Martha G. Abbott ’72
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Term: 2018-2022
Martha Abbott of Alexandria, Virginia, had a career in the language education field for more than 30 years. Most recently she was executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). She previously taught and coordinated language programs at all levels in Fairfax County Public Schools. In 2016, Abbott was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Security Education Board, an initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills. She served as chair of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in 1999, president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in 2003, and a member of numerous national task forces involving foreign language and new teacher standards, and performance guidelines. She also was a member of the steering committee for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Foreign Language Exam. Abbott received the Ovatio award for outstanding service from the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, the Robert Ludwig National Distinguished Leaders Award, and the ACTFL Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in K-12 Foreign Language Education. She earned a B.A. degree in Spanish with a minor in Latin from Mary Washington and a master’s degree in Spanish linguistics from Georgetown University.
Allida M. Black
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
First Term: 2018-2021
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2021-2025
Allida M. Black of Arlington, Virginia, is a distinguished scholar and human rights advocate who serves as managing director of the Allenswood Group, LLC, an organization founded to empower individuals and strengthen democracy through civic engagement, grassroots activism, and education. She is a historian and advisor to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and a distinguished visiting scholar a the Miller Center for Public Affairs. Prior to this, she served as a research professor of history and international affairs at The Goerge Washington University (GWU), she is the founding editor and editorial advisory board chair for the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project. Black also served as executive editor of fdr4freedoms Digital Resource, an online education, and advocacy program dedicated to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. She has been an advisor to documentaries on PBS, the History Channel, A&E, and the Discovery Channel, and has authored seven books and multiple articles on women, politics, and human rights policy. Black is a current trustee for the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Foundation, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. She is the recipient of GWU’s Millennium Medal, the 2001 Person of Vision Award from the Arlington County Commission on the Status of Women, and the James A. Jordan Award from Penn State University. In 2013, she received the Interactive Media Council’s “Best in Class” award and an Independent Publisher Book Award silver medal. She is a member of the Leadership Council of the Marjorie Kovler Center for the Survivors of Torture. Black earned a doctorate in history from GWU, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Emory University, and a certificate in international humanitarian law from the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Heather M. Crislip ’95
Appointed By: Governor Terrance R. McAuliffe
First Term: 2015-2019
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2019-2023
Heather Mullins Crislip of Richmond is executive director of the Richmond Forum, America’s largest non-profit speaker series. The Richmond Forum seeks to present powerful voices so Richmond can learn and empower local voices and so Richmond can lead. From 2012-2021, Heather was president and CEO of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (HOME of Virginia), pursuing equal access to housing for all. Previously, Crislip held several roles in higher education at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia and the Chancellor’s Office at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Crislip, a native of Blacksburg, Virginia, is a 1995 graduate of Mary Washington and received a Juris Doctorate with honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She serves as rector of the UMW Board of Visitors.
Devon W. Cushman ’93
Appointed By: Governor Terrance R. McAuliffe
First Term: 2017-2021
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2021-2025
Devon Williams Cushman has worn many hats during her career: litigation attorney, law professor, general counsel, and -most recently- entrepreneur. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in political science from Mary Washington and earning her Juris Doctorate from the University of Richmond School of Law, she worked as a litigator at Morris & Morris (now McCandlish Holton) and Hirschler Fleischer, where she was recognized by Virginia Business as “Legal Elite” and by Virginia Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star.” Cushman also has served as an adjunct professor at Richmond Law and as Assistant General Counsel at Capitol One, where she partnered with its policy affairs team to advance its legislative agenda. Cushman recently founded a design company called Dutch Door. In addition, she supports the greater Richmond community as a pro bono attorney. She serves as vice rector of the Board of Visitors.
Edd Houck
Appointed By: Governor Terrence R. McAuliffe
First Term: 2014-2018
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2018-2022
A longtime politician and educator, Edd Houck of Spotsylvania County represented the 17th District in the Virginia Senate from 1984 to 2012. In addition to his political duties, Houck worked in public schools for 34 years, including as a middle school science teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, and the director of student services for Fredericksburg City Public Schools. After his retirement from education in 2007, Houck served for six years as director of community and corporate programs for Mary Washington Healthcare. He received a bachelor’s in education from Concord College (Athens, W.Va.), and a master’s in education from the University of Virginia.
