Governor McAuliffe Announces Administration Appointments

Terry McAuliffe by David Shankbone,(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced additional appointments to his administration today. The appointees will join McAuliffe’s administration focused on finding common ground with members of both parties on issues that will grow Virginia’s economy and create more jobs across the Commonwealth.

Secretariat of Natural Resources

Kaci Easley, Confidential Assistant to the Secretary of Natural Resources

Kaci Easley previously served in several positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture including as a Program Analyst and Project Manager at the National Finance Center, and an administrative officer at the Natural Resources Conservation Service. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business marketing from Hampton University.

Secretariat of the Commonwealth

Board Appointments

Bill Leighty, Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System

From January of 2002 until September of 2007, Bill served as Chief of Staff to Governors Warner and Kaine. In 2005, Governing Magazine named Virginia the “Best Managed State in the Nation” and in 2007, Governing Magazine named him one of the nine “Public Officials of the Year.”  For seven years, Bill was the Director of the Virginia Retirement System, where he led the agency to three consecutive U.S. Senate Productivity Awards. Upon retirement Bill joined DecideSmart, LLC consulting.  In April of 2008, he served as Senior Advisor to the Scottish Executive advising the government on how to design and implement Scotland Performs, a national performance management system.  In July of 2008, Bill conducted a performance review of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, a $52 billion pension system.  In 2011, at the request of the National Governors Association, Bill led a 5 person delegation to Nigeria to conduct a “new governors” seminar for the newly elected governors of Nigeria. Bill joined state government after serving in the United States Marine Corps.  Bill graduated from Mary Washington College in 1978, and holds an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Governor McDonnell Announces Board Appointments and Additional Appointments to Administration

Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell  attribute to Gage Skidmore (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Announces New Secretary of Education and New Secretary of Public Safety

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell today announced that Javaid Siddiqi, Deputy Secretary of Education, will become Virginia’s next Secretary of Education following the departure of Secretary Laura Fornash, effective November 18^th.  He also announced that Bryan Rhode, Deputy Secretary of Public Safety, will become Virginia’s next Secretary of Public Safety following the departure of Secretary Marla Decker, effective November 1^st.  He also announced appointments to five Virginia boards and commissions.

Bios for today’s appointments can be found below.  Further announcements regarding additional appointments in the McDonnell administration will continue to be made in the months ahead.

Education

Javaid Siddiqi, Secretary of Education

Dr. Javaid Siddiqi was appointed in October of 2011 to serve as Deputy Secretary of Education, focusing his efforts on improving teacher quality and improving educational outcomes for all students.

Before joining the McDonnell administration, Siddiqi spent 12 years with Chesterfield County Public Schools.  During his time in Chesterfield, Siddiqi served as a high school teacher, assistant principal, and as principal of Robious Middle School where he led the implementation of Expeditionary Learning, a nationally recognized school reform model. 

Siddiqi received his undergraduate degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, his masters degree from Virginia State University, and his doctorate in educational leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.  He is a native of Chesterfield and is a graduate of Virginia public schools.  He is married and has two children.

*Appointment effective November 18^th

Public Safety

Bryan Rhode, Secretary of Public Safety

Bryan Rhode was appointed by Governor Bob McDonnell as a Commissioner of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in April of 2012.  In January of 2013, Rhode was appointed by Governor McDonnell to his current position as Deputy Secretary of Public Safety. 

Rhode is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, the University of Virginia School of Law, and the London School of Economics. A former Captain in the United States Marine Corps, Rhode served four years on active duty as an infantry officer and deployed twice overseas. He served for nearly six years as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Richmond, where he worked with local, state and federal agencies to investigate and prosecute a wide variety of crime.  Prior to serving as a prosecutor, Rhode was an associate corporate attorney at Hunton & William, LLP. 

Engaged in the community, he serves on numerous professional and community boards and organizations, including the Goochland Free Clinic, the Goochland Rotary Club, and the Marine Corps League of Richmond. He was named to Style Weekly Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” in 2007.  Rhode and his wife Lynne live in Goochland with their two sons – Andrew and Bryan, Jr.

*Appointment Effective November 1^st

Board Appointments

Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers

·         J. Paul Welch, II of Warsaw, Owner/Manager of Welch Funeral Home

Board of Visitors to Mount Vernon

·         Glen Bolger of Alexandria, Survey Researcher for Public Opinion Strategies

·         Julie Dime of Alexandria, Partner at Principle Advantage, Ltd.

·         The Honorable Paul Clinton Harris, Sr. of Richmond, Senior Counsel for the Northrop Grumman Corporation

·         Mark A. Herzog of Richmond, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Government Affairs at Health Diagnostic Laboratory

Charitable Gaming Board

·         Nicholas S. Curry of Hopewell

Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children

·         RADM David O. Anderson, USN (Ret.) of Virginia Beach

Virginia Latino Advisory Board

·         Joel Martinez of Glen Allen, Managing Vice President/HR Consulting with Capital One

·         J. Michael Martinez de Andino of Henrico, Partner with Hunton & Williams

·         Theresa Alvillar Speake of Alexandria, CEO of Speake Consulting Services

*Denotes re-appointment

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