Meet Ali Berger

Ali Berger, 31, is a force in Lynchburg and is connecting women by creating events for them to come together, collaborate and celebrate successes.

She is also a three-time founder, event coordinator, marketing strategist and coach.

Originally from Frederick, Maryland, she attended Liberty University, majoring in Communications. While still in college, she interned with Chick-fil-A, where she met her now close friend and business partner, Carrie Wright. After graduation, she returned to Maryland, where she spent six years working in marketing, eventually landing at a tech marketing agency. But something was missing.

“I had just been praying,” Berger said. “If I am going to grow an agency, I want a mentor or some way to learn how to do this. I didn’t know what I was doing at the time.”

Lynchburg kept calling her back. With family and friends still in the area, she visited often, and during one of those visits, she spotted a ‘For Lease’ sign on Commerce Street. The idea of having an office downtown seemed like a distant dream, but a conversation with her best friend challenged her perspective. “She asked me, ‘Do you believe God has good for you here?’ And at first, I laughed it off. But it got me thinking, what if God’s goodness for me meant returning to Lynchburg?”

In October 2022, Berger made the leap, moving back to Lynchburg with the intention of staying for just six months.

“I told the board, ‘I’m coming for six months, then I’m moving to D.C. or something.’ And now, jokes on me, I am so grateful I stayed,” she said.

Soon after her return, Berger found herself at a networking event at Buff City Soap, where an offhand comment about hosting a girls night turned into something much bigger.

“A couple of us were talking about how tired we were and how we just wanted to do something fun. I jokingly suggested a girls' night, and everyone jumped on board,” she said. “One person offered a venue, another volunteered to bring cupcakes,” she said. “It all happened organically.”

That impromptu gathering evolved into LYH Women in Business, a community Berger co-founded with Wright. What started as a single event with 16 attendees quickly grew into a movement.

“Women kept asking, ‘When’s the next one?’ We hadn’t planned that far ahead, but we knew we had to keep going,” she said.

LYH Women in Business now hosts multiple events throughout the year, including an annual Valentine’s celebration, a fall kickoff, and a holiday party.

The goal is to create a space where women can be seen, supported, and celebrated, not just for their professional accomplishments but for their whole selves.

“We found that women, even CEOs and high-level professionals, weren’t talking about their jobs at these events,” Berger said. “They were celebrating their passion projects, their families, their personal growth. That’s when we realized women needed a space to be fully themselves.”

Berger’s passion for marketing and community-building also led her to launch The Spark Co. this year, a consulting firm dedicated to helping women scale their businesses and amplify their brands.

“I believe every great idea starts with a spark,” she said. “So many women listen to lies about who they are and whether they can run a business. I love coaching them through launching their ideas and building strategies that work.”

Her ability is not just theoretical. Berger has a history of success, including scaling nonprofit fundraising events by 40% and turning an $11,000 event into a $65,000 powerhouse.

Berger developed five pillars to help women take back their sparkle: grounding, dreaming, calling, building and celebration.

She empowers other women to celebrate their past as they walk forward in potential of who they were created to be, and of course, leave a little sparkle along the way.

Despite her busy schedule, Berger finds time for the things she loves, daily walks, spin classes, and picnics with friends. She also has a unique creative outlet: furniture flipping.

“I realized that rest, for me, isn’t just sitting and watching TV, it’s creating something. My roommate and I started picking up free furniture, flipping it and selling it. It’s been so fun,” she said.

She also treasures her time at local coffee shops, often working from the Farm Basket’s porch with a cup of coffee in hand.

“You can always catch me there,” she laughed.

As for what’s next, Berger is dreaming big.

“We’re considering hosting a conference in the fall,” she said. “It’s been incredible to see how this community has grown, and I can’t wait to see where we take it next.”

 Ali Berger provided the photos used in this story