Virginia First Lady Anne Holton will serve as the speaker at the University of Mary Washington’s 2009 commencement. She will address graduates at the 9 a.m. ceremony on Saturday, May 9, in Ball Circle.
An advocate for Virginia’s families and children, Holton has devoted her career to improving foster care and adoption. She served for many years as a legal aid lawyer representing low-income families and as a juvenile and domestic relations district court judge in the City of Richmond. Holton has received many awards and honors for her legal and judicial work, including the YWCA of Richmond 2006 Outstanding Woman Award in the category of law.
As First Lady, Holton has continued her commitment to improving the welfare of Virginia’s families. Her initiative, “For Keeps: Families for all Virginia Teens,” focuses on finding and strengthening permanent families for older children in foster care as well as refining Virginia’s Youth Advisory Council. Partners in the initiative include the Virginia Department of Social Services and the Freddie Mac Foundation. For her work with the initiative, Holton received the 2008 Annie E. Casey Foundation Families for Life Award of Distinction, among other awards.
The First Lady has served on the Virginia Child Support Guideline Review Panel and the Advisory Committee for the Virginia Court Improvement Program.
A native of Roanoke, Va., Holton graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public Law and International Affairs in 1980. She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1983, where she met her future husband Tim Kaine.
The First Lady’s father, Linwood Holton, served as Virginia’s governor from 1970 to 1974. She and Gov. Kaine reside at the Executive Mansion with their three children, Nat, Woody and Annella.