About Leadership Foundation Advisory Board Foundation Advisory Board Alumni Advisory Board Megan Barnett Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives, University of Virginia Megan Barnett joined the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost in June 2020 as Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives. She assists and advises the provost and other university leaders on academic and strategic initiatives and other special projects. She partners with the Vice President for Research on initiatives to support and enhance research across the University. Read full bio Frank Batten, Jr. Chairman, Landmark Media Enterprises L.L.C. Frank Batten, Jr. is the chairman of Landmark Media Enterprises L.L.C., which is based in Norfolk. Read full bio Mark T. Bowles Chairman of McGuireWoods Consulting LLC and a partner with McGuireWoods LLP Mark T. Bowles joins the Foundation Advisory Board as the Board of Visitors representative. Currently a Chairman of McGuireWoods Consulting LLC and a partner with McGuireWoods LLP, Bowles was one of the founding senior vice presidents when McGuireWoods Consulting started in 1998. Read full bio Shannon Bryan Head of North America Fuels Marketing for the Retail Business at Shell Shannon Bryan is the head of North America Fuels Marketing for the Retail business at Shell. He leads the team responsible for delivering Shell’s retail branded fuels marketing strategy, product portfolio, category plans, and supporting programs to drive the key customer metrics and achieve volume, share, and margin growth objectives for Shell-branded fuels in the U.S. and Canadian markets. Read full bio Carlos Enrique Cavelier President, CEO Alquería Dairy Carlos Enrique Cavelier has worked for the last 28 years in the private sector as President of Alquería Dairy, leading the company from one factory in Cajicá to seven plants nationally with 4,500 associates. Under his leadership, Alquería was the first milk processor in Colombia and became the largest in UHT milk production in the Andean group. Read full bio Morgan Courtney Director of Customer Success at TaskRabbit Morgan Courtney is Director of Customer Success at TaskRabbit, where she leads her dynamic Tasker Success team to ensure that Taskers are able to achieve their goals on TaskRabbit and have a great experience at every stage of the Tasker lifecycle. She was also the co-lead for TaskRabbit for Good for three years, which was created to make it easier for neighbors to give back locally and make a positive impact in communities around the world. Read full bio Mylan L. Denerstein Partner, Gibson Dunn Mylan L. Denerstein is a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a co-chair of the Public Policy Practice Group and a member of the Crisis Management, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Financial Institutions, Labor and Employment, Securities Litigation, and Appellate Practice Groups. Denerstein leads complex litigation and internal investigations, representing companies confronting a wide range of legal issues, in their most critical times. She is also global chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee and co-partner in charge of the New York office. Read full bio Anna Draganova Senior Manager, Monitor Deloitte Anna Draganova is a Senior Manager with Monitor Deloitte, where she has served federal, commercial, nonprofit, and international clients. She is a leader in Deloitte’s federal health practice, where she helps health sector clients address today’s pressing challenges. Draganova is a Double Hoo, having received her MPP from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy in 2011 and a BA in Economics from UVA. While at Batten, she served as school president and has served on either the Advisory Board or Foundation Advisory Board ever since. Read full bio Bill Evanow Director, Public Sector for Twilio Bill Evanow is a McIntire graduate and passionate alumnus. While at UVA in the early ‘80s, he was active on Grounds in the Residence Life Program, University Guide Service and as a fraternity leader with Phi Delta Theta (now Phi Society). Evanow is a seasoned technology executive who returned to Charlottesville from San Francisco in 2014. He is currently Director, Public Sector for Twilio, and has responsibility for the Fed and SLED organization. Read full bio Langdon Greenhalgh CEO, Global Emergency Group and President & Founder, Global Emergency Relief Recovery & Reconstruction Langdon Greenhalgh is a professional international emergency response manager who is CEO of Global Emergency Group, a humanitarian consulting firm dedicated to enabling emergency humanitarian aid actors to respond to those most in need more effectively so as to save more lives and reduce suffering. Read full bio Victoria D. Harker Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for TEGNA Inc. Victoria D. Harker is Chair of the Batten Foundation Advisory Board. She serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer for TEGNA Inc., formerly Gannett Co., Inc. She was named chief financial officer at Gannett in July of 2012. Harker is responsible for all of TEGNA’s financial functions and operations. Read full bio Heather Higginbottom President, JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter Heather Higginbottom is President of the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter, which develops and advances sustainable, evidence-based policy solutions