Steven Meeks speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville Wednesday.
What does the Pony Express, Miss America, the Philadelphia Quakers Major League baseball team, Chicago’s Iroquois Theater and Tsing Kiang Pu, China, have in common with Charlottesville? In this podcast, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society President Steven Meeks recaps some of Charlottesville’s fascinating history from its first 250 years.
Steven G. Meeks was born and raised in Albemarle County and Charlottesville. For most of his adult life he has either worked or volunteered as a public servant, striving always to make his community a better place to live and work. He has written extensively about local history including Crozet, A Pictorial History and is currently working on a book chronicling Charlottesville’s first 250 years. He is also working on publishing Sheridan’s James River Campaign of 1865 through Central Virginia. Mr. Meeks offers lectures on the history of central Virginia and oversees the operation of the Hatton Ferry, the nation’s last hand-poled river ferry.
More recently, Mr Meeks has demonstrated his interest, competence, and knowledge of historic preservation through the work he has done and continues to do on historic buildings in the Scottsville Historic District. Since 1990 he has held an elected position as Director of the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District. His current affiliations include being President and Chief Executive of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, a member of the Albemarle County Historic Preservation Committee, Charlottesville Historic Resources Committee, Co-Chair of Charlottesville’s Celebrate 250th Committee, Co-Chair of the Albemarle Charlottesville Sesquicentennial Committee and the Scottsville Architectural Review. He just recently obtained a Certificate in Museum Management. He has also served on the boards of the Albemarle County Fair, the Virginia Association of Fairs, the Scottsville Museum, Albemarle County’s Road Naming Committee, the Scottsville Planning Commission, and the Biscuit Run State Park Advisory Committee.
Mr. Meeks spoke at the Wednesday, November 14, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Charles Smith.
Chris Engel and Mark Graham speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville on Wednesday.
New malls are springing up everywhere in both the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Listen as Chris Engel and Mark Graham speak to the effect of these new developments on City and County planning.
Mr. Engel and Graham spoke at the Wednesday, October 10, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV secretary Bill Davis.
Chris Engel
Chris Engel, CEcD is the director of economic development for the City of Charlottesville. He has a bachelor’s degree in geography from Mary Washington College and a master’s degree in planning from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and is a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) where he is a certified economic developer (CEcD). An active civic leader, his current leadership roles include: Chair of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau, and board positions with the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development and Charlottesville Business Innovation Council. He has also been a Junior Achievement instructor and Comfort Zone Camp volunteer.
Chris has been instrumental in the development and implementation of Charlottesville’s economic development programs, including BusinessFirst, a personal-visit business retention program, the Shop Charlottesville initiative and the Charlottesville Technology Incubator. He was recently recognized with the 2010 CBIC Leadership Award for his work chairing the Tech Tour, an innovative workforce development initiative that connects students to career opportunities in the technology sector.
Prior to his current position in economic development, Chris worked for the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and as a cartographer and GIS Analyst for private sector firms in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Mark Graham
Mark B. Graham, P.E., has been the Director of Community Development for Albemarle County since that department was created in 2004 and was instrumental in making it a “one stop shop” for all development permitting and oversight by the County. He brings a somewhat unique set of skills to this position having worked in both the private and public sector, combined with a back ground that includes both an MBA and almost thirty years as a licensed professional engineer. As the Director of Community Development, Mark has been directly involved with most of the large projects approved in the County since 2000, including: Hollymead Town Center, Stonefield (Albemarle Place), Avon / 5th Street (Wegmans), Biscuit Run, Cascadia, Rivanna Village, and many others.
Prior to working for Albemarle County, Mark worked in private industry as a professional engineer and managed development projects in Northern Virginia and Tennessee. His experience also includes working for Arlington County, Virginia as an environmental programs manager and the Texas Department of Highways (now Texas Department of Transportation) as a construction engineer. He has been registered as a Professional Engineer in Virginia since 1984.
Mark holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of Business Administration from Virginia Tech.
Carolyn Engelhard speaking before the September 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia
On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court handed down its historic ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with the sole exception that Congress cannot penalize states that decline to expand Medicaid. What does the court’s decision mean for the ACA’s economic viability and the potential to provide health coverage for most Americans? What are the challenges facing President Obama’s signature health care legislation and how might the presidential election affect the fate of the ACA?
Carolyn Long Engelhard is a health policy analyst at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where she also directs the Health Policy Program in the Department of Public Health Sciences. Ms. Engelhard’s academic activities include studying and monitoring changes in health policy at the federal and state governmental levels and teaching in both the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine. In 2007, Ms. Engelhard co-authored a book looking at the myths surrounding the U.S. health care system. In 2009, Ms. Engelhard completed a project in conjunction with the nonpartisan Urban Institute examining the use of public policies to reduce obesity. More recently, Ms. Engelhard co-authored an article in the New England Journal of Medicine examining health insurance premium rating regulation under the new health care reform bill, and completed a textbook chapter examining the effect of the new law on health care organizations.
