The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Coastal Virginia, Inc. is pleased to announce that Dr. Johnny Garcia has been selected as the Chamber’s new President & CEO. On May 30th 2020 the Chamber’s Board of Directors voted and approve Dr. Garcia for the position. Dr. Garcia will begin work in his new position effective immediately.

“I am honored to continue to be a part of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Coastal Virginia,” said Dr. Garcia. “The Chamber’s work is vital to the Hispanic community and I look forward to working with the Chamber’s board, and volunteers. I want to grow the organization and promote the interest and ensure the livelihood of our local economy.”

Inspired by his parents and grandparents and dedicated to a life of service for family, community, and the technology industry, Dr. Garcia is Founder and CEO of SimIS Inc., SimIS Holdings LLC, Nimbus Health Systems, Cativa Health, Prasili LLC, and Health Care Simulations LLC.

He has become an innovation leader in the modeling and simulation, test and evaluation, autonomous vehicle, advanced distance learning, immersive gaming, software development, cyber security, and healthcare industries.

SimIS, Inc was recently awarded the Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News) Small Business of the Year, and the prestigious recognition as the 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year and Hispanic Businessman of the year.

His pioneering work in medical training simulations, enterprise architecture, medical Cannabis, hyperscale date centers and unmanned systems has led to numerous awards in the region and across the US. He serves on numerous boards (Vice Chair Hampton Roads chamber, President of the Hispanic Chamber, Portsmouth Partnership, Vice Chair Hampton Roads workforce council, Chair ODU College of Engineering, Chair ODU VMASC, Boys and Girls Club, Star base Victory, Communities in Schools, Portsmouth Athletic League, First Chesapeake Robotics and many others.

Dr. Garcia served 5 years in the U.S. Navy as an enlisted operations specialist second class petty office and worked in industry for 15 years before founding SimIS.

He serves area youth through his robust intern programs. His philosophy of making a difference permeates his many service activities; numerous board memberships, STEM program development and, volunteering service to local, state, and international organizations, and mentoring newly started small businesses.

Dr. Garcia is a known leader in the community and his service is his compass. Dr. Garcia has degrees from Old Dominion University (PhD), St. Leo College (BA and BS) and the Florida Institute of Technology (MS and MBA).

He is the proud father of a wonderful set of 15-year old twin daughters – Hope and Faith – and is married to his lovely wife of 30 years, Lorena.