Board Of Directors

Ben J. Davenport, Jr., of Chatham, VA, is the chairman of Davenport Energy, a multifaceted company founded in 1941 by his father, Ben J. Davenport, Sr., which provides quality petroleum products to a customer base throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. He also serves as chairman of First Piedmont Corporation, a full-service waste management company providing waste hauling, disposal, and recycling services in Virginia and North Carolina. Davenport attended Hargrave Military Academy and Virginia Tech, graduating from the Pamplin College of Business in 1964 with a B.S. degree in business. In addition to his business interests, Davenport is involved in a variety of other activities.

He is the vice chairman of the GO Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board. He sits on the boards of directors for Hargrave Military Academy, The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, the Future of the Piedmont Foundation, and the Mid Atlantic Broadband. He is a strong supporter of Virginia Tech University. Davenport and his wife, Betty, recently pledged $1M to support the creation of the Ben and Betty Davenport Institute for Early Childhood Development through the VFCCE. The Institute maintains the mission to help create a more talented and educated early childhood education workforce and, in turn, build strong communities.

Mr. Darren Conner is the President of Dewberry Engineers Inc., the firm’s nationwide engineering practice. He oversees operations within 50 offices coast to coast, offering diverse services including environmental, site/civil, structural, mechanical/electrical, energy, and transportation engineering. Conner previously held the position of president of the firm’s southeast division, directing approximately 500 personnel in 24 offices.

Conner’s nearly 40-year career with Dewberry includes leading the acquisition and integration of two Florida engineering firms whose client base align with Dewberry’s culture. The acquisitions added nearly 250 employees to the firm.

He is a member of the Virginia State Board for Community College and a Past Chair for Danville Community College’s Educational Foundation Board of Directors. He was selected to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for the Virginia Tech Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Conner earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and an associate’s degree in pre-engineering from Danville Community College. Conner is a professional engineer in a number of states including Virginia.

Philip Goodpasture, of Richmond, has a corporate and business practice that focuses on internet commerce, the music entertainment industry, and investment and joint venture strategies for business and individuals. He regularly works on trademark, copyright and intellectual property matters and has assisted clients with charitable giving structures and related issues. He is a 1994 graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond and a 1995 graduate of the American Red Cross Leadership Development Council. Mr. Goodpasture earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia in 1982 and his juris doctor degree, also from the University of Virginia, in 1985. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Richmond Bar Association and the Greater Richmond Intellectual Property Law Association, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Anna James of Suffolk, Virginia, is Sr. Vice President, Public Policy and Government Relations at Sentara Healthcare.  Before this role, she was the Director of Business Development. Previously she served as Policy Director for the Office of Governor for Terry McAuliffe.  Previous positions included Manager, State Government Affairs for Troutman Sanders, LLP, and Director of Government Relations and Health Policy for Virginia Commonwealth University.  Anna received her B.S. in Business Administration and Management from Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business in 2002 before completing her M.B.A. at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010.

Justin Ballard is the Director of Business Development & Client Solutions for MEB. Justin comes with more than 16 years of experience in the commercial construction industry over a variety of different leadership roles and responsibilities. He leads all new business and development strategies from concept to completion. His unique background provides him with a deep understanding of delivering successful project outcomes, while prioritizing client relations and his commitment to building strong project teams to provide maximum value for our customers.

Justin currently serves on the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education Board, Tidewater Community College (TCC) Educational Foundation Board, Virginia Beach Vision Board, Virginia Beach Education Foundation Board, Central Business District Association (CBDA) Board, Civil and Environmental Engineering Visiting Council (CEEVC) at Old Dominion University, the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Virginia State Board, Builders and Contractors Exchange (Hampton Roads) Board, Board of Trustee member of the Hampton Roads Chamber, and a founding Board member of local charitable organization; The Virginia Gentlemen Foundation.

Justin is also a past President of the Hampton Roads Chapter of Associated General Contractors (AGC), past Board of Trustee member at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), and Top 40 under 40 Honoree recipient.

Justin is a proud Veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Xavier Beale is Vice President of Human Resources and Trades for Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, located in Newport News, Va. Named to this position in 2022, he is responsible for human resources, production trades, trades management, trades administration, and The Apprentice School.