Ms. Engelhard spoke at the Wednesday, September 12, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV Vice President Bob McGrath.
The Congressional Candidates Showcase Forum is a biennial event sponsored by the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.This year, only one candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic challenger General John Douglass, spoke at the event. Congressman Robert Hurt declined the Senior Statesmen’s invitation to attend the forum. This is only the second time since 1996 that a candidate has failed to attend. Mr. Hurt also declined in 2010.
Following the program, questions were taken from the audience. The event was moderated by Coy Barefoot. Mr. Barefoot is the host of WINA’s Charlottesville – Right Now! and an award-winning and best-selling author, radio personality, historian and political analyst.
5th District Congressional Candidate General John Douglass speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center Wednesday.
General John Douglass (D) is running for Congress in the 5th District to help Virginia families get a fair chance at a better future.
After serving our country for 35 years under Presidents Reagan and Clinton, he went on to promote air and space policies that grow our economy by creating manufacturing jobs and keeping our skies safe.
Douglass worked his way up to the highest levels of military leadership. In 1995, he was chosen by President Clinton to contribute his expertise to the Pentagon by serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Under Clinton, he was responsible for ensuring that our sailors and marines were fully supported with ships, aircraft, weapons systems, and equipment. For his service to the Navy and our nation, Douglass was honored with the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award.
Prior to his work under Clinton, he served on President Reagan’s National Security Council as Director of Defense Programs. Responsible for the Strategic Modernization Program, he often briefed the President directly on key Defense and National Security Programs. After serving in the White House, General Douglass was named Deputy U.S. Military Representative to NATO in Brussels, Belgium, reporting directly to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
WINA’s Coy Barefoot moderated the event.
In addition to his work in the military, the candidate also worked to reform our defense policies. He was a leader in establishing and supporting the Presidential Commission on Defense Reform (known as the Packard Commission) and was a foreign policy advisor to former Senator Sam Nunn. More recently, General Douglass served as the President of the Aerospace Industries Association, where he advocated strong and sensible business practices at the Pentagon, an effective export policy for American aerospace products, and the preservation and expansion of United States jobs.
General Douglass earned degrees at the University of Florida, where he was member of the Air Force ROTC. He holds two Masters Degrees: one from Texas Tech University in Industrial Engineering and one from Fairleigh Dickenson University in Management Science. He now maintains a small family farm business, growing grapes for local distribution at his Fauquier County home, where he and his wife raise their two teenage boys.
Terry Cooper speaking before the June 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia
Terry Cooper, owner of Terry Cooper Political Research, addressed many of the hot-button issues dominating politics today.
Mr. Cooper does political research, principally opposition research for Republican candidates. He is a member of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.
Terry is a graduate of Episcopal High School, Princeton University and the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Research Editor of the Virginia Law Review, a member of the National Moot Court Team and elected to the Order of the Coif, the law-school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa. He practiced law with the Wall Street firm Sullivan & Cromwell and held executive positions with three Fortune 500 companies before founding his firm, Terry Cooper Political Research, in 1982.
Terry has taught opposition research at the Republican National Committee’s Campaign Management Colleges, at American University’s Campaign Management Institute, at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, at the University of Florida and at training programs sponsored by the state Republican parties of Virginia, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Washington State.
Terry’s clients have included then-Speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich (R-GA); then- Congressmen Tom Davis (R-VA), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Jim Greenwood (R-PA), Chip Pickering (R-MS) and Jim Nussle (R-IA); Congressmen Tom Latham (R-IA), Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and Doc Hastings (R-WA); then-Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell; and a number of members of the Virginia and Florida legislatures. Terry Cooper Political Research is located at 1111 Timber Trail Drive, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901. Terry can be reached via telephone at (434) 202-8065.
Mr. Cooper spoke at the Wednesday, June 13, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV Vice President Bob McGrath.
Senators Creigh Deeds and Bryce Reeves provided their perspectives on the 2012 legislative session and other current issues facing Virginians.
Senators Bryce Reeves (left) and Creigh Deeds speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center Wednesday.
Senators Deeds and Reeves spoke at the Wednesday, May 9, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV President Sue Liberman.
Senator Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds represents the 25th Senate District, which includes the counties of Albemarle (part), Alleghany, Bath, Highland, Nelson, and Rockbridge, and the cities of Buena Vista, Covington, Charlottesville, and Lexington. He serves on three Senate standing committees: General Laws, Privileges and Elections, and Transportation.
Sen. Deeds’ public service career began in 1987 when he was elected to serve as the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Bath County. In 1991 he ran against an incumbent and won in the 18th District in the House of Delegates. After serving 10 years in the House, Sen. Deeds was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2001. Senator Deeds was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General in 2005 and for Governor in 2009.