Patricia G. McGinnis ’69
Appointed By: Governor Terrance R. McAuliffe
First Term: 2017-2021
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2021-2025
Patricia “Pat” Gwaltney McGinnis is a public policy consultant and part-time artist in Washington, D.C. She has held positions in government, business, the nonprofit sector, and academia. In government, she served as an advisor to the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs in the Obama Administration. She has also been on the Senate Budget Committee staff, the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services, and the Office of Management and Budget, where she led the effort to create the U.S. Department of Education during the Carter Administration. McGinnis was President and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government, an organization of business leaders who previously served in government, Founder and principal of public strategy firm FMR Group, McGinnis was a senior associate at international management consulting firm Cresap, McCormick and Paget. McGinnis has also served as a part-time faculty in the Schools of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and most recently George Washington University where she was Distinguished Professor of Practice at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. She is a member of UMW’s College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Advisory Board, an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a trustee of the Congressional Management Foundation, and director of Caleres Inc. and LMI. McGinnis earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Mary Washington and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Leopoldo J. Martínez
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Term: 2018-2022
Leopoldo J. Martínez of McLean, Virginia, is a Venezuelan-American business owner, international lawyer, author, social entrepreneur, and former congressman. He has worked with large international law and accounting firms and has advised Fortune 500 companies, international businesses, nonprofit organizations, and governments in more than 17 countries. As a congressman in Venezuela, Martínez developed significant experience within the inter-American system, participating in complex negotiations and initiatives for political reconciliation in an extremely polarized political environment. He is the founder and principal of LMN Consulting LLC, a global strategic advisory and advocacy firm with extensive experience in U.S.-Spain-Latin America affairs, business, and trade. He also founded and operates the Center for Democracy and Development in the Americas, an institution that provides a platform for leaders promoting progressive changes in the Americas. Martínez currently serves as board chair of the Latino Victory Project and as a member of the Virginia Small Business Commission. A member of the Democratic National Committee, he also serves on the Virginia Democratic Party Steering Committee. In addition, Martínez is an advisor to the Group of 50 Foundation, a nonprofit initiative composed of business leaders who promote openness, economic and social progress. He earned a law degree in Venezuela and a Master of Laws degree from both Harvard Law School and the University of Miami. Martínez also did graduate work in public policy and economics at Princeton University.
Princess R. Moss ’83
Appointed By: Governor Timothy M. Kaine
First Term: 2007-2011
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2021-2024
Princess Moss, an education executive and 1983 Mary Washington graduate, has been reappointed to the University of Mary Washington’s Board of Visitors. She takes over a four-year term, succeeding Sharon Bulova of Fairfax. Moss who previously served on the Board of Visitors from 2007 to 2011, is vice president of the National Education Association (NEA). An advocate for the arts in schools, Moss taught in the classroom for 21 years as an elementary school music teacher, while simultaneously championing children and public education at the local, state, and national levels. For nearly four decades, she has supported the NEA’s mission to ensure that students receive well-rounded educations. As secretary-treasurer, a role to which she was appointed in 2014, Moss oversaw the organization’s multimillion-dollar budget and ensured its fiscal integrity. After being elected NEA’s vice president last August, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moss said her goal is to provide safe learning spaces for all students and to address inequities in public schools that have been laid bare by the crisis. Last summer, she joined UMW College of Education (COE) Dean Pete Kelly and Spotsylvania County Schools Director of Human Resources Melanie Kay-Wyatt ’92 to teach “The Pandemic’s Impact on K-12 Education,” the final installment of UMW’s free eight-week online “COVID-19 in Context” course. Moss also served two terms as president of the NEA-affiliated Virginia Education Association, advocating on behalf of the organization’s 62,000 members for greater investment in public schools; she also spent over a decade on the boards of directors for NEA and VEA. Virginia Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine both tapped her to serve on the Commonwealth’s P-16 Education Council, which coordinates education reform from preschool to higher learning. Hailing from Louisa County, Virginia, Moss earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Mary Washington as well as a master’s degree in administration and supervision from the University of Virginia. She was the recipient of UMW’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006 and currently serves as a member of UMW’s COE Advisory Board.
