Hampton Roads Must Imagine Boldly and Build Decisively
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L to R: Ben Green, Sanele Lasana, Cameron Taylor, Charlie O’Brien
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Hampton Roads is more than a cluster of coastal cities. It is a living workshop for American audacity, a shoreline where continent and ocean meet to remind us that horizons are meant for crossing. Our shipyards lengthened the nation’s naval reach, our wind tunnels helped pilots break the sound barrier, and our ports welcomed markets that recast the country’s economy. Those victories matter, yet I believe a region must be measured as fiercely by its appetite for the future as by its reverence for the past. Every sunset over the Elizabeth River asks the same question: what brave craft will launch here tomorrow, and who will dare to build it?
Artificial intelligence is my chosen instrument because it exists precisely where imagination crystallizes into execution. Models iterate, algorithms adapt, and yesterday’s miracle becomes today’s baseline. My vocation is to balance on that shifting edge, just long enough to prove the next step, then invite neighbors to stand on the ground I have tested while I venture forward again.
Whether I design agentic systems that eliminate operational drag or assemble tools that let diverse companies multiply their influence, each project is a pilot for Hampton Roads, evidence that our home can compete with the legendary workshops of Silicon Valley and Manhattan.
Yet no individual rewires a culture alone. That conviction sparked the Gen Z Commission, a council of young truth tellers committed to hearing and addressing the needs of our generation across the region. We roam festivals, campuses, and waterfront promenades with tiny microphones, collecting the unfiltered hopes and frustrations of students, sailors, coders, and creatives. Those street level voices travel from raw audio to data driven proposals on housing, transit, finance, and media. City councils, planning departments, and economic development boards invite us to translate those insights into strategies that serve Gen Z with precision and respect.
Progress is a relay, and I run with teammates whose pace lifts my own.
Together we are proving a clear truth. The future is not a distant landmark to be discovered someday. It is an active construction zone that demands hard hats, fresh blueprints, and a chorus of voices encouraging one another to reach higher. Hampton Roads already holds every raw material it needs: talent that spans generations, diversity that sparks creativity, and a history of relentless reinvention. What remains is the daily courage to imagine ideas large enough to unsettle us slightly, the discipline to plan them well, and the decisive will to act before the thrill fades. I will keep pressing toward the outer edge of possibility, rallying new partners, and ensuring that the next generation can claim this region for their boldest ideas as confidently as they claim it for its proud history.
23-year-old Charlie O’Brien, a native of the Bronx and graduate of McGill University, is Senior Product and Operations Manager at 757 Collab. He is chairman of the independent Hampton Roads Gen Z Commission and serves on the Board of Future of Hampton Roads.