How To Help Children

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1 Virginia Early Childhood Foundation Elects New Officers, Board Members Ben Davenport, business executive from Chatham, Va., to serve as new board chair Richmond, VA (June 12, 2013) - Ben Davenport, chairman of Davenport Energy and of First Piedmont Corporation in Chatham, Va., was elected Chair of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) at the organization s annual meeting on June 12, He succeeds Tom Chewning, former CFO of Dominion Resources, who retired as Chair of the VECF board after three years in that role. Chewning, who has been a founding board member, will continue to serve as Director Emeritus. The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation is a public-private partnership established to advance school readiness initiatives and quality early learning efforts across the Commonwealth. Other new officers elected at the board meeting include: Vice-Chair: Katherine Busser, Executive Vice President and Central Virginia Market President, Capital One (Richmond, VA) Treasurer: Adrian Chapman, President and Chief Operating Officer, WGL Holdings, Inc. and Washington Gas (Springfield, VA) Secretary: Reginald Reggie Jones, Partner, Williams Mullen (Richmond, VA) In other action, the following new board members were elected to three-year terms, serving from July 2013 through June 2016: Darla Edwards, President and Co-Founder, Successful Innovations, Inc. (Lynchburg, VA) Paul Koonce, Chief Executive Officer, Dominion Virginia Power (Richmond, VA) Dr. William C. Biff Rees, Pediatrician, Burke Pediatrics, LLC, and current President of the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Burke, VA) Beth Rhinehart, Director of Government Relations, Wellmont Health System (Bristol, VA) Dr. Gary Rhodes, President, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (Richmond, VA) John Weinberg, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Richmond, VA) I am honored to serve as the VECF s chair alongside a collaborative team of outstanding business and community leaders who understand that school readiness is the foundation

2 for workforce success and critical to Virginia s economic vitality, said Davenport, who has been a board member since The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and its Smart Beginnings initiatives throughout the state are creating a more educated workforce that is capable of competing in the global economy. The officers and board members of the VECF are champions for our state s youngest citizens and its future, said Kathy Glazer, President of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. They recognize the importance of high-quality learning experiences for children to set them on a path to school, life and workforce success. # # # About the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation: As an innovative leader in creating results-oriented initiatives and collaborative partnerships to help the Commonwealth s young children achieve lifelong success, the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) acts as a catalyst for workforce development and economic prosperity. To learn more about the VECF and the Smart Beginnings initiative, visit

3 New VECF Board of Directors Elected at the June 12, 2013 Annual Meeting Darla Edwards Lynchburg, VA President & Co-Founder, Successful Innovations, LLC. Darla Edwards has 18 years of experience in the field of education as a teacher and principal within Virginia Public Schools. Her career as an educational leader is distinguished by high professional honors. She was selected to receive the School Bell Award from the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals for her significant accomplishments and achievements in education. She was also recognized by the Virginia Association of Federal Program Administrators for developing innovative strategies to support Title I students. Edwards resigned from her principal position in 2009 to follow her entrepreneurial dream of owning and operating an educational consulting company. Currently, she is the President and Co-founder of Successful Innovations, Inc, a company dedicated to supporting schools with family engagement reform strategies. As a businesswoman, she has achieved considerable success because her company received the 2012 United States Chamber of Commerce Blue Ribbon Award for being one of the top 50 small businesses in the nation. Her company was also selected to partner with the United States Department of Education on upcoming family engagement initiatives. Edwards is the co-author of two educational books that are being utilized as resources for administrators around the nation. As a strong advocate and supporter of public education, she was appointed in 2012 by Governor Bob McDonnell to serve on the Virginia State Board of Education to help shape educational policy and reform efforts for Virginia s students. She takes time to give back to the community by serving on many local boards such as the United Way of Central Virginia, Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce, and Lynchburg Education Foundation. Edwards is also a member of the Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs of Lynchburg. In her spare time, she enjoys running, hiking, and spending time with her son, J.R. 1

4 Paul D. Koonce Richmond, VA Executive Vice President, Dominion Resources, Inc. CEO Energy Infrastructure Group, CEO Dominion Virginia Power Paul D. Koonce is executive vice president of Dominion Resources, Inc. and chief executive officer of the company s Energy Infrastructure Group and its Dominion Virginia Power operating segment. He oversees Dominion s regulated electric transmission, distribution and customer service operations that provide electricity to approximately 2.4 million customer accounts in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, as well as its regulated gas transmission pipeline and storage operations, regulated liquefied natural gas operations, Ohio and West Virginia regulated natural gas distribution operations and producer services operations. Koonce also is responsible for Dominion s unregulated retail energy marketing operations serving 2.1 million gas, electric and service customers in 15 states. Koonce was chief executive officer of the company s Dominion Energy operating segment before assuming his current position in June He has almost 30 years of experience in the energy marketplace. He serves on the board of directors of the Southeastern Electric Exchange, the boards of trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Collegiate School and Virginia Union University, and the Regional Leadership Council for Smart Beginnings. He was the campaign chair for the Greater Richmond/Petersburg 2010 United Way campaign. Koonce has also served as past chair of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and the Southern Gas Association. Koonce is a 1982 graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, with a bachelor s degree in business. 2

