UVA Batten Leadership

Maggie is the Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Dean of the Batten School. She joined Batten from the City of Richmond, Virginia, where she most recently served as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Policy, leading the City’s local, state, and federal policy, legislative, advocacy, and communications strategies.

James is the Director of Finance and Business Services at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

Amanda Crombie is the Batten School’s Senior Assistant Dean for Students and Academic Programs and is responsible for the operational aspects of our academic programming and overall student experience from matriculation and orientation through graduation.

Jeff Chidester is the Managing Director of Business Development & Admissions, where he oversees recruitment into the Batten School’s academic and lifelong learning programs.

As the executive director of marketing and communications at the Batten School, Deuel leads the comprehensive communications, marketing, and brand development plan to enhance the school’s reach and advance strategic objectives in key audience areas including student prospects, students, and alumni; academic research and impact; and donor prospects and fundraising.

Jon is the director of development for the Batten School and has worked in University-affiliated development roles since 2018. He focuses on building relationships with donors, alumni, and other stakeholders to advance the philanthropic priorities of the Batten School and Dean Ian H. Solomon, focusing on major gifts development and overall alumni participation.

Mark was most recently the Director of Technology for the Orange County Public Schools in Orange, VA, has over 20 years of education-related technology leadership and management experience, worked in private industry for a Hewitt Associates, and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He brings a wealth of strategic and practical education technology experience to Batten.

Jill Rockwell, Senior Assistant Dean of Career Advancement and Alumni Engagement at UVA Batten, and her team are focused on the professional success of our graduates and alumni as well as activating our alumni network in support of the school.

Jay Shimshack is associate dean for academic affairs and professor of public policy and economics at the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. His primary fields are environmental regulation, environmental economics, corporate social behavior, and applied microeconomics for public policy.

Ian H. Solomon currently serves as the Special Advisor to the Provost. He is president and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, an 85-year-old foundation founded by the grandsons of John D. Rockefeller dedicated to advancing social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. He joined the Fund in 2026 after seven years as dean of the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.