Alda L. White, retired Stafford County attorney, received the Patricia Lacey Metzger Distinguished Achievement Award at the 14th annual Leadership Colloquium for Professional Women at the University of Mary Washington on Thursday, November 1.
White won the Metzger Award to recognize her career achievements, which include more than two decades as Stafford County’s chief legal advisor, and for attaining significant professional stature while upholding high standards in both her personal life and professional career.
The award is given in memory of Patricia Lacey Metzger, a Mary Washington professor and a founder of the Colloquium, which is held yearly at the UMW College of Graduate and Professional Studies.
White served as Stafford County attorney for 20 years until her retirement in 2004, acting as the county’s chief legal advisor on complex and far-reaching matters during a period of rapid growth. She served as acting county attorney and as assistant county attorney prior to assuming the county attorney post.
White began her career as a staff attorney for the Virginia Legal Aid Society. Born in Norfolk, she graduated from a Virginia Beach high school before earning a bachelor’s degree from Clark Atlanta University and a law degree from Temple University.
She served as president of the National Association of Civil County Attorneys and on the board of directors of the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia. She’s been active with manyother professional organizations, and she served as instructor for the Virginia State Bar and for University of Mary Washington.
In addition, she has been involved in a host of community activities, serving on the governing board of MediCorp Health System and chairing MediCorp’s Organizational Ethics Committee, and serving as president of the Community Advisory Committee on Diversity for the University of Mary Washington.
The 2007 Colloquium is sponsored by the university, GEICO and The Virginia Foundation for Women. Only past Colloquium participants are eligible to receive the Metzger Award.
This year’s Colloquium offered seminars about leadership, negotiation strategies, financial literacy, disengaged employees, time management and business protocol. Belle S. Wheelan, a former Virginia Secretary of Education and the first African American and the first woman to serve as President of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, gave the keynote speech.
Colloquium participants include mid-level and senior managers, administrators, educators, business owners and leaders of nonprofit organizations. For more information about the Colloquium visit the Web site at www.umw.edu/lcpw.