Jim Regimbal has 35 years of experience in state and local budget and tax policy analysis. He served for 12 years on the staff of the Virginia Senate Finance Committee starting in 1987, where he provided the Committee with expertise in tax policy, transportation and finance agency budgets, and economic and revenue forecasting. In 1999, he co-founded Fiscal Analytics Ltd. where his knowledge of the state budget and developing policy options has been provided to local governments, business groups, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations. The Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia association of Counties, and the Virginia First Cities Coalition are currently among those employing his services.

Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, the first woman in the 400-year history of Virginia’s Legislature to hold the position, rose to this role after representing the 41st House District since 2010. Her passion for service shines through her tireless work to make the Commonwealth of Virginia a better place to live, work and raise a family. Her commitment to improving the lives of her neighbors is what drove her to run for the House of Delegates.

As a member of the House Transportation Committee from 2011-2018 and a member of the Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability, the Speaker actively fought for years to improve transit in the Commonwealth. She carried the Omnibus Transportation Modernization Bill. Among many other important provisions, this legislation ensures the Commonwealth’s transportation fund remains solvent and supports vital infrastructure to secure much-needed traffic relief for her constituents.

She has previously passed legislation making required higher education course materials, such as textbooks, more affordable, giving more Virginians the chance to succeed in post-secondary institutions.

Senator Ghazala Hashmi moved to the U.S. as a young girl with her family, over fifty years ago. She was raised in a small town in Georgia and saw firsthand how community-building and open dialogue can bridge cultural and socioeconomic divisions, uniting people from all walks of life. Ghazala earned a BA in English from Georgia Southern University and a Ph.D. in American literature from Emory University.

Ghazala and her husband Azhar moved to the Richmond area in 1991, and Ghazala has spent the past 30 years as a leading educator in Virginia’s college and university system. She served both as a professor of English and as the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at Reynolds Community College.

Ghazala’s approach to public service is guided by the principles of integrity, social justice and ethics in government. She is dedicated to making government work for all citizens. Ghazala is the first Muslim-American to serve in the Virginia State Senate.

Delegate John Avoli’s life story symbolizes the American Dream. Born in a mountain top village in Italy, he came to the United States at age 10, settling with his family in the small West Virginia steel mill town of Weirton.

He graduated from Madonna High School, and earned a scholarship to play football and study at the University of Richmond. After his 1974 graduation from Richmond, John began a long career in public education by becoming a teacher and football and track coach at Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville.

His political career started in 1990 when John ran for Staunton City Council. He served on the council for 16 years, including 14 as Staunton’s mayor.

Megan Healy serves on Governor Northam’s Cabinet as his Chief Workforce Development Advisor. As the Commonwealth’s highest ranking workforce officer, she oversees a range of regional, state, and federal programs that connect Virginians to the skills, training, and opportunities they need to thrive in the 21st century economy. In addition to her partners within government, Secretary Healy works closely with Virginia’s labor and business communities to identify and fill vacant jobs in high demand sectors.

Having started her career as science professor at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Secretary Healy keenly appreciates how education can change lives and communities. Prior to joining the Northam administration, she served as Virginia’s first Director of STEM-H under Governor McAuliffe before returning to the Virginia Community College System as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academics. Secretary Megan Healy is a proud product of Virginia’s public schools, holding a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, a master’s from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a doctorate from Old Dominion University.

Dr. Brenda Pike, a former classroom teacher from Tennessee with extensive experience in union management, was named as the Executive Director of the Virginia Education Association in October of 2018. She is the organization’s first female executive director. Brenda joined VEA after serving for two years as executive director with the Alabama Education Association. She previously served as chief executive with the Indiana State Teachers Association and has experience working with affiliates of the National Education Association in Tennessee and Texas. Brenda has had more than thirty years of bargaining experience from both the union and management perspectives beginning in the mid-1980’s as teacher on her local union’s bargaining team. As VEA’s executive director she currently oversees the work of more than 60 staff at the Association’s Richmond headquarters and in regional offices throughout the state.

Stephen DeVita has been Division Counsel with Loudoun County Public Schools since 2010. Previously, he was Chief Legal Counsel for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the Akron School District and was staff counsel for the Dayton Public Schools. In all 3 districts, he negotiated a wide variety of collective bargaining agreements. He has 37 years of overall legal experience and is a retired Air Force Colonel.

Jeremy Bennett joined the VACo Team on November 19, 2018. He is familiar with the challenges and opportunities faced by local elected officials as he most recently served as the Government Relations Specialist with the Virginia School Boards Association, where he advocated on behalf of public education before the General Assembly. Prior to that, he served for six years as congressional staffer focused on variety of issue areas including immigration, federal funding to municipalities, and agriculture. Jeremy holds a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University.

Evan Feinman is the Executive Director of the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (an economic development agency in Virginia) and Governor Northam’s Chief Broadband Advisor. He previously served as Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources, and as the Policy Director for the McAuliffe campaign and Deputy Policy Director for the McAuliffe transition. Evan has worked on multiple campaigns at the state and federal level, and at the Commonwealth Institute, a budget and fiscal policy think tank in Richmond. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, spent two years on a fellowship focused on energy and transportation policy, and then received his law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Noelle Ellerson Ng joined AASA in 2007 as a policy analyst. As associate executive director, she directs the advocacy and governance efforts of AASA. In this role she spearheads the organization’s work with Congress and the U.S. Department of Education. Her team is responsible for representing the voice and priorities of the nation’s public school superintendents in all aspects of federal education policy and uses member networks, outreach, policy analysis, and surveys and research to advance their work. She is responsible for the organization’s governance work, including direct support and management for the executive committee and governing board, as well as our 49 chartered state affiliates.

She speaks regularly on federal education policy to school leaders across the country. Before coming to AASA, Ellerson Ng was a high school special education teacher in Central New York. She worked in state-level advocacy for the College Board while earning her master’s degree.

Elleka Yost joined ASBO International in 2013 and is ASBO’s Government Affairs and Communications Manager. She is responsible for managing ASBO’s federal advocacy program and collaborates closely with ASBO’s Legislative Advisory Committee to ensure school business professionals’ voices are represented in legislative and regulatory issues impacting education and the profession. She also supports ASBO’s Marketing & Communications team with media and public relations and curating content for various membership publications, toolkits, and other resources. Before her career at ASBO, Elleka was an editorial assistant and author for The Diplomat Magazine, an international affairs and news magazine for the Asia-Pacific region, and a faculty research assistant for George Mason University. For her undergraduate career, Elleka double majored in global affairs and classical languages and minored in business at George Mason University. She studied abroad in Beijing, China, and earned a certification in Chinese studies from Beijing Language and Culture University. During that time, Elleka worked as an English-language tutor for Chinese elementary and secondary students with TopWay Education English School. Elleka earned her master’s degree from George Mason in global affairs, specializing in public policy and governance. She has published several blogs, articles, and toolkits on international affairs and public policy, education policy, leadership in education, and school business management.