Governor's Advisory Board on Service & Volunteerism

The mission of the Governor's Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism is to be proactive in the support of community-based initiatives to build stronger communities and enhance existing relationships that address local educational, community development, economic, health, environmental and other social/cultural needs by identifying and involving diverse community service volunteers.  The Board exists to fulfill the mandate of the Code of Virginia, Chapter 24 of Section 2.2-2478 which states:

The Governor's Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism is established as an advisory board, within the meaning of § 2.2-2100, in the executive branch of state government to advise the Governor and Cabinet Secretaries on matters related to promotion and development of national service in the Commonwealth and to meet the provisions of the federal National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993.

Interested in having one of our board members speak at your next meeting or event? Please contact VirginiaServiceInfo@dss.virginia.gov. 

Chairman

Julie M. Strandlie (Fairfax)
Public Affairs Consultant, Strandlie Advocacy, LLC

Vice-Chairman

Vanessa Diamond (Richmond)
Sr. VP, Civic Innovations, The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia

Board Members

Naila Alam (Herndon)
Herndon Town Council and Co-Owner, Express Realty USA

Lily Beres (Fairfax)
Student, University of Virginia

Jessica M. Bowser (Fairfax)
Host, Virginia Outdoor Adventures

Elizabeth Childress Burneson (Richmond)
Attorney, Hirschler Fleischer

Lorna Campbell Clarke (Loudoun County)
Director of Communications, Volunteer Fairfax

Lisette Carbajal (Richmond)

Mark Fero (Ruther Glen)
Grants Compliance Supervisor, Virginia Dept. of Criminal Justice Services

Zachary Leonsis (Washington, DC)
Senior Vice President, Monumental Sports Network

Peppy Linden (Charlottesville)
Retired, Non-Profit Executive Director

Priscilla Martinez (Hamilton)

Adria Merritt (Richmond)
Director of Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Practices, Virginia Department of Education

NaQuetta N. Mitchell (Prince George)
Founder, Women of Endurance, Site Coordinator, Communities In Schools of Petersburg

Enid Mpumwire-Machayo (Loudoun County)
Co-Founder, Global Inheritance Inc.

Bryan Pearce-Gonzales (Winchester)
Professor of Hispanic Studies, Shenandoah University

Jamie Seagraves (Richmond)
Grants Manager, Capital One Financial

Cynthia M. Downs Taylor (Chester)
Senior Advisor, United States Senator Mark R. Warner

Sheila Williamson-Branch, CAGS, MSA, MBA (Danville)
Treasurer, City of Danville

Clifford Yee, (Fairfax)
Executive Vice President and CFO, Northern Virginia Family Service

Ex-Officio
Lora Grady
Senior Portfolio Manager, AmeriCorps