to drive inclusive economic growth in the U.S. and around the world. Read full bio Rod Hunter Partner, Baker McKenzie Rod Hunter is a partner of Baker McKenzie. Among other previous roles, he served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director of the White House’s National Security Council, and as Special Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Read full bio Nicole Hurd President, Lafayette College Nicole Hurd is the 18th President of Lafayette College. Prior to her current position, she was the founder and CEO of College Advising Corps. A passionate advocate of post-secondary education, Hurd has led College Advising Corps from a pilot project in Virginia to the largest college access program in the country, placing hundreds of advisers in high-need schools from coast-to-coast. Read full bio Julian Jackson Assistant Vice President at Barclays Julian Jackson is the Assistant Vice President at Barclays where he is the HR Operations representative and lead to regional and global project streams such as ADP Ev5 system upgrades, time-keeping systems across HR platforms, and Barclays Global Payroll & Controls Forums. Read full bio Russell Libby Chairman of the Board, Directors at HF Foods Group Inc. Russell Libby is Chairman of the Board of Directors at HF Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HFFG), a leading food distributor to Asian restaurants across the Southeast, Pacific and Mountain West regions of the United States. He has nearly 30 years of comprehensive global experience in mergers and acquisitions, strategy, business development, international business, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Read full bio Diane Lim Director, Equity Hub, US Treasury Department Diane Lim became the inaugural Director of the Equity Hub at the U.S. Treasury Department in July 2023. She previously served as Policy Director for the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity & Fairness in Growth during the previous session of Congress (2021-22). An economist specializing in the distributional effects of public policies and programs, Lim has spent her 30-plus year career in prominent roles in the federal government, and nonprofit and academic sectors. Read full bio Clay Lowery Executive Vice President at the Institute of International Finance Clay Lowery is Executive Vice President at the Institute of International Finance, where he oversees the divisions that focus on sustainable finance, digital finance, financial regulation, sovereign debt analysis, and macroeconomics. Prior to this position, he had been the Managing Director and co-founder of Rock Creek Global Advisors – an international economic consultancy, and served in a Senate-confirmed post as Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Treasury. Read full bio Michael Mallory President, Ron Brown Scholar Fund Executive Director, Ron Brown Scholar Program Michael Mallory is President of the Ron Brown Scholar Fund and Executive Director of the Ron Brown Scholar Program, where he demonstrates a profound commitment to increasing educational opportunities for young people. Since 1996, he has been instrumental in shaping a distinguished program named in honor of Ron Brown, former Secretary of Commerce. Read full bio Michael McKenzie Partner and Managing Director at Grain Management, LLC Michael McKenzie is a Partner and Managing Director at Grain Management, LLC, a leading private equity firm focused on investments in the global communications sector. He focuses on investments in communications infrastructure and technology, including fiber optic networks, spectrum, wireless towers, data centers and related technologies. Read full bio Kyle Nevins Founding Partner of Harbinger Strategies Kyle Nevins is a Founding Partner of Harbinger Strategies, a federal government and political affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. He represents a wide variety of clients before the federal government, including Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, and issue advocacy campaigns, advising clients on the legislative process and political strategy. Read full bio Elena Olson Executive Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Massachusetts General Hospital Elena Olson is the Executive Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where she has worked for two decades. Read full bio Irma Palmer Irma Palmer has more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of policy, politics and communications. Most recently, she was then-U.S. Senator Kamala Harris’s speechwriter, and previously her roles included Director of Constituent Services and Traveling Press Secretary for then-Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe. Read full bio Susan K. Payne President and Owner of Blue Ridge Group Susan K. Payne is President and Owner of Blue Ridge Group, a marketing firm located in Charlottesville. Prior to 2017, she was the President of Payne, Ross & Associates Advertising, Inc. Read full bio Kenneth Redd senior policy director at the National Association of College and University Business Officers Kenneth Redd has been the senior policy director at the National Association of College and University Business Officers since 2008. Previously, he worked on the Council of Graduate Schools and was the Director of Research and Policy Analysis for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Read full bio Brian Siegel PRINCIPAL, DELOITTE