A second-generation shipbuilder, Beale is committed to advancing the company’s trades organizations. He began his shipbuilding career in 1991 as a pipefitter then left the shipyard for 10 years to work as a probation officer and program manager of a behavioral health treatment center. During this time, he also served in the Virginia Army National Guard. Since returning to the shipyard in 2004, Beale has held positions of increasing responsibility in human resources to include supervisor of employee relations, manager and human resources business partner and manager of EEO and diversity. Before his current appointment, he served as director of human resources operations.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in governmental administration from Christopher Newport University and a master’s degree in human resources from Troy University. He is actively involved in the community and serves on the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, the Virginia African American Advisory Board, the Virginia Living Museum’s board of trustees, and Hampton Roads Community Action Program’s board of directors.

Ms. Caldwell previously served as the marketing research manager for CorEast Savings Bank in Richmond and as the major account service auditor with Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield.  She also serves on the Junior Board for the Senior Center of Greater Richmond, the Spartan Athletic Board at The Steward School, and is Chair of the HWTA (Hermitage Women’s Tennis Association) Board.  Ms. Caldwell has a bachelor of arts from the University of Richmond, with a concentration in marketing.

Edward C. Dalrymple, Jr. was appointed to the State Board by Governor Terry McAuliffe to begin a four-year term effective July 1, 2017.

Dalrymple serves as president of Chemung Contracting Corporation, Dalrymple Holding Corporation, and Cedar Mountain Stone Corporation. He serves on a variety of boards regarding Virginia transportation issues including research, quality and training. He is past president and current treasurer of the Virginia Asphalt Association, and past president and current board member of Old Dominion Contractors Association, as well as a board member of the Germanna Community College Education Foundation.

David Doré became Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) on April 1, 2023.  Dr. Doré is the tenth person to lead the system, which was founded in 1966.  He succeeded Dr. Sharon Morrissey, who served in the post on an interim basis since July 2022. In his position, Dr. Doré provides day-to-day leadership for a system serving more than 200,000 degree-seeking and workforce-career training students annually.  That’s more than 40 percent of Virginia’s undergraduate students.  He oversees 23 independently accredited community colleges across 40 locations in every corner of Virginia.

David Doré joined the VCCS in his twenty-seventh year serving community college students.  Like so many of our students, he was a first-generation college student. His career has been guided by a fundamental belief that every learner can succeed if the conditions are right. He has focused on serving diverse and underrepresented populations to foster inclusive learning communities, supporting open access, student success, and economic mobility.

Dr. Doré came to Virginia from Tucson, Arizona, where he served as President of Campuses and Executive Vice Chancellor at Pima Community College. There he led the College’s five campuses and workforce development initiatives, including the development of the College’s Centers of Excellence in response to the needs of Arizona’s workforce sectors.

Prior to Pima, Dr. Doré served as Dean of Career and Technical Education with the Maricopa Community College District in Tempe, Arizona, and Dean of the School of Business and Dean of the Downtown Campus at City College of San Francisco. Doré served as a full-time faculty member at the community college, university and secondary levels for twenty years.

Doré earned his Doctor of Education degree at Pepperdine University; a Master of Business Administration degree at Georgetown University; his Master of Education at Boston College; a Master of Theological Studies (Ethics) at Santa Clara University; Licentiate of Philosophy in Ethics at Gonzaga University; and his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Gannon University. He was a 2017-18 Presidential Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program and has been active in community leadership and in advocating for community college education at the state and national levels.

David Doré is married to his partner of 25 years, Chauncey Roach, who has served 30 years in federal employment, including six years in the U.S. Air Force and 24 years with the Veterans Health Administration, as a registered nurse.

Mr. French is President and Chief Executive Officer of Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (“Shentel”) (NASDAQ: SHEN), a provider of diversified telecommunications services to customers in the Mid-Atlantic United States. He has served as President and CEO of Shentel since 1988, and has been a member and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1996. Prior to appointment as President, Mr. French held a variety of positions with Shentel, including Vice President Network Service and Executive Vice President.

Mr. French has held board and officer positions in both state and national telecommunications associations, including service as a director of the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) and was president and director of the Virginia Telecommunications Industry Association. Mr. French is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the USTelecom Association, and serves on the Association’s Leadership Committee.

