Seal of the Governor
For Immediate Release: May 10, 2018
Contacts: Alenaa Yarmosky, Alena.Yarmosky@governor.virginia.gov | Secretariat of the Commonwealth: Caroline Corl, Caroline.Corl@governor.virginia.gov

Governor Northam Announces Administration Appointments

RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam announced additional appointments to his Administration today.

Secretariat of Agriculture and Forestry

Brad Copenhaver, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
Brad Copenhaver has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. Brad grew up on his family’s beef cattle and burley tobacco farm in Washington County. After working on Capitol Hill as a legislative correspondent for Congressman H. Morgan Griffith (VA-9), he was the Director of Government Affairs at the Virginia Agribusiness Council, where he worked closely with the General Assembly and Virginia congressional delegation on a variety of issues including animal welfare, food safety and labeling, the environment and water quality, and international trade.

Brad was a Pamplin Scholar at Virginia Tech and graduated with degrees in political science and agricultural economics, and he is currently completing his MBA at the University of Washington. During his education career, Brad has served as a National Beef Ambassador, Virginia 4-H President, and treasurer of the UW Graduate and Professional Student Senate, and he spent summers working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Meat Export Federation in Tokyo, and Bryant Christie, Inc., an agricultural exports consulting firm in Seattle.

Heidi Hertz, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
Heidi Hertz has been appointed Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. Prior to her appointment, Heidi served as Obesity Prevention Coordinator with the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, where she developed initiatives and partnerships throughout Virginia to increase access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. Heidi has previously held roles in the Office of the First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe and for the Virginia Department of Health.

Heidi serves as the Vice President of the Alumni Board of the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Shalom Farms. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a Master of Science degree from James Madison University and serves as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a native of Lunenburg County and a resident of the City of Richmond.

Finance Secretariat

Charles Hartgrove, Chief Deputy Commissioner, Department of Taxation
Charles W. Hartgrove has been appointed Chief Deputy Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Taxation. Charles has worked as a senior executive for Virginia local governments for over twenty years, most recently serving as the Deputy City Manager of Lynchburg. He also previously served as the Town Manager of Ashland, Middleburg, and Gate City.

Charles obtained a Bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.  He also received a Master of Public Administration and a Post-Baccalaureate Graduate Certificate in public management from Virginia Commonwealth University.  He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and University of Virginia’s Senior Executive Institute. He is a native of Gate City and resides in the City of Richmond.

Secretariat of the Commonwealth
Board Appointments

Board of Nursing

  • Marie Gerardo MS, RN, ANP-BC* of Midlothian, Nurse Practitioner, House Calls program, VCU Health
  • Mark D. Monson* of Fairfax, Retired
  • Meenakshi Shah BA, RN of Roanoke, Carilion Clinic

Board of Pharmacy

  • James L. Jenkins Jr., BA, BS/N, RN of Mechanicsville, VCU Health
  • Cheryl H. Nelson, PharmD of Richmond, Pharmacist in Charge, Free Standing Emergency Departments, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital

Online Virginia Network Authority

  • Karen Rollins Jackson of Poquoson, President, Apogee Strategic Partners, LLC
  • Andrew Ko of Ashburn, Global Director of Education, Amazon Web Services
  • Dave Leichtman of Arlington, Strategist, Microsoft

 

*denotes reappointment

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