Vance-Granville Community College President Dr. Rachel Desmarais was recently recognized by the Triangle Business Journal as a recipient of its 2024 Women in Business Awards.

Desmarais’s inclusion in the 2024 Women in Business Awards underscores her commitment to supporting local communities and economies through a highly skilled workforce, according to a press release from VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel.

During the 2020-2021 academic year, Desmarais took the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Pledge through the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, which included specific action steps to advance entrepreneurship and create jobs across the country. The college was so successful in these initiatives that NACCE named it the Entrepreneurial College of the Year in October 2022.

In late 2023, VGCC launched the AdvanceNC partnership. Described as “an innovative workforce development ecosystem developing a robust talent pipeline to support unprecedented economic growth,” the AdvanceNC initiative is made up of 10 community colleges, two state universities and six regional workforce development boards which collaborate to meet the industry needs of major international companies operating in the state.

For nearly three decades, the Women in Business Awards have celebrated women in the Triangle region who are dynamic and outstanding leaders, with established track records of significant accomplishments in business and community service. Triangle Business Journal honored a total of 25 winners this year.