CONSULTING, GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES Brian Siegel is a Principal in Deloitte Consulting's Government and Public Services practice, with more than 25 years of public sector consulting experience focusing on a variety of strategy and management issues, including financial management, procurement, technology, and shared services. Read full bio Anne Martin Simonds Partner and Head of Global Development and Social Enterprise at Spencer Stuart Anne Martin Simonds, is a Partner and Head of Global Development and Social Enterprise at Spencer Stuart in Washington, DC. She helps organizations across all industries assess CEOs and build boards committed to the highest levels of impact. She has more than 25 years in leadership consulting with cross-industry knowledge and deep understanding of the current geopolitical landscape. Read full bio Malcolm Stewart Malcolm Stewart is a 2018 graduate of the Batten BA program, a current MBA student UVA’s Darden School of Business, and a former Product Manager for Makena Capital Management in Menlo Park, California. Read full bio Morgan Sword Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations at Major League Baseball (MLB) Morgan Sword is Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations at Major League Baseball, where he oversees the competitive system, including free agency, salary arbitration, the minor leagues, the draft and international player acquisition systems, as well as on-field issues including umpiring and rule changes. Read full bio Walter D. Valdivia Research Staff Member at the S&T Policy Institute of the Institute for Defense Analysis Walter D. Valdivia is a Senior Policy Editor at the Mercatus Center, a think tank housed at George Mason University. Read full bio Shannon Valentine Former Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia Shannon Valentine served as Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation during Governor Ralph Northam’s administration (2018 to 2022), overseeing a $6 billion transportation system that includes the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Port of Virginia, Virginia Space Authority, Department of Aviation, Virginia Department of Transportation, and Department of Motor Vehicles. Read full bio Warner Young Partner at Allred, Bacon, HalfHill, and Young Warner Young is an experienced trial lawyer and a partner at Allred, Bacon, HalfHill, and Young. He represents businesses and corporations in complex business disputes, often offering success fee-based services. He has particular expertise in representing people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, and has obtained million-dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients in Virginia and nationally. Read full bio
Megan Barnett Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives, University of Virginia Megan Barnett joined the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost in June 2020 as Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives. She assists and advises the provost and other university leaders on academic and strategic initiatives and other special projects. She partners with the Vice President for Research on initiatives to support and enhance research across the University. Read full bio
Frank Batten, Jr. Chairman, Landmark Media Enterprises L.L.C. Frank Batten, Jr. is the chairman of Landmark Media Enterprises L.L.C., which is based in Norfolk. Read full bio
Mark T. Bowles Chairman of McGuireWoods Consulting LLC and a partner with McGuireWoods LLP Mark T. Bowles joins the Foundation Advisory Board as the Board of Visitors representative. Currently a Chairman of McGuireWoods Consulting LLC and a partner with McGuireWoods LLP, Bowles was one of the founding senior vice presidents when McGuireWoods Consulting started in 1998. Read full bio
Shannon Bryan Head of North America Fuels Marketing for the Retail Business at Shell Shannon Bryan is the head of North America Fuels Marketing for the Retail business at Shell. He leads the team responsible for delivering Shell’s retail branded fuels marketing strategy, product portfolio, category plans, and supporting programs to drive the key customer metrics and achieve volume, share, and margin growth objectives for Shell-branded fuels in the U.S. and Canadian markets. Read full bio
Carlos Enrique Cavelier President, CEO Alquería Dairy Carlos Enrique Cavelier has worked for the last 28 years in the private sector as President of Alquería Dairy, leading the company from one factory in Cajicá to seven plants nationally with 4,500 associates. Under his leadership, Alquería was the first milk processor in Colombia and became the largest in UHT milk production in the Andean group. Read full bio
Morgan Courtney Director of Customer Success at TaskRabbit Morgan Courtney is Director of Customer Success at TaskRabbit, where she leads her dynamic Tasker Success team to ensure that Taskers are able to achieve their goals on TaskRabbit and have a great experience at every stage of the Tasker lifecycle. She was also the co-lead for TaskRabbit for Good for three years, which was created to make it easier for neighbors to give back locally and make a positive impact in communities around the world. Read full bio