Senator Deeds serves on the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, the Virginia Sesquicentennial for the American Civil War Commission, the Small Business Commission, and the State Water Commission. For his work on behalf of crime victims, he was awarded the Warren Stambaugh Award from Virginians United Against Crime. He also has received the Leadership in Public Policy Award from The Nature Conservancy, the Preservation Alliance of Virginia Delegate of the Year, and the Virginia Association for Parks Legislator of the Year. His legislative work and accomplishments have also been recognized by the Fairfax Coalition of Police, the Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, and BikeWalk Virginia.
Senator Deeds attended Virginia’s public schools and graduated from Bath County High School in 1976. After completing undergraduate work at Concord College, he received his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1984. Senator Deeds lives in Bath County. He is an attorney in private practice and a visiting professor of law at Washington and Lee University. He has four grown children.
Senator Bryce Reeves
Bryce Reeves represents the 17th Virginia Senate District which includes all of Orange County and the City of Fredericksburg, and parts of Albemarle, Culpeper, Louisa and Spotsylvania Counties. He serves on four Senate standing committees: General Laws and Technology, Courts of Justice, Privileges and Elections, and Rehabilitation and Social Services.
Senator Reeves is President of Bryce Reeves Insurance and Financial Services, and President of Reeves Asset Management Group, a commercial real estate development firm with holdings in Stafford County, Virginia.
Senator Reeves joined the United States Army as an enlisted soldier but ultimately earned the rank of Captain and served as a United States Army Ranger, our country’s oldest elite special operations force. He worked for the Prince William County Police Vice/Narcotics Bureau as a front-line detective and served on a joint jurisdiction drug interdiction taskforce of Northern Virginia and Maryland.
Senator Reeves serves his community as a small group Bible study leader and deacon at Spotswood Baptist Church in Fredericksburg and is also an International Mission team leader that helped to spread humanitarian aid and resources to the less fortunate in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Jamaica.
He served as the regional chairman for Americans for Prosperity.
Senator Reeves holds a Master of Public Administration in Public Policy from George Mason University and Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University in Industrial Education, a discipline focused on designing optimal manufacturing workspaces to maximize worker efficiency. He lives in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, with his wife Anne and their two children, Nicole and Jack.
Delegates Rob Bell, and David Toscano provided their perspectives on the issues that came before the 2012 legislature. The delegates spoke at the Wednesday, April 11, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV Secretary Bill Davis.
Delegates David Toscano and Robert Bell speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center Wednesday. Invited Delegates Matt Fariss and Steve Landes were unable to attend.
Robert Bell
Robert Bell (R) – 58th District: An honors graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Law School, Rob served as a state prosecutor for five years. He prosecuted over 2,400 cases, working with the police and crime victims to bring criminals to justice.
In the Virginia General Assembly, Rob has written laws that crack down on drunk driving. As a result, MADD (Virginia) named him the 2005 Outstanding Legislator. He is also interested in school safety. In recent years, he has written laws to ban criminal sex offenders from school property during school hours and to require additional background checks on school personnel. In 2008, Rob helped overhaul Virginia’s mental health commitment laws in light of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. And, in 2009, Rob received the Act, Honor, Hope award from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance to recognize his work in the Virginia General Assembly.
An Eagle Scout, Rob was an active volunteer with the Boy Scouts and with the public schools prior to his election in 2001. Rob’s wife, Jessica, is a schoolteacher. She is currently staying home to raise their children, Robbie and Evie. The Bells live in Albemarle County and are members of Aldersgate United Methodist Church.
Rob understands that in tough economic times everyone – business, communities, government – needs to pitch in to create and protect Virginia jobs. That’s why Rob has fought to preserve and promote Virginia’s #1 business-friendly ranking. This helps Virginia’s small businesses to expand and encourages new companies to move here.
In response to the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, Rob was chosen to lead a special Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee charged with reforming Virginia’s mental health commitment laws. The subcommittee’s goals were to ensure that a similar tragedy would not happen again and to protect the ability of Virginians to voluntarily seek care for themselves. In 2008, as a result of the subcommittee’s work, Virginia saw the most sweeping reforms of mental health commitment laws in 30 years.
Rob and Jessica’s son Robbie attends public school. Jessica is a high school English teacher who is currently taking time off to raise Robbie and Evie. As delegate, Rob regularly visits our schools to talk with students. He has taught more than 1,000 students about civics and how laws are made. Rob has also sponsored local students as pages in the Virginia General Assembly and others have served as interns in his legislative office.
Rob is a champion for our communities against crime. He has led an all-out assault against drunk driving and has fought to protect our families from sex offenders. Rob has served on the Virginia Crime Commission since 2003 and is currently chairman.
Matthew Fariss
Matthew Fariss (R) – 59th District: Matt Fariss is a seventh generation native of Campbell County with a desire for future generations to continue to reside in the region. His wife, Crystal, and children, Hunter, Bobby, and Harrison are the reason Matt entered this campaign. He hopes that they can continue to enjoy the same rights and freedoms that he has been blessed with, and, as delegate, he will fight against liberal policies that will put those liberties in jeopardy. Despite his various successes, he is first and foremost a Christian family man committed to serving his family and community.
Matt was blessed to grow up in rural Virