David Albo
Dave Albo is a Government Relations attorney and a Virginia state lobbyist. Dave helps businesses, from small to Fortune 500, trade associations, and individuals who need to amend, pass, eliminate or defeat legislation and regulations; access government services; defeat adverse government actions; and acquire government contracts from the State or local governments. He also counsels clients on politics and elections.
Dave brings to his clients deep experience with the legislative process and access to elected and appointed officials in state and local government legislative and executive branches. As an elected member of the Virginia House of Delegates for 24 years, Dave sponsored over 75 original bills that were passed. Dave was Chairman of the House Courts of Justice (Judiciary) Committee. He played a role in passing or defeating tens of thousands of bills. During his over two decades of service, he had daily interaction with the state executive branch and local government agencies. Most recently, he was appointed to serve on Gov. Youngkin’s Transition, on the Transportation Landing Team.
Andrea Bailey
Andrea Olivia Bailey is a native of St. Louis, Missouri living in Dumfries, Va. She is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. John Earl Pullman. She is a Christian woman who has been a military spouse for 23 years, a Christian and Diaconate leader and teacher for over 20 years, a corporate citizen for 20 years, a business owner for over10 years, a civic leader for over 40 years, and is now a caregiver for her mother since 2012.
Understanding the value and power of education, Andrea has a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Studies from Webster University and a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management and Development from National-Louis University. She is also a 20-year veteran of the corporate private sector with business acumen in business development, operational management, customer service, and human resource management. Andrea is also a former small business owner of “Affairs Remembered” where she provided elegant, exceptional event planning services in the Northern Virginia area presenting weddings, workshops, themed parties, and decor.
Andrea’s dedication has not been limited to corporate America; she was raised to have a sense of purpose for community, the church, and the government. She has actively supported the homeless shelters of So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) and ACTS spanning over ten years.
She is a proud member of the sisterhood of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for 47 years and is a charter member for the Jacksonville, North Carolina Chapter along with Soror Debra Deloney. She has been a member of Omicron Chi Omega for 10 years. Her determination to expand and grow the exposure of women is evident in her appointments as a national board member with the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. and as a chartered member for the Prince William County chapter in 2012. She is a national member of the National Association of Professional Women, of which she was given the Who’s Who award of Professional Women in the spring of 2015. As a social justice advocate, she is an Executive Committee member for the Prince William County NAACP where she serves the community aside her husband who is the President.
In 2019 Andrea won her local election by 64% as one of the first African American female County Supervisor serving in Potomac District in Prince William County. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of County Supervisors in Prince William County, Va. She has promoted voter education and engagement, where she was employed as the Community Engagement Director for the League of Conservation Voter Education Fund, non-partisan, 501c3 organization partnering with community organizations to register over 10,000 new voters in Prince William County. She continues to collaborate and serve the state of Virginia by maintaining national and state affiliations while service the State of Virginia. During her tenure she serves as a Board member on the Council of Government Board (COG), Chair of the Human Services Policy Committee for COG, the Northern Virginia Regional Council (NVRC), and an Executive Board member of the Potomac Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC).
Andrea has been married to her best friend and high school sweetheart, Rev. Cozy Eugene Bailey, current President of the Prince William County NAACP, for over forty years. He is a 23-year retired Marine Corps officer who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. They are both members of First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries, Virginia where they are active in leadership roles on the ministerial staff and church’s deaconess ministry. They have one son, Cozy, Jr., also a Naval Academy officer and a graduate of University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Andrea is also the proud caregiver for her mom, Essie Pullman who resides in Virginia.
Chuck Bean
Chuck Bean is an executive and civic leader with more than 25 years of experience in government, nonprofits, and philanthropy. Since 2012, Bean has served as Executive Director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), one of the country’s prominent regional councils and metropolitan planning organizations. COG is an independent, nonprofit association that brings area leaders together to address major regional issues, including economic development, land-use, human services, public safety, and environmental and transportation planning. Its membership is comprised of 300 elected officials from 24 local governments, the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures, and U.S. Congress. Bean previously served as President of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington and the Director of the Community Capacity Fund. Bean earned his Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Rebecca Cataldi
is a specialist and trainer in conflict resolution and preventing/countering violent extremism (P/CVE), and serves as Senior Program Director at the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (ICRD), where her work has focused on facilitating conflict resolution and P/CVE initiatives in Yemen; engaging madrasa and interfaith leaders in Pakistan; supporting reconciliation efforts among Syrians; conducting/overseeing P/CVE training programs in Morocco, the Philippines, and Kenya; and developing curricular materials on topics such as conflict resolution, P/CVE, communications skills, critical thinking, project design and implementation, monitoring & evaluation, and training skills. She is also a Consultant on Preventing Violent Extremism to the UN Peacebuilding Fund. Ms. Cataldi is a summa cum-laude graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and holds an M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (now Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution), where she is now a member and former Vice-Chair of the Advisory Board. She is also an Advisor to the Bipartisan Leadership Project. She has served as a conflict resolution trainer for the US Department of State’s Speaker/Specialist Program, the Luminari youth program, and the Arlington County Jail through Offender Aid and Restoration, and as a facilitator of Western-Muslim World dialogue with the Soliya Connect Program and of American political dialogue for Braver Angels. She is the founder of the American-Islamic Friendship Project and has engaged in cultural exchange, interfaith, educational, peacebuilding, and other initiatives in nearly 60 countries.
