John C. Anstey ’93
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2023 – 2027
John Anstey is president and CEO of Anstey Hodge Advertising Group. His work has won numerous awards, including the American Advertising Federation’s highest honor, the Silver Medal Award for lifetime achievement. Anstey began his career in communications at the Reliance Insurance Company in Philadelphia and served as director of client services for The O’Connor Group regional ad firm. He founded the Anstey Hodge agency in 2003 and was named the following year to the Blue Ridge Business Journal’s “Top 20 Under 40 List” of up-and-coming business leaders. He’s held leadership roles with the United Way of Roanoke Valley, the Roanoke Valley SPCA, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council and the Public Relations Society of America. He is a graduate of the Roanoke College Management Institute and the Roanoke Regional Chamber’s Leadership Roanoke Valley program. Anstey is a 1993 Who’s Who graduate of Mary Washington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. He served as founding chair of UMW’s College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board and received the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus Award. He also earned a master’s degree in English from Longwood University and an MBA from Wake Forest University. He and wife Dr. Kara Lee Matala ’94, also a Mary Washington graduate, have two daughters.
Devon Williams Cushman ’93
Appointed By: Governor Terence R. McAuliffe
First Term: 2017-2021
Appointed By: Governor Ralph S. Northam
Second Term: 2021-2025
Devon Williams Cushman (Rector of the Board of Visitors) is in-house counsel at educational tech company EAB Global, Inc., where she leverages her deep commercial expertise and passion for innovation to lead complex strategic deals. A resident of Richmond, Cushman has worn many hats during her career: business counsel, litigation attorney, law professor, and entrepreneur. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in political science from Mary Washington and earning her Juris Doctorate from the University of Richmond School of Law, she worked as a litigator at Morris & Morris (now McCandlish Holton) and Hirschler, where she was recognized by Virginia Business as “Legal Elite” and by Virginia Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star.” Cushman also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law and as assistant general counsel at Capital One. She’s also the founder of Dutch Door, an interior styling company. A Boston native who grew up on Long Island, Devon is a member of her law school’s alumni association board and supports the greater Richmond community as a pro bono attorney. She serves as rector of the UMW Board of Visitors.
Virginia K. Gentles
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2024 – 2028
Virginia (Ginny) Gentles is the director of the Education Freedom Center at the Independent Women’s Forum and host of the Students Over Systems podcast. She is also a contributor to the Independent Women’s Network. Gentles is a long-time school choice advocate and former state and federal education policy leader. Her work has appeared in National Review, Newsweek, City Journal, and Real Clear Education. Gentles served as a senior political appointee in the U.S. Department of Education under President George W. Bush. She led the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, managing the state’s school choice programs. While living in Canada, she worked for the Fraser Institute and the Ontario Ministry of Education. Gentles began her career on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant and House Budget Committee analyst. A Florida native, Gentles is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She lives in Virginia with her two daughters.
Rachel U. Greszler ’03
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2024-2025
As a senior research fellow in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Rachel Greszler focuses on workforce, family, and retirement policies including: employment opportunities; independent work; women’s issues; the minimum wage; federal employee compensation; paid family leave and other family-friendly workplace policies; Social Security; disability insurance, and pensions. Her work focuses on policies that promote economic growth, individual freedom, and well-being. Before joining Heritage in 2013, Greszler was a senior economist on the staff of the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress for seven years. She completed her graduate studies at Georgetown University, where she earned master’s degrees in both economics and public policy. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Mary Washington. Greszler, who grew up in a small town in Western New York, currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and six children.
Andrew T. Lamar ’07
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2022-2026
Andrew Lamar is the principal of Lamar Consulting, the Richmond-based government affairs and public relations consulting firm he founded in 2012. He also has served as a policy advisor and deputy director of legislative affairs for former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and as a government affairs associate for RhumbLine. Lamar, who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Mary Washington, is also a Linwood Holton Fellow graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. He lives in Midlothian with his wife Marit, daughter Betsy Ann and son Brooks.
William Lee Murray ’04
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2022-2026
Lee Murray, a longtime financial advisor, is managing director and partner of wealth management firm Cary Street Partners. He worked previously for financial services giant Edward Jones. A member of the board of directors for the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority and the board of trustees for Fredericksburg Academy, he also has served on the boards of directors for the Rappahannock Area and Massad Family YMCAs, and for Friends of the Rappahannock. Murray earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Mary Washington, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team. He and his wife Karli Schneider Murray ’05 live in downtown Fredericksburg with their two children.
Nicole K. Neily
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2023 – 2027
Nicole Neily is president and founder of Parents Defending Education (PDE), a national membership organization that helps parents advocate for their children’s education. Prior to launching PDE, she created Speech First, a campus free speech organization. She also has served as president of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a state-level investigative journalism organization, and as executive director of the Independent Women’s Forum. In the private sector, she has held roles as senior vice president at the crisis communications firm Dezenhall Resources and as director of research analysis for polling firm The Winston Group.Neily earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in economic policy and foreign policy from Pepperdine University School of Public Policy in Malibu, California. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Clark, and two children.