Mr. French was a member of the Board of Directors of First National Corporation (OTC: FXNC) from 1996 to 2018, and served as a member and Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Mr. French holds a BS in electrical engineering and an MBA, both from the University of Virginia.

Jennifer Sager Gentry, formerly of Winchester, Virginia, is the vice chancellor of institutional advancement for Virginia’s Community College System. She provides leadership for private fundraising on behalf of Virginia’s 23 Community Colleges and serves as Executive Director to the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education. She has served in this capacity since 2005. Formerly, she was vice president and managing partner of The Clements Group, a national fundraising consulting firm specializing in community and technical colleges. Gentry began her career in community college education at Lord Fairfax Community where she served as a faculty member, division chair for the math, science, and office systems technology, and vice president for institutional advancement. Gentry earned her doctorate from Nova Southeastern University, the master’s degree in business administration from James Madison University, and the bachelor’s degree from Bridgewater College. She is a 2006 graduate of Lead Virginia and is a member of The Woman’s Club of Richmond.

Dr. Cedric F. Green is senior vice president–Generation, Dominion Energy Virginia. He is responsible for the operations, engineering, and maintenance of Dominion Energy’s fossil, hydro, and renewable generating facilities and its energy storage portfolio, as well as solar generating facilities housed at Contracted Assets.

Prior to the merger with Dominion Energy, Green started his career at SCANA in 1994 as an intern. For the next 25 years, he held several leadership roles in electric and gas operations, in both North and South Carolina. He was named the Southeast Energy Group’s vice president–Gas Services in 2019, and later that year became vice president–Gas Transmission & Storage Technical Services. In 2020, he was named vice president–Technical Services for Dominion Energy Virginia. He assumed his current position in 2022.

Green serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. He also has served on the Board of Directors for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and served as Chairman of the Leadership South Carolina Board of Trustees. In 2021, he joined the boards of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, Thrive Birth to Five for the Richmond region, and the Henrico Education Foundation.

Green is a graduate of University of South Carolina, where he earned all his degrees: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, MBA, M.E. Mechanical Engineering, and Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the state of South Carolina.

Dr. Hazel is the Chief Executive Officer of Claude Moore Opportunities. Dr. Hazel served as Virginia’s Secretary of Health and Human Resources from 2010-2018. As Secretary, Dr. Hazel oversaw 11 state agencies with over 16,000 employees including such diverse programs as Medicaid, Behavioral Health, Social Services, as well as Aging and Rehabilitation. These combined agencies spend approximately one-third of Virginia’s budget. During his first term as Secretary, he led the Virginia Health Reform Initiative and helped establish the Virginia Center for Health Innovation. He served as the Founding Chair of ConnectVirginia, Virginia’s health information exchange. He negotiated an agreement with the Department of Justice to improve services to individuals with Intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has become nationally recognized for leading an enterprise Information technology transformation in Health and Human Resources. He has devoted significant energy towards improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the HHR agencies.

Dr. Hazel received his BS in Civil Engineering at Princeton University in 1978. He earned his Medical Degree at Duke University School of Medicine in 1983 and completed his Orthopedic Surgery Residency at the Mayo Clinic in 1988.

Amy is a native Virginian, growing up in Arlington and earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Randolph Macon College. She started her career in Alexandria City Public Schools as a Special Education teacher and earned her Master’s in the same at George Mason University. After being in the classroom for over 10 years, and then later teaching in Prince William County Schools, she moved into school administration after leaving the classroom.

In 2005, an opportunity arose to work at Micron Technology in University and Academic Relations. This is where her passion for STEM Education and Workforce Development was born. She worked closely with Virginia’s community colleges,  regional K12 school divisions, and higher education institutions across the state to strengthen the technical pipeline. One accomplishment to note was working with Northern VA Community College to establish an on-site training program at Micron Technology in Manassas. The 4 year program trained 450 front line employees at Micron. Due to the successful partnership, NOVA received $1M from the then named Governor’s Opportunity Funds. Out of that seed funding, NOVA SySTEMic was born and she went to NOVA to be the Founding Director of that program for about 5 years.

After growing and expanding the program at NOVA, she was called to work in the Governor’s Office under Secretary of Education Anne Holton as the Virginia Director of STEM. In that position she was able to bring STEM programming to areas of the state that may not have had the opportunity to obtain such resources. After the administration changed, she landed at George Mason University in Corporate Outreach, which blended her background of education and corporate knowledge to expand work based learning opportunities for university students.