Mylan L. Denerstein Partner, Gibson Dunn Mylan L. Denerstein is a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a co-chair of the Public Policy Practice Group and a member of the Crisis Management, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Financial Institutions, Labor and Employment, Securities Litigation, and Appellate Practice Groups. Denerstein leads complex litigation and internal investigations, representing companies confronting a wide range of legal issues, in their most critical times. She is also global chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee and co-partner in charge of the New York office. Read full bio
Anna Draganova Senior Manager, Monitor Deloitte Anna Draganova is a Senior Manager with Monitor Deloitte, where she has served federal, commercial, nonprofit, and international clients. She is a leader in Deloitte’s federal health practice, where she helps health sector clients address today’s pressing challenges. Draganova is a Double Hoo, having received her MPP from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy in 2011 and a BA in Economics from UVA. While at Batten, she served as school president and has served on either the Advisory Board or Foundation Advisory Board ever since. Read full bio
Bill Evanow Director, Public Sector for Twilio Bill Evanow is a McIntire graduate and passionate alumnus. While at UVA in the early ‘80s, he was active on Grounds in the Residence Life Program, University Guide Service and as a fraternity leader with Phi Delta Theta (now Phi Society). Evanow is a seasoned technology executive who returned to Charlottesville from San Francisco in 2014. He is currently Director, Public Sector for Twilio, and has responsibility for the Fed and SLED organization. Read full bio
Langdon Greenhalgh CEO, Global Emergency Group and President & Founder, Global Emergency Relief Recovery & Reconstruction Langdon Greenhalgh is a professional international emergency response manager who is CEO of Global Emergency Group, a humanitarian consulting firm dedicated to enabling emergency humanitarian aid actors to respond to those most in need more effectively so as to save more lives and reduce suffering. Read full bio
Victoria D. Harker Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for TEGNA Inc. Victoria D. Harker is Chair of the Batten Foundation Advisory Board. She serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer for TEGNA Inc., formerly Gannett Co., Inc. She was named chief financial officer at Gannett in July of 2012. Harker is responsible for all of TEGNA’s financial functions and operations. Read full bio
Heather Higginbottom President, JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter Heather Higginbottom is President of the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter, which develops and advances sustainable, evidence-based policy solutions to drive inclusive economic growth in the U.S. and around the world. Read full bio
Rod Hunter Partner, Baker McKenzie Rod Hunter is a partner of Baker McKenzie. Among other previous roles, he served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director of the White House’s National Security Council, and as Special Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Read full bio
Nicole Hurd President, Lafayette College Nicole Hurd is the 18th President of Lafayette College. Prior to her current position, she was the founder and CEO of College Advising Corps. A passionate advocate of post-secondary education, Hurd has led College Advising Corps from a pilot project in Virginia to the largest college access program in the country, placing hundreds of advisers in high-need schools from coast-to-coast. Read full bio
Julian Jackson Assistant Vice President at Barclays Julian Jackson is the Assistant Vice President at Barclays where he is the HR Operations representative and lead to regional and global project streams such as ADP Ev5 system upgrades, time-keeping systems across HR platforms, and Barclays Global Payroll & Controls Forums. Read full bio
Russell Libby Chairman of the Board, Directors at HF Foods Group Inc. Russell Libby is Chairman of the Board of Directors at HF Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HFFG), a leading food distributor to Asian restaurants across the Southeast, Pacific and Mountain West regions of the United States. He has nearly 30 years of comprehensive global experience in mergers and acquisitions, strategy, business development, international business, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Read full bio
Diane Lim Director, Equity Hub, US Treasury Department Diane Lim became the inaugural Director of the Equity Hub at the U.S. Treasury Department in July 2023. She previously served as Policy Director for the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity & Fairness in Growth during the previous session of Congress (2021-22). An economist specializing in the distributional effects of public policies and programs, Lim has spent her 30-plus year career in prominent roles in the federal government, and nonprofit and academic sectors. Read full bio
Clay Lowery Executive Vice President at the Institute of International Finance Clay Lowery is Executive Vice President at the Institute of International Finance, where he oversees the divisions that focus on sustainable finance, digital finance, financial regulation, sovereign debt analysis, and macroeconomics. Prior to this position, he had been the Managing Director and co-founder of Rock Creek Global Advisors – an international economic consultancy, and served in a Senate-confirmed post as Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Treasury. Read full bio
