Heather Downs joined Batten in December 2023 as the Director of Academic Operations. She has served UVA Athletics since 2013, most recently as the Executive Director of Student Development. In this role she led a student development team dedicated to academic advising, learning support, career and personal development, and community engagement. She came to UVA with a background in student support and program management across multiple functional areas in higher education, including student retention, advising, leadership development, and residence life.  She served in the Office of Student Life at UC Berkeley (2003-2005), managing the development and implementation of campus leadership programs. Prior to that she worked at the University of Northern Colorado (2000-2002) as the facilitator of academic advising, specifically with first-generation and low-income students. She earned a bachelor of science degree in environmental engineering from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in student affairs and higher education from Colorado State University.

In her current role, Heather is responsible for the daily operations of the Batten School academic support services for students in our degree programs. She will support Batten faculty and our student teaching staff through advising, course execution, and the enrichment of the academic experience for all Batten students.