After a few years, her husband retired so they moved farther south to Orange, Virginia where she was chosen to be the Dean of Professional and Technical Studies and Workforce Development at Germanna Community College, just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. There, she was able to obtain GO Virginia and other significant grant funding to expand certificate and degree programs in the STEM fields to, once again, strengthen the technical workforce pipeline.

After several years at Germanna, she was then given the opportunity to return to Micron Technology as a member of the National STEM Team, living in Virginia but reporting to the Micron Foundation, headquartered in Boise, Idaho. She is now responsible for expanding STEM programming in K12 and higher education for the East Coast as far north as Syracuse, NY and as far south as Atlanta, GA, and everywhere in between.

She has one son who graduated from Radford University in December 2022 and is now teaching Health and Physical Education in northern Virginia. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, kayaking, hiking, and off roading with her husband and other friends.

Ronald H. Holmes is a Senior Vice President of Wealth Management and Financial Advisor with Janney, Montgomery, Scott, LLC.

A native of Fredericksburg, VA, he received his B.A. from the College of William and Mary, and an M.B.A. in Finance from George Mason University. Holmes began his career in 1990 as a Financial Advisor with Wheat First Securities. He is senior partner of Holmes Riley Wealth Advisors of Janney, Montgomery, Scott, LLC., a team of financial professionals which provide advisory and investment services to the high net worth and institutional markets.

Holmes is the immediate past Chair of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, and has previously served as Campaign and Board Chair of the Rappahannock United Way, President of Fredericksburg Big Brothers & Big Sisters and Trustee of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Fredericksburg Area Chamber of Commerce, The Fredericksburg Area Youth Development Foundation (Board Chair), and the College of William and Mary Tribe Club. He resides in Fredericksburg with his wife Anne, a retired educator.

As the CEO of the Center for First-Generation Student Success, Maurice provides customer acquisition, fundraising, economic development, mobility and other professional and business services to government, nonprofit and for-profit customers.  Previously, he served as the Deputy Undersecretary of HUD in the Obama administration, and then as the Virginia Secretary of Commerce in the cabinet of Governor Terry McAuliffe. Mr. Jones also served as the Chief Executive Officer of OneTen. Mr. Jones was born in Mecklenburg County and grew up on his grandparents’ tobacco farm near the town of Kenbridge.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hampden-Sydney College before attending Magdalen College, Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Gaye Montgomery is Vice President and US Chief Compliance Officer with  Philip Morris International.  Gaye was previously the Chief Compliance Officer of Black Buffalo Inc., a member of the Board of Managers of Grubb Properties LLC, the managing member of Montgomery Compliance Law PLLC, and Convener-in-Chief of The Women’s Compliance Collective.

During her 20-year career with Altria, Gaye spent more than ten years on the law department’s leadership team and led a number of law department practice groups, including Global Compliance; International Sales & Marketing; Sales; Sales & Marketing; Marketing, Communications & Corporate Responsibility; and Employment.

Prior to joining Altria, Gaye was an associate at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in
New York City. Gaye received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, after which she worked for three years as a Systems Engineer before leaving to attend Yale Law School from which she
received her J.D. degree.

Gaye is admitted to practice law in the United States (New York, Virginia, and the District of Columbia) and the United Kingdom, is a Board-Certified Coach, and was an Adjunct Professor (Antitrust) at the University of Richmond Law School.

Gaye brings more than twenty years’ experience on nonprofit boards across a broad range of industries and sectors and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Richmond Ballet and is a member of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education Board of Directors and the Advisory Board for Florida Tech’s College of Psychology and Liberal Arts.

Mary G. Morris is the Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Savers (previously Virginia529), the largest tax-advantaged education savings program in the country with its direct Invest529 and advisor CollegeAmerica programs; Virginia529 launched tax-advantaged disability savings program ABLEnow in 2016 and ABLEAmerica in 2018. She directs and manages the operations, resources, and investments of Virginia529 and is involved in state and federal legislative and governance issues relating to the 529 and ABLE industries. Mary is a lawyer and spent many years in private practice specializing in tax, public finance and securities matters. In the public sector, earlier in her career, she served as a Virginia Senior Assistant Attorney General for Tax and Finance and later served a term as the Treasurer of Virginia.