Christopher D. Newman
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2024 – 2027
Dr. Newman has served as the executive vice president, system chief operating officer and chief medical officer for Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) in Fredericksburg, Virginia, since 2019. He is responsible for managing the delivery of safe, high-quality healthcare in the fully integrated, regional not-for-profit medical system that provides emergency, inpatient, and outpatient care through more than 40 facilities in the greater Fredericksburg region. The primary campus is a neighbor to University of Mary Washington’s Fredericksburg campus and a vital regional partner. Dr. Newman earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Scranton and his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. He also earned an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business where he graduated with honors and received the executive faculty award. As a board-certified internist, Dr. Newman has over 20 years clinical experience in primary care, hospital medicine and post-acute care. He chairs the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association’s Chief Medical Officer and Physician Leaders Forum. He serves on the board of Saint Francis Ministries, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profits in the child and family services sector as well as the boards of Fredericksburg Academy and the Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Newman is frequently featured as a speaker at many national conferences and forums on a range of topics including effective leadership, efficient operations, healthcare policy and patient-centered innovation. He also is an accomplished musician having performed professionally throughout the country with numerous classical, jazz, blues and rock groups since he was a teen. He is the proud father of four children, and his wife, Heather, is a practicing neuroradiologist who serves on the medical staff of Mary Washington Healthcare.
Timothy S. Pohanka ’93
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2024 – 2028
Tim Pohanka serves as a Chief Operations Officer of the Pohanka Automotive Group, where he oversees three of the group’s dealerships in the Fredericksburg area. With a career spanning 30 years in the automotive industry, Tim has gained comprehensive experience in all aspects of dealership operations. He has also served as a consultant to automotive dealers across the country interested in performance improvement and groups looking to invest in the automotive space. He believes in giving back more to the community and the industry than he takes, as demonstrated by his active support of various local charities in Fredericksburg. In addition to his community involvement, Tim is a key figure in industry organizations. He is a member of the Nissan National Dealer Advisory Board and has contributed to several subcommittees focused on marketing and customer experience. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Electric Vehicle Subcommittee. In Virginia, Tim’s expertise is further recognized through his membership on the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board and his role as the Legislative Chairman for the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. Tim obtained his degree in Business Administration from Mary Washington, where he was also a member of the Men’s Swimming Team. He lives in the Fredericksburg area, where he raised his two sons.
Davis C. Rennolds ’06
Appointed By: Governor Terence R. McAuliffe
First Term: 2015-2019
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Second Term: 2022-2026
Davis C. Rennolds served previously on UMW’s Board of Visitors from 2015 to 2019. He is the founder and partner of The 51 Group, which is a national, bipartisan government relations firm. Over his career Rennolds has represented clients in a variety of industries across the U.S., advocating for their business needs and navigating legislative, regulatory, and administrative issues at the state and local levels. Among other political posts, Rennolds served during the McDonnell administration as an Inaugural Committee member and as a Department of Transportation special policy adviser. A Board member for the Sorensen Institute, he holds a bachelor’s degree in historic preservation from Mary Washington. He is active with Toys for Tots and was named to Style Weekly’s “Top 40 under 40” in 2011 for his work with Richmond-area food banks and Share Our Strength, a national organization working to end childhood hunger and poverty.
Terrie L. Suit (MBA) ’16
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2022-2025
Terrie Suit is currently CEO of Virginia Realtors and served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for nearly a decade. She was appointed as the commonwealth’s first Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs and Homeland Security, and worked to fulfill the governor’s mission of making Virginia “the most veteran-friendly state in the nation.” Prior to that, she carved out a two-decade career in mortgage lending, after becoming a real estate agent in 1985. Suit earned an associate’s degree in general education from Tidewater Community College and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Old Dominion University. She also holds a master’s degree in business administration from UMW, where she delivered the graduate address at Mary Washington’s 108th Commencement.
Terris E. Todd
Appointed By: Governor Glenn Youngkin
Term: 2024 – 2028
Terris Todd serves as a senior advisor to the President of Kingdom Builders Worldwide, a faith-based organization focused on the belief that true prosperity encompasses the spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of all people. He earned his B.S. in Elementary Education and M.A. in Educational Leadership both from Western Michigan University. He worked as a public school teacher, administrator, and college instructor along with serving on various boards. Todd previously served as the Advisor of Coalitions Engagement at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC. Prior to joining Heritage in 2021, Terris was appointed by The White House serving as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington D.C. where he focused on working with educational professionals in the public and private sectors to elevate and bring awareness to the challenges faced by African American students in the country and leveraging resources to help ensure students are prepared for college and productive careers that contribute to the well-being of society. He is an ordained minister and author of Just Being There: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Children. Todd, who was born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan, currently resides in Woodbridge, Virginia, married to his wife Karen with three adult daughters in college.