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For 17 years Paul 0. Hirschbiel Jr. dedicated himself to a successful career in venture capital. Working in New York he spearheaded investments in such powerhouse companies as Dell Computer Corp., Staples Inc. and Starbucks Corp. Hirschbiel was a member of the board of directors of Dell Inc. for 13 years until his retirement from the board in 2000.

1997 Hirschbiel left New York for a new stage of life. He and his family relocated to Virginia Beach where he and his wife Susan decided to focus on civic activities, particularly those that make life better for children. In June Hirschbiel was elected to The Norfolk Foundation's board of directors replacing H.P. "Sonny" McNeal, chairman of the board of Empire Machinery Corp., who served on the Foundation board for 30 years.

After exploring the best place to live and raise their two children, the Hirschbiels select-ed Virginia Beach from a list of 10 cities that included San Francisco, Austin and Annapolis. The Hirschbiels were attracted by factors that included proximity to relatives, climate, schools, cultural offerings and cost of living. The move brought Hirschbiel close to his roots in Norfolk, where he lived until he was 14 when his family moved to Staunton.

Since he returned to southeastern Virginia five years ago, Hirschbiel has quickly gained a reputation as being "extremely committed to what he's doing," says Jody Wagner, Virginia state treasurer. Wagner served with Hirschbiel on the Cape Henry Collegiate board. "When he takes something on, he takes it on with a vengeance," she adds.

At the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern Virginia Hirschbiel is a tireless board member "who doesn't care what the job is. He will jump in and do it," says Candie Palen, executive director. Hirschbiel, a former board president, shifts easily from hawking teddy bears at air shows and raffle tickets at malls to making sure all board members financially support the organization.

As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (C.A.S.A.) in Virginia Beach Hirschbiel is a volunteer spending about 40 hours a month working on a specific child abuse case that can take up to two years to resolve. "He interviews everyone involved with the children and visits them usually weekly and gives reports to the judge," says Edith Dugan, C.A.S.A. executive director. Hirschbiel's expertise in child advocacy recently led to an appointment in Richmond to the Advisory Committee to the Court Appointed Special Advocate and Children's Justice Act Program. Governor Mark R. Warner previously appointed Hirschbiel to Virginia Commission on Efficiency and Effectiveness.

Working with C.A.S.A. Hirschbiel draws on his undergraduate degree in child psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked at a child development center while pursuing a master's degree in psychology. Instead he switched to UNC's business school and earned a master's of business administration degree. Along the way "I fell in love with finance," he says.

Hirschbiel started his investment career with Prudential Insurance Company of America before becoming a general partner of Prudential Equity Investors Inc., a venture capital investment firm. He also was a partner in a successor company, Cornerstone Equity Investor. Currently Hirschbiel heads Eden Capital E.L.C., a private investment company based in Virginia Beach.

When Hirschbiel moved to Virginia Beach, he and his wife vowed "to focus ourselves on children's issues and charities. We wanted to do something more than just write a check," he says. In New York the Hirschbiels had financially supported Horizons Student Enrichment Program. Hirschbiel helped bring that program to this region and currently chairs the board of Horizons Hampton Roads, an educational and developmental enrichment program for low-income students in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

As a teenager Hirschbiel left southeastern Virginia assuming he would never return to live. Today he is pleased to be back. "There is an excitement and vibrancy in this community I would never have expected," he says. Inspired by his parents' commitment to the cities where they lived, Hirschbiel hopes to teach philanthropy and encourage new generations of people to find ways to improve their communities.

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