Michael Mallory President, Ron Brown Scholar Fund Executive Director, Ron Brown Scholar Program Michael Mallory is President of the Ron Brown Scholar Fund and Executive Director of the Ron Brown Scholar Program, where he demonstrates a profound commitment to increasing educational opportunities for young people. Since 1996, he has been instrumental in shaping a distinguished program named in honor of Ron Brown, former Secretary of Commerce. Read full bio
Michael McKenzie Partner and Managing Director at Grain Management, LLC Michael McKenzie is a Partner and Managing Director at Grain Management, LLC, a leading private equity firm focused on investments in the global communications sector. He focuses on investments in communications infrastructure and technology, including fiber optic networks, spectrum, wireless towers, data centers and related technologies. Read full bio
Kyle Nevins Founding Partner of Harbinger Strategies Kyle Nevins is a Founding Partner of Harbinger Strategies, a federal government and political affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. He represents a wide variety of clients before the federal government, including Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, and issue advocacy campaigns, advising clients on the legislative process and political strategy. Read full bio
Elena Olson Executive Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Massachusetts General Hospital Elena Olson is the Executive Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where she has worked for two decades. Read full bio
Irma Palmer Irma Palmer has more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of policy, politics and communications. Most recently, she was then-U.S. Senator Kamala Harris’s speechwriter, and previously her roles included Director of Constituent Services and Traveling Press Secretary for then-Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe. Read full bio
Susan K. Payne President and Owner of Blue Ridge Group Susan K. Payne is President and Owner of Blue Ridge Group, a marketing firm located in Charlottesville. Prior to 2017, she was the President of Payne, Ross & Associates Advertising, Inc. Read full bio
Kenneth Redd senior policy director at the National Association of College and University Business Officers Kenneth Redd has been the senior policy director at the National Association of College and University Business Officers since 2008. Previously, he worked on the Council of Graduate Schools and was the Director of Research and Policy Analysis for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Read full bio
Brian Siegel PRINCIPAL, DELOITTE CONSULTING, GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES Brian Siegel is a Principal in Deloitte Consulting's Government and Public Services practice, with more than 25 years of public sector consulting experience focusing on a variety of strategy and management issues, including financial management, procurement, technology, and shared services. Read full bio
Anne Martin Simonds Partner and Head of Global Development and Social Enterprise at Spencer Stuart Anne Martin Simonds, is a Partner and Head of Global Development and Social Enterprise at Spencer Stuart in Washington, DC. She helps organizations across all industries assess CEOs and build boards committed to the highest levels of impact. She has more than 25 years in leadership consulting with cross-industry knowledge and deep understanding of the current geopolitical landscape. Read full bio
Malcolm Stewart Malcolm Stewart is a 2018 graduate of the Batten BA program, a current MBA student UVA’s Darden School of Business, and a former Product Manager for Makena Capital Management in Menlo Park, California. Read full bio
Morgan Sword Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations at Major League Baseball (MLB) Morgan Sword is Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations at Major League Baseball, where he oversees the competitive system, including free agency, salary arbitration, the minor leagues, the draft and international player acquisition systems, as well as on-field issues including umpiring and rule changes. Read full bio
Walter D. Valdivia Research Staff Member at the S&T Policy Institute of the Institute for Defense Analysis Walter D. Valdivia is a Senior Policy Editor at the Mercatus Center, a think tank housed at George Mason University. Read full bio
Shannon Valentine Former Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia Shannon Valentine served as Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation during Governor Ralph Northam’s administration (2018 to 2022), overseeing a $6 billion transportation system that includes the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Port of Virginia, Virginia Space Authority, Department of Aviation, Virginia Department of Transportation, and Department of Motor Vehicles. Read full bio
Warner Young Partner at Allred, Bacon, HalfHill, and Young Warner Young is an experienced trial lawyer and a partner at Allred, Bacon, HalfHill, and Young. He represents businesses and corporations in complex business disputes, often offering success fee-based services. He has particular expertise in representing people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, and has obtained million-dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients in Virginia and nationally. Read full bio