN, NPR, PBS, and CNN. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, GQ, and Esquire, and he was one of the founders of USA Today Baseball Weekly. In addition, he taught writing at Johns Hopkins University, where he was named the program’s top instructor three times. On the ice, he was a player-coach in the San Francisco adult league and coached at the youth level in Northern Virginia. Wendel and his wife, Jacqueline, now live in Charlottesville, where he recently served as president of the Charlottesville Track Club and is DJ Paperback Writer on WTJU.