Candace Mraz is an entrepreneur, event strategist and mother of two. Her career spans 23 years in business development, event management & production, sales, non-profit administration, and fundraising. She uses her diverse perspectives, personal & professional experiences, creative ideas and passion for inclusion to engage and inspire others.

In 2019, with support from an encouraging and persistent network of friends and family, Candace launched Mraz & Company, an event management and development strategy company made up of innovative thinkers and doers. Candace is also a managing partner of Sugar Creek, a new event venue and destination in 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 currently the New Business Development and Events Manager for Lee Enterprises/The Richmond Times Dispatch.

Formerly, as the 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 digital media production and innovative donor engagement and led her team to secure the 2nd largest corporate gift to the AHA nationally and the largest corporate gift ever received at that time, in the Mid-Atlantic region.

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 championed a $6M capital campaign including the cash purchase of a $2.5M two-acre campus and construction of fully accessible instructional studios and a 100-seat state-of-the-art black-box theater. Candace was also instrumental in developing and implementing the fundraising strategies for SPARC’s nationally recognized inclusive arts education program, LIVE ART.

Candace is attracted to complex strategic and tactical challenges and her expansive career 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, and Benchmark Hospitality.

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. In addition to co-founding FreeHorse Arts, Candace serves on the ACTS Board of Directors in Richmond, VA, volunteers weekly for the Woodland Cemetery Foundation’s restoration project in Richmond’s East End and her proudest development project is raising her two daughters, Chaney and Ruby in the “Center of Universe”, Ashland, VA.