Seal of the Governor
For Immediate Release: October 22, 2021
Contacts: Office of the Governor: Alenaa Yarmosky, Alena.Yarmosky@governor.virginia.gov

Governor Northam Announces Administration Appointments

RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam announced additional appointments today.

Secretariat of Health and Human Resources

Vanessa Walker Harris, MD, Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Vanessa Walker Harris, MD, has been appointed Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Prior to this, she served as the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources. From 2015-2020, she was the director of the Office of Family Health Services at the Virginia Department of Health.  In that role, she provided strategic leadership and oversight of multiple teams whose work spanned nutrition, chronic disease and risk factor surveillance, injury and violence prevention, oral health promotion, and maternal and child health. Her tenure at the Virginia Department of Health included service as director of the Division of Prevention and Health Promotion within the Office of Family Health Services, providing guidance and direction for planning and implementation of  chronic disease prevention, injury and violence prevention, tobacco use prevention, and oral health programs from 2014 to 2015.  She began her career in public health as Medical Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Before establishing a career in public health, she practiced clinical endocrinology at Johns Hopkins Bayview. Originally from Ohio, she earned a BS in Chemistry from Hampton University and a medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She completed internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview and endocrine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  She is board certified in endocrinology.

Secretariat of the Commonwealth
Board Appointments

Apprenticeship Council

  • Christopher M. Cash* of Manassas, Director of Apprenticeship, NECA/IBEW Local 26 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee
  • Dudley Harris* of Newport News, Vice President-Special Projects, Bay Electric Co., Inc.

Board of Juvenile Justice

  • Eric English of Henrico, Chief of Police, Henrico County Police Division
  • Tyren Frazier* of Chesterfield, Executive Director, Chesterfield Education Foundation
  • William M. Johnson of Chesterfield, Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance, Virginia Community College System
  • Scott Kizner, Ph.D* of Richmond, Adjunct Professor, George Mason University; Standards of Quality Compliance Manager, Virginia Department of Education; Retired Superintendent
  • Robert Vilchez* of Alexandria, Coordinator, Arlington Gang Prevention Task Force; Supervisor, Detention Diversion Program and Electronic Monitoring
  • Synethia White of Hampton, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Cities United

Board of the Virginia Public Building Authority

  • John A. Mahone* of Glen Allen, Former Deputy Secretary of Finance, and Former Deputy Chief of Staff in the Governor’s Office

Board of Visitors for Gunston Hall

  • Ed Graber* of Fairfax, Principal, Edmund Graber Government and Public Affairs Consulting
  • Eileen Cassidy Rivera* of Alexandria, Vice President, Communications and Public Relations, Maximus Corporation
  • Tim Sargeant* of Fairfax County, Government and Community Relations, Dominion Energy

Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations

  • Jack Hilgers of Virginia Beach, Retired, Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps
  • Sha’ron D. Martin, PRPEC of Virginia Beach, Fleet Reserve Association 
  • Richard Raskin of Manassas, Past State Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Virginia
  • Rich Shook of Yorktown, President, VARAS Consulting LLC
  • Denice Faircloth Williams* of Suffolk, Retired, United States Marine Corps 
  • Colonel Monti Zimmerman* of Manassas, Retired, US Army

Milk Commission

  • James D. Kerr* of Amelia, Dairy Farmer, Ameva Farm Inc.
  • Sandra Welsford of Arlington, Nicecream

Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission 

  • The Honorable Lou Ann Jessee-Wallace* of St. Paul, Russell County Board of Supervisors, District II

Virginia Interagency Coordinating Council

  • Christina Harrison M.Ed. of Bristol, Developmental Educator, Infant and Toddler Connection of Central Virginia and Roanoke Valley
  • The Honorable Ghazala Hashmi* of Midlothian, Member, Senate of Virginia
  • Kendall Lee, Ed.D.* of Kenbridge, Assistant Director, Longwood Speech, Hearing, and Learning Services, Longwood University
  • Heather Rogers of Palmyra, Academy Principal, Charlottesville Ballet Academy

*denotes reappointment

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