Sharon Bulova
Term: 2016-2020
Sharon Bulova is chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a position she has held since February 2009. Previously, she served as supervisor for the Braddock District in Fairfax County and was chair of the board’s budget committee. Bulova also served as chairman of the Council of Government’s “Greater Washington 2050 Coalition,” an effort that culminated in the adoption of the Region Forward Regional Compact planning initiative signed by all 21 of the COG’s jurisdictions. In addition, Bulova helped establish the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail system, and has served on the VRE operations board since its inception. The 2009 recipient of the Council of Government’s Elizabeth & David Scull Metropolitan Public Service Award, Bulova also was named the Virginia Transit Association’s 2012 Local Public Official of the Year award.
Heather M. Crislip ’95
Term: 2015-2019
Heather Mullins Crislip of Richmond has been president and CEO of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia Inc., since 2012. Prior to that position, she oversaw bipartisan policy projects for the Miller Center at the University of Virginia for former Governor Gerald Baliles and served as the staff director of the Goode National Transportation Policy Project, which was honored by President Obama in a Rose Garden ceremony in 2010, and led the Center’s higher education policy work, including the report Front and Center: Critical Choices for Higher Education. Currently she serves on the board of directors for Housing Virginia, a statewide partnership of public and private organizations devoted to affordable housing. A 1995 graduate of Mary Washington, she received a juris doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Before returning to Virginia, she served as the chief of staff to a Hawaii state senator, and chief of staff and executive assistant to the chancellor of the University of Hawai’i. Previously, she directed New Haven, Connecticut’s welfare to work one-stop center and served as assistant to the mayor for policy analysis.
Devon W. Cushman ’93
Term: 2017-2021
Devon Williams Cushman serves as Director, Assistant General Counsel at Capital One in Richmond. She also worked as an attorney for Morris and Morris P.C. and for Hirschler Fleisher. Prior to building her law career, Cushman served as an account executive for GMMB in Washington, D.C., and has worked with Fortune 500 companies. In addition, Cushman has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. She currently chairs ChamberRVA’s Richmond Business Council Cabinet and Government Affairs Committee. Cushman received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Mary Washington and a juris doctorate from the University of Richmond.
Holly T. Cuellar ’89
Term: 2014-2018
Mrs. Cuellar is a political consultant who served in the Office of the Virginia Attorney General as Deputy Scheduler and as the Hampton Roads Community Outreach Coordinator, maintaining and supporting the Class Action program for Virginia school children. She also served on the City of Virginia Beach’s Gang Task Force, was a regional manager for the Keeping Virginia Safe and Strong programs, and helped develop programs to promote Internet safety and senior advocacy. A 1989 alumna of the University of Mary Washington, Mrs. Cuellar has also worked as legislative aide for Governor Robert McDonnell.
Carlos Del Toro
Term: 2014-2017
Mr. Del Toro, known for his leadership and innovation, is founder, CEO and president of SBG Technology Solutions Inc., a Washington-based engineering services and consulting firm. In 2010, he was recognized by the Small Business Administration as the Small Business Person of the Year in Region III, encompassing Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. A former naval officer and White House Fellow, Del Toro is a native of Havana, Cuba. He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and earned advanced degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School, George Washington University, and the Naval War College. He is a director on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Council on Small Business and past president of the board of the Capital Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Also, Del Toro serves as a director on the Rappahannock Goodwill Industries Board of Directors and has served on numerous gubernatorial boards in Virginia.
Edward B. Hontz
Term: 2016-2020
Edward Hontz, a former Navy captain, is the vice president of Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc., in charge of the company’s Navy programs in Dahlgren, Va. During his career with the Navy, Hontz served a year in Vietnam and participated in numerous military operations. He also served various on-shore duties, including as commanding officer of the AEGIS Training Center in 1995. Active in the Fredericksburg area, Hontz was a member of the Stafford County Economic Development Authority and the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce board of directors. In 2015 he became a citizen member of the Mary Washington Healthcare board of trustees. A founding member of the Fredericksburg Military Affairs Council (MAC) in 2006, he served on its board of directors until 2012. While chairman, he took a lead role in promoting the establishment of UMW’s Dahlgren Campus, Center for Education and Research. Hontz also is recipient of the 2015 Prince B. Woodard leadership award given by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, and afterwards he led the effort to establish a UMW student leadership cash award supported by an endowment funded by previous Prince B. Woodard award recipients.