Karen Cleveland
Karen is the President and CEO of Leadership Fairfax (LFI) a community leadership development organization. Prior to joining Leadership Fairfax, Karen was the principle of Cleveland Group, LLC and Cleveland Coaching Group, Reston, VA based companies specializing in helping leaders, teams and organizations identify and develop their full leadership potential.
Through her work with LFI and Cleveland Group she utilizes a holistic approach that includes individual and/or team coaching along with the use of effective industry tools and methodology. Karen is an expert trainer and facilitator utilizing experiential learning techniques to maximize results. Karen’s specialty is working with executives and emerging leaders who have already attained a high level of personal and professional success yet recognize their need for continued leadership development and personal growth. She helps them develop sustainable practices and reach the place where possibilities and opportunities abound.
Previously Karen served as President & CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Northern VA where she was known as a visionary leader and was credited with growing the organization into one of the most respected charitable organizations in the Metro DC area. Karen also served as the first Executive Director/CEO of the Reston Chamber of Commerce and in executive positions with the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Sales & Marketing Companies, a division of the Grocery Manufacturers of America.
Karen was named the Community Champion in 2017, 1994 Reston Citizen of the Year, received a 2004 Best of Reston Award for Community Service and along with her husband received the Robert E. Simon Lifetime Achievement award in 2011. She was also named the 2002 Volunteer of the Year by the YMCA of Metropolitan DC, received the 2006 Joseph L. Ritchey Award for Community Service and the 2008 EXCEL Award for Nonprofit Leadership Excellence by the Center for Nonprofit Advancement and served as Chair of the Board of Directors of both the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce Leadership Fairfax where she also serves on the faculty.
Karen received her coaching certification from Georgetown University and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. She is an PCC, ICF certified coach.
Barbara Favola
Barbara Favola is a strong advocate on issues important to children, families, wage-earners, and the environment. She has spent her career championing the progressive values we share. Senator Favola serves on the Local Government, Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources, Rules, and Transportation Committees and chairs the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee. She serves on and has chaired the Commission on Youth and the Advisory Committee on Sexual and Domestic Violence, as well as serving on the Joint Commission on Health Care. She also Chairs the Senate Women’s Healthcare Caucus and is the whip in the Democratic Caucus.Senator Favola represents parts of Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun and has been a leader on the Arlington County Board and on various Northern Virginia regional commissions. She fights for the things that matter to us and she knows how to get things done. Senator Favola is a pragmatic progressive.
Sujatha Hampton
Hampton has a Masters and Ph.D in Special Education with a focus on Learning Disabilities and Serious Emotional Disturbance. She has worked as a teacher in Washington, DC, Austin, TX, and Montgomery County Public Schools; as a special education professor at
The University of Virginia, focusing her work on pre-service training for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral problems; and as the Title I Coordinator for Albemarle County Public Schools, where she focused on literacy and closing the opportunity
gap. Upon moving back home to Northern Virginia, Sujatha wrote a novel which was published in 2010. Having grown up in Fairfax County and attended Fairfax County Public Schools, it is her particular joy to serve on the Fairfax County Library Board of Trustees,
and as the 3rd Vice President and Education Chair of the Fairfax County NAACP, where she works every day to improve access to the riches of literacy and education for every single child in Fairfax County.
Ken Hutcheson
Karen Keys-Gamarra
Elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2019, Karen Keys-Gamarra (she/her/hers) is one of three At-Large School Board Members of the Fairfax County School Board. In this role, she currently serves as Chair of the Comprehensive Planning Development Committee. She is also a member of the Board Audit Committee and serves as a liaison to the Title I Parent Advisory Committee, the Planning Commission, and Educate Fairfax, formerly named the Foundation for Fairfax County Public Schools. During her two-year tenure as Chair of the Audit Committee (20
19-2021), she expanded the duties of the Auditor General to include a study and review of the FCPS special education programs.