5 Dr. William C. Rees Burke, VA Pediatrician, Burke Pediatrics Dr. Rees has been in private practice in Northern Virginia since He is a native of Schuylkill County which is in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. He graduated from LaSalle University receiving a Bachelor of Arts with a Biology Major and Philosophy Minor. He graduated from Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC, where he completed his pediatric residency. Dr. Rees also has an MBA degree in Medical Services Management from Johns Hopkins University. Besides private practice, Dr. Rees has been active both in the National Chapter and in the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a statewide organization of 1200 pediatricians. He is currently President of the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Rees has received special achievement awards from the Academy at both the state and national level. He frequently travels to Richmond to serve on advisory boards to the governor's office on improving access to quality care and lobbying for Virginia's children. Dr. Rees is a founding father of both the Reston Raiders Youth Hockey program, and the Bishop O'Connell High School ice hockey team. He is an avid golfer, and enjoys studying English and early American history, and health economics. 3

6 Beth D. Rhinehart, Bristol, VA Director of Government Relations, Wellmont Health System Beth D. Rhinehart is the Director of Government Relations for Wellmont Health System (WHS). Wellmont Health System is a leading healthcare provider in the Tri-Cities region of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. As a registered lobbyist, her primary responsibility is building key relationships and overseeing the Virginia legislative processes as they apply to hospitals and healthcare. She is also the vice-chairman of the Bristol Virginia Public Schools Board and an appointed member of the Virginia Tobacco Commission. Prior to joining WHS, Beth served as Executive Director of Bristol Faith in Action, a non-profit organization that informs residents of available community resources and provides financial resources to those who are experiencing a temporary financial crisis. Beth is active on many boards including the Bristol Virginia School Board, Bristol Noon Rotary Club, Linwood Holton Governor s School, Communities in Schools of Southwest, Bristol Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Trainstation Foundation, and Bristol s Promise. Beth is a native of Bristol, Virginia, and earned her B.S. degree from Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA, Master of Arts in Teaching and Master of Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, and an MBA from King College in Bristol, Tennessee. She is a 2010 graduate of the Sorensen Institute Political Leadership Program. She currently resides in Bristol, Virginia with her three children, Dalton, Wynston and McKinley. 4

7 Dr. Gary L. Rhodes, Richmond, VA President, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Dr. Gary L. Rhodes is President of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, one of 23 colleges making up the Virginia Community College System. He has served in this role for the past eleven years. J. Sargeant Reynolds is the third largest community college in Virginia, serving almost 21,000 credit students and 12,000 employees in workforce training annually on three campuses located in Metropolitan Richmond, Virginia. Previously, Dr. Rhodes served as President of Riverland Community College in Austin, Minnesota. Dr. Rhodes is active in the community having served as chair of the Board of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce in He continues to serve on the Chamber Board. In addition, he currently serves on the executive committee for Bridging Richmond, the organizing committee for the Capital Region Collaborative, the executive committee for the Management Round Table, the Board of Directors for the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence, the Richmond Mayor s Anti-Poverty Commission, the Board of Directors/Co-Chair STEM Committee for Richmond s Future, chair of Smart Beginnings Leadership Council, the executive committee for Sustainable Transportation Initiative of Richmond, and the executive committee for Venture Richmond. He is also a Leadership Metro Richmond graduate of the class of 2004 and LEAD Virginia graduate of

8 John A. Weinberg Richmond, VA Senior Vice President & Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond John A. Weinberg was named director of research and senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on March 10, In this role, Weinberg is the Bank President s chief advisor on matters related to monetary policy, banking, and financial markets, and a member of the Bank s senior management team. Weinberg succeeded Jeffrey M. Lacker, who left the post to become Bank president in August Weinberg has been a member of the Bank s team of research economists since 1992 and led the Bank s advisory group on banking policy after becoming vice president in A noteworthy author and frequent collaborator with Lacker, Weinberg s numerous articles have covered a broad range of policy issues including contract theory and the structure of markets for banking and payments services. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Weinberg received his bachelor s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and doctorate in economics from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. He was previously assistant professor of economics at the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and an adjunct professor at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Weinberg and his wife Laurie have two children, Jeanette and Yuri. 6