Edd Houck
Term: 2014-2018
A longtime legislator and educator, Senator Houck represented the 17th District in the Virginia Senate from 1984 to 2012. In addition to his legislative duties, Houck worked in the 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. He retired in 2007. He then served until 2013 as director of community and corporate programs for Mary Washington Healthcare. Houck 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
Term: 2017-2021
Patricia (Pat) Gwaltney McGinnis is a distinguished professor of practice at George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. She also served as a White House senior advisor and president and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government. During the Carter administration, McGinnis served in the Office of Management and Budget. She has held senior posts with the Senate Budget Committee and the U.S. Department of Commerce and Health and Human Services. Founder and principal of public strategy firm FMR Group, McGinnis was a senior associate at international management consulting firm Cresap, McCormick and Paget. 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 received 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.
Fred M. Rankin III
Term: 2014-2018
Mr. Rankin served as president and CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare from 1995 until his retirement in 2014. Mary Washington Healthcare is a private not-for-profit regional system of healthcare facilities and wellness centers, including Mary Washington Hospital and Stafford Hospital, which serves the greater Rappahannock region. Rankin is a past president of the Rappahannock Area United Way and continues to serve on the United Way’s Board of Directors. He also has served on the Board of Directors of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, a public-private partnership. He co-chairs, along with UMW President Richard V. Hurley, an ongoing regional economic development initiative. Rankin also served as a member of the UMW Foundation Board of Directors. Rankin received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health.
Davis C. Rennolds ’06
Term: 2015-2019
Davis Rennolds, also of Richmond, is a vice president of McGuireWoods Consulting, where he has worked since 2011. There he represents the interests of clients, including SeaWorld, Walton Group International, Virginians for the Arts, the Virginia Federation of Food Banks and the statewide Share Our Strength “‘No Kid Hungry” campaign, before the Virginia General Assembly. A 2006 alumnus of Mary Washington, he served as a special policy analyst for the Virginia Department of Transportation. He also was a coordinator for former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s inaugural committee and a legislative aide for Del. Christopher Saxman in Staunton. Named to the “Top 40 Under 40,” by Richmond Style Magazine in 2011, Rennolds serves on the Virginia Foundation of Health Youth Board of Directors and the Richmond-Leadership Advisory Board.
Rhonda S. VanLowe
Term: 2015-2019
Rhonda VanLowe of Reston has served as legal counsel to Rolls-Royce North America Inc. since 1999. Previously, she provided counsel for the U.S. operations of Reebok International Limited in Stoughton, Massachusetts; was a shareholder and associate with Ginsburg, Feldman & Bress, Chartered; and an associate with Swidler & Berlin, Chartered, in Washington, D.C. An alumna of Cornell University, VanLowe received a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. She has taught at American University where she received the 2005 North Star Award for contributions to the Washington College of Law. She also has worked in finance with Central Fidelity Bank and First American Bank of Virginia. VanLowe is a member the Governor’s Task Force on Improving Mental Health Services and Crisis Response.
Deirdre Powell White ’91
Term: 2016-2020
Deirdre Powell White is founder and CEO of DPW Training and Associates, LCC, a software and training agency established in 2003 that provides technical training to agency employees of the federal government. She also is chairman of The DPW Foundation, which she founded to provide annual scholarships for high school seniors planning to attend college. Active in the local Fredericksburg community, White served on the UMW President’s diversity community advisory board. In addition, she was a member of the Leadership Fredericksburg Class of 2010 and the Fredericksburg Region Multiple Sclerosis Leadership Class of 2010. White has been named the “Outstanding Young Woman of America” and Empire’s Who’s Who “Executive of the Year.” She also received the Laurie A. Wideman Enterprising Woman’s Award sponsored by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. White is a 1991 graduate of Mary Washington College.