RICHMOND, VA — Governor Abigail Spanberger today announced the following board appointments and appointments in the Office of the Governor, state agency leadership, and secretariat staff.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS 

Board of Visitors of Longwood University

• Raven White of Dumfries, Owner & CEO, The EnVISION Firm

Board of Visitors of Radford University

• Christopher Settle of Culpeper, Chief of Police, Culpeper Police Department

Board of Visitors of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Mehul Sanghani of McLean, Founder & Managing Partner, Greycore Ventures 

ADMINISTRATION APPOINTMENTS

Office of the Governor

• Becca Edelstein, Regulatory Director

Administration

• Michael Watson, Chief Information Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency

Commerce and Trade

• Nathan Dowdy, Assistant Secretary
• Turner Widgen, Chief of Staff

Health and Human Resources

• Eric Raff, Director, Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Kristin Zagar, Chief Deputy Commissioner, Virginia Department of Social Services
• Matthew Ahern, Chief Operating Officer, Virginia Department of Health

BACKGROUND

In the opening months of her administration, Governor Spanberger has remained laser-focused on making life less expensive for Virginians. Governor Spanberger has already signed dozens of bipartisan bills to make healthcare, housing, and energy more affordable, accessible, and reliable for Virginians. Last week, the Governor signed legislation into law to increase the supply of housing that Virginians can afford, cut red tape for patients, and set stricter emission standards for data centers.

Governor Spanberger is also working alongside legislators and local communities to attract new investment in the Commonwealth. Since taking office, the Governor has announced more than $580 million in new business investment in communities across the Commonwealth — including the second-largest economic development deal in Southern Virginia history. In total, these investments will create more than 2,000 new jobs for Virginians.

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