Charles S. Reed, Jr. ’11
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Term: 2020-2024
Since 2014, Charles S. Reed, Jr. of Sterling, Virginia, has worked for KPMG International, a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax, and advisory services. As a manager in the organization’s federal advisory practice, Charles develops business and financial strategies to support federal clients. A member of UMW’s James Farmer Legacy Council, Charles first became familiar with the late civil rights leader and former Mary Washington history professor when he took a first-year seminar on Dr. Farmer’s life and legacy. The class propelled Reed to numerous leadership positions at Mary Washington, including president of the Black Student Association, vice president of Brothers of a New Direction and treasurer of the campus finance committee, as well as a role on UMW’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Community Values. As a student, he received the Citizenship Award for Diversity Leadership, the James Harvey Dodd Scholarship in Business Administration, and the Emerging Leaders Diversity Scholarship. In May 2011, Reed represented the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of PBS’s 50th-anniversary commemoration of the 1962 Freedom Rides. Selected from nearly 1,000 applicants, Reed was one of 40 college students nationwide to earn a seat on the bus, joining several of the original Freedom Riders to travel the same route they took half a century earlier. Though he missed his own commencement ceremony for the trip, Reed called the 10-day experience “life-changing.” After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Mary Washington, Reed spent three years as a client financial management analyst for Accenture. In 2017, Reed received the Young Business Alumni Award, which recognizes UMW’s College of Business graduates who have distinguished themselves in their professional achievements, outstanding service, and exceptional contributions to their field.
Deborah A. Santiago ’90
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Term: 2019-2023
An innovator, thought leader, and educational visionary, Deborah Santiago of Arlington has initiated and led successful local, national and federal programs for more than 20 years. She directed policy and research efforts to support rising aspirations, improve enrollment opportunities, and achieve increased rates of higher education completion for all students, especially those from the Latino community. Santiago is CEO and co-founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Excelencia in Education, which has become a trusted source of data and research on higher education policy and evidence-based practices for Latino student success. Her work has been cited in The Economist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education and many other publications focused on higher education policy and practice. Previously, she was vice president for data and policy analysis for the Los Angeles County Alliance for Student Achievement, and a policy analyst at the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service on legislative issues in higher education. She also informed programmatic and budgetary efforts in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education and was the program manager at the ASPIRA Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the Latino community. As the deputy director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, Santiago worked with federal agencies and communities across the nation to improve awareness and education opportunities for Latinos. She serves on the advisory boards of TheDream.US and Higher Achievement. Her many honors include the prestigious Pahara Fellowship from the Aspen Institute. Santiago holds a B.A. from Mary Washington and an M.A. in urban studies and affairs from Virginia Tech.
Robert J. Strassheim ’96
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Term: 2021-2024
Robert J. Strassheim of Keswick is a certified project management professional, serves as vice president of business operations for Dickinson + Associates Inc., a midsize software consulting company headquartered in Chicago. He has also held various leadership positions at Electronic Data Systems Inc., working for the Department of the Navy. In addition, Strassheim has served as a part-time lecturer in UMW’s College of Business (COB) for more than two decades, teaching courses in marketing, management, corporate financial management, retail management, and introduction to business, as well as a senior seminar in international business. Strassheim earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mary Washington, graduating with academic honors. He also holds an MBA and a graduate certificate in international business from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, ranking third in his class. At UMW, he is the current chair of COB’s Alumni Advisory Board and previously served as a Capital Campaign cabinet member. He is the recipient of the 2017 COB Distinguished Business Alumnus Achievement Award and the 2021 Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service Award.
Rhonda S. VanLowe
Appointed By: Governor Terrance R. McAuliffe
First Term: 2015-2019
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2019-2023
Rhonda VanLowe of Reston retired as legal counsel to Rolls-Royce North America Inc., a position she assumed in 1999. Her previous positions include counsel for U.S. operations of Reebok International Limited and shareholder with Ginsburg, Feldman & Bress, Chartered. An alumna of Cornell University, VanLowe received a Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center. In service to the community, VanLowe is an inaugural member of the Fairfax County Police Civilian Review Panel. She was also a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Improving Mental Health Services and Crisis Response, and she served as board chair for the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program. She serves as secretary of the Board of Visitors.