Recently retired CEO of Evolver, Inc., Michael O’Kane currently serves as Vice Chair on the board of Converged Security Solutions (CSS), a $70M firm providing cybersecurity and infrastructure technology services, alongside physical security and transportation system design and installation for federal, state, local, and commercial clients. Michael also serves as Series A lead investor and board member for Embody, Inc., a biotechnology and medical device firm developing cutting edge solutions for tendon and surgical repair. He has also been a consultant and/or investor to several emerging small businesses in the information technology (IT) and medical device markets.

Michael was the Founder and CEO of Evolver, Inc. Since founding Evolver in 2000, he oversaw the company’s emergence as an IT solutions leader in the federal, commercial, and legal markets. Michael promoted a planned and structured approach to achieve desired business results while optimizing cost, schedule, and risk parameters. He successfully established subsidiaries in the UK and Canada to support contract performance in those countries. Guided by Michael’s leadership, creativity and resourcefulness, Evolver grew exponentially and received numerous industry accolades from the Small Business Association (SBA), Inc. 500/5000, Virginia’s “Fantastic 50”, SmartCEO Future 50, and Washington Technology Fast 50.

Michael attended Northern Virginia Community College and obtained his B.S. Business Administration from George Mason University.

John Rainone, of Clifton Forge, currently serves as president of Mountain Gateway Community College. Rainone previously served as dean of institutional advancement at York County Community College (Maine). He also served as interim chief financial officer/administration at York County Community College and as interim dean of academic programs. Prior to that, he was dean of professional development and business services at York County Community College and assistant dean of community education and workforce development at New Hampshire Technical College, now Manchester Community College. Rainone holds a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University as well as a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jennie is President of Medicaid East Region at Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Virginia’s largest provider of Medicaid managed care services.
Before her current position, she had over 27 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including service as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Finance at Anthem. Jennie holds a master’s in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Caroline Petters Sauer is an elementary school Reading Specialist in Fairfax County, Virginia. Formerly an elementary school teacher in New York City, she has always been passionate about making education equitable for all. She and her family make up the Petters Family Foundation, which seeks to help students of all ages access effective educational opportunities.

Sauer obtained a bachelor’s degree from UVA, a Master’s Degree in teaching Spanish and English to Speakers of Other Languages from NYU, and most recently earned a second Master’s Degree in Literacy Leadership from George Mason University. She lives in Falls Church with her husband Chris, son Marshall, and dog Polly.

Leah Fried Sedwick is an entrepreneur based in Northern Virginia. She founded the Olde Towne Pet Resorts, full amenity resorts for dogs and cats. Prior to that, she worked for Fried Companies, Inc., her family’s commercial real estate development firm. In her early working days, she did feasibility studies for the Virginia Housing Development Authority. Ms. Fried Sedwick received her B.A. from Brown University and her M.S.U.P. from Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Previous Board service includes Fairfax County Library Foundation, VA Land and Conservation Fund, and UCM Community Solutions. She currently serves on a committee of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities that supports fellowships and programming for extraordinary Virginia women.

Ms. Fried Sedwick enjoys spending time with her children, Asher and Naomi, and playing tennis and walking her dogs.

Julia Gilliam Sterling serves as the Director of Grantmaking for the Gilliam Family Foundation. This foundation invests in initiatives that support various areas in their home region of Southwest Virginia, including education, environmental stewardship, economic opportunity, health and wellness, and the arts. Julia has a personal passion for early childhood education. She worked as an elementary education teacher in Virginia public schools for five years, with her last position being a second-grade teacher in Richmond Public Schools. Julia holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond and a Master’s in Teaching Elementary Education from the University of Virginia.

Fred is a resident of Ashburn, VA. He is a business partner and Chief Administrative Officer at Thompson Hospitality. Fred received a B.A. degree in Classical Studies from Hampden Sydney College and a M.A degree in Public Administration from University of Virginia.

Some Board Memberships include: Opportunity Scholars (Vice-Chairman), Virginia Chamber of Commerce (past Chair), Global Good Fund Foundation, Virginia Council on Economic Education, Virginia Learns, Deacon Ministry at First Baptist Church in Vienna, VA.

Fred has one son, Fred Thompson III (Trey) and he is currently working at Thompson Hospitality.