A graduate of Tulane University and Washington University School of Law, Karen is an experienced attorney who currently handles family law matters and works as a court-appointed Guardian ad Litem in Northern Virginia representing the best interests of children from diverse backgrounds. As an attorney and as a school board member, Karen focuses on developing solutions for children and families
Aubrey Layne
Aubrey L. Layne, Jr. is Senior Vice President and the Chief of Staff for Sentara Healthcare. Aubrey started this position at Sentara in July, 2021. Layne oversees a number of Sentara teams including legislative affairs, corporate social responsibility, the Sentara Foundation – Hampton Roads, real estate, construction, marketing and communications, and the Sentara College of Health Sciences.
Previous Experience
Before joining Sentara, Layne served in Governor Ralph Northam’s administration as the Virginia Secretary of Finance. Layne was responsible for overseeing the Commonwealth’s annual revenue forecasts and administering the approximately $140 billion biennial state budget along with being chairman of the state’s Debt Advisory Board. He was also charged by Governor Northam to act as the state’s CFO (an expanded role for the Secretary of Finance) and advises the Governor on all significant financial contracts entered into by state agencies. Before serving as Secretary of Finance, Layne was appointed to Virginia Secretary of Transportation for Governor Terence McAuliffe.
Prior to becoming a public servant, Layne served as President of longtime Sentara community partner An Achievable Dream Academy in Newport News, Va., as President and Principal Broker of Great Atlantic Properties in Virginia Beach, and as President of Hofheimer’s Inc., which was based in Norfolk. He began his career at KPMG.
Dean Lynch
Dean is the Executive Director for the Virginia Association of Counties. He received a graduate degree, Master of City and County Management, in 1994 from the College of Business at East Tennessee State University and his undergraduate degree in 1982 from Appalachian State University.
Prior to his current position, Dean worked for many years as a local government lobbyist with the Virginia Association of Counties. He has been affiliated with VACo as Deputy Executive Director, Legislative Director and Director of Local Government Affairs. He also served in Governor Mark R. Warner’s cabinet as Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Resources. He gained many years of association and local government experience while serving in various positions in local government. Dean holds certifications as a Certified Association Executive and a Certified County Association Executive. He also holds a Master Certificate in High Performance Leadership from the NCCAE / Professional Development Academy.
He has been an active member of the Virginia Society of Association Executives and the National Council of County Association Executives. He is a 2007 graduate of LEAD Virginia and a 2014 graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. He was recognized as the 2013 Executive of the Year by the Virginia Society of Association Executives. Dean is active in community affairs by serving on the Commonwealth’s Fair Housing Board, the Chesterfield County Community Services Board and Board of Social Services. He has served on the Chesterfield County Citizen Budget Advisory Committee.
Nicole Rowsell
Nicole Rowsell currently serves as Acting Vice President and Special Assistant to the President at the National Democratic Institute. Ms. Rowsell has more than 20 years of experience supporting democratic transitions, with particular emphasis on complex conflict transformation, inclusive political processes, and evidence-based policy development to promote and protect democratic values.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Rowsell served as Senior Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa, Senior Country Director in Lebanon and Tunisia, and has coordinated organizational change processes including review of the Institute’s vision, mission and values, and global strategic objectives. Since joining NDI in 2006, Ms. Rowsell has designed, implemented and provided overall leadership for efforts to enhance political parties’ responsiveness, strengthen citizen oversight of political processes and create openings for women, young people and other marginalized groups to effectively engage their representatives and improve governance. An opinion researcher, Ms. Rowsell has also designed and prepared numerous qualitative and quantitative studies to inform policy-makers, government officials and political and civic leaders. Ms. Rowsell co-edited Civic Participation Terminology: A Guide to Frequently Used Terms and Phrases, authored Tunisia: Foundations for Democratic Compromise and Tunisie, deuxième république: chronique d’une Constituante, 2011–2014.
Ms. Rowsell has also held senior positions with Partners for Democratic Change and World Learning, contributing to community organizing and advocacy efforts throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution.
Chris Saxman
Chris Saxman is the Executive Director of Virginia FREE a non-partisan, non-profit established in 1988 that informs the business community in order to advance free enterprise and responsible, pro-business government.
Delegate Saxman served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002 to 2010. During his time in the Virginia House, he served on Commerce and Labor; General Laws; Transportation; Counties, Cities, and Towns; and Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committees and also chaired two subcommittees. In 2007, U.S. Senator John McCain asked Saxman to co-chair his Virginia campaign for president along with U.S. Senator John Warner. In 2010, Saxman co-chaired the K-12 transition team for Governor-elect Bob McDonnell.
