Influential Woman · Workforce Development and Training
Angelia Williams Graves
Founder & Principal | Virginia State Senator, Plinth Advisors
Norfolk, VA 23502
Her Story
About Angelia
Angelia Williams Graves has spent more than two decades in public service, retail leadership, and real estate before turning her attention to a gap she witnessed again and again: talented professionals who understood their craft but lacked the behavioral foundation to sustain long-term success. As a Virginia State Senator with prior service in the Virginia House of Delegates and on the Norfolk City Council, she engaged closely with employers and communities across the Commonwealth, giving her a front-row view of how communication breakdowns, weak accountability, and poor feedback culture quietly undermine otherwise capable and talented teams. That recognition, sharpened during her work with a cohort of Senate interns in 2024, led her to conclude that the issue wasn't a lack of talent or generational differences; it was a structural, fixable absence of professional character training. In response, Graves founded Plinth Advisors, a workforce development firm built around her proprietary Professional Character Capital Framework™, which treats traits like accountability, follow-through, and constructive communication not as soft skills but as measurable economic assets. Through keynote speaking, organizational consulting, and cohort coaching, she helps mid-market and enterprise companies, government agencies, universities, and small businesses close the gap between technical competence and workplace performance. Her approach draws on a varied professional background, including nearly a decade as principal broker and owner of Homes by Angelia Realty Company and earlier years in retail sales and management, giving her practical insight into how character-driven habits play out across very different industries. Beyond her consulting work, Graves remains active in civic and philanthropic life, serving on the Virginia Board of Workforce Development and on the Board of Directors for Envision, Lead, Grow, and donating her training expertise to organizations like the YWCA. A first-generation product of a pastor father and a missionary-schoolteacher mother, she credits her success to values of compassion, integrity, and genuine care for people, all principles she now works to institutionalize in the organizations she serves. She is currently pursuing a master's degree and preparing to launch her podcast, Earned Equity, in September 2026, continuing her mission to make professional character the recognized foundation of professional and organizational success.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Angelia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the values my parents instilled in me. My father was a pastor and my mother was a missionary and schoolteacher, and together they gave me a deep, genuine love for people and the belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, regardless of their circumstances. That foundation, combined with years of experience and the mentors who guided me along the way, has shaped how I lead and how I help others grow.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received was that if you help enough people get what they want, you will ultimately get what you want. It's the law of reciprocity, and it never fails. You can never go wrong helping people, and that is what my life has been about. That is what Plinth Advisors is about. That is what serving in the Virginia Senate is about. That is what Homes by Angelia Realty Company is about. If you help enough people change their trajectory, you will, ultimately, change your own.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I encourage young women to present their achievements assertively and in economic terms. It's important to clearly articulate how your work saves or makes money for your organization. While none of us are perfect, it is important for young women to recognize and claim the value they bring rather than downplaying it. Cultivating strong relationships, good judgment, and communication skills are essential to becoming an effective leader.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is that women still struggle to break through into leadership roles, and many workplaces continue to undervalue professional character-based skills. At the same time, I see a real opportunity to position these skills as measurable economic assets and to build consistent, shared professional character expectations across employers and industries.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Compassion, empathy, integrity, accountability, clear communication, and service to others are the values that guide both my professional work and my personal life.
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