Saxman has served as the General Manager of his family’s bottled water business based in Staunton, Virginia from 1995 until 2010. As part of his commitment to the industry, Saxman became the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Bottled Water Association in 2007.
Saxman was born in Pittsburgh, PA but primarily grew up in Staunton. He graduated from Washington and Lee University with a B.A. in European History in 1987. Saxman and his wife, Michele, relocated the family to the Richmond area in 2013. They have four children ages 28 to 19 and one Marine Son-in-Law.
Haider Shagathi
A researcher at the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism. A member in the Rotary International, Club of Global Peacebuilders. Passionate to help and support people in need, especially those who suffer from war and any kind of violence. I immigrated from Iraq and experienced three wars in the Middle East and civil war. I worked with the Iraqi government for about ten years, which was a key to working and meeting with top leaders in Iraq, the Middle East, and the United States of America.
A doctoral degree in organizational leadership concentration on counter-extremism from Grand Canyon University, Arizona, in 2021. A master’s degree in Strategic Security Studies from the National Defense University, Washington D.C., in 2013. A bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Technology, Iraq, in 2003.
Alison Silberberg
A Government Relations/Public Policy consultant and writer, Allison Silberberg served as the Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, from 2016 through 2018 after serving as Vice Mayor from 2012 through 2015. Allison’s mayoral term had transformational impact, including: securing Virginia Tech’s $1 billion Innovation Campus for the city, part of the largest business deal in the region’s history; approving and building three schools; tripling the dedicated funding for the city’s Affordable Housing Fund; approving the plan to address the sewage outfall issues after two decades of inconsequential actions; approving the new Metro station plan; creating the city’s first Arts District; quintupling the number of trees planted per year from 225 to 1,100; and drafting and adopting the city’s Statement on Inclusiveness, which garnered national attention. She championed the need for more transparency and ethics in the city government and achieved passage of an ethics reform package.
Allison has over 25 years of experience in public policy and public service, including working on Capitol Hill for Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen. Her consulting work includes serving as Government Relations Director for a housing nonprofit to help residents at risk of eviction or foreclosure at the height of the pandemic and the national housing crisis, as well as being part of a leadership team that has launched a statewide and national Stroke Smart campaign.
She currently serves on the board of Centrist Democrats of America and Friends of the Alexandria Mental Health Center, the Advisory Council of George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution’s Political Leadership Academy, and the Goodwin House Senior Living Alexandria Advisory Committee.
A lifelong advocate for social justice issues, Allison is the author of two books, including Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World, which profiles individuals who are making a difference in our country, hitting #1 on Amazon’s List for Philanthropy & Charity. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, and on PBS.org. A Russian Studies major in college, Allison has a B.A. in international relations and history from American University, and she has an M.F.A. in playwriting from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television. Her site is: www.allisonsilberberg.com.
Solon Simmons
Solon Simmons is an Associate Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University with a Ph.D. in sociology. He is the author of The Eclipse of Equality: Arguing America on Meet the Press (Stanford University Press, 2013) and Professors and their Politics with Neil Gross (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014). His current work on peace and conflict resolution combines Weberian institutional theory, with critical social philosophy, bringing in insights from semiotics and narrative analysis. His most recent book is entitled, Root Narrative Theory and Conflict Resolution; Power, Justice and Values, which provides researchers and practitioners tool grounded in cutting edge approaches to narrative and conflict. Root Narrative Theory is useful for capturing the moral and intellectual bases of radical disagreement, fostering a sense of radical curiosity, and helping parties to pursue deeper mutual understandings. Solon served as interim dean for the Carter School in 2013, and Vice President for Global Strategy for George Mason from 2014-2017, and he teaches classes on conflict theory, narrative, media, discourse and conflict, human rights, quantitative and qualitative methodology, global conflict, and critical theory.
Jon Stehle
Jon R. Stehle, Jr., is a director with the Data & Insights Division of Tyler Technologies. Prior to joining Tyler, Jon was a strategic performance management lead at MITRE and was a senior analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Jon received a GAO Meritorious Service Award in 2013 for his contributions to GAO’s High-Risk program and Key Issues website. He is an adjunct Professor at West Virginia University and a past president of the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis. Jon is serving his third term on the non-partisan Fairfax City Council. He is currently serving as the President of the Virginia Municipal League and as the Vice-Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Food and Agriculture Regional Member (FARM) Policy Committee. Jon earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Washington & Jefferson College and a master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He also completed a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies with the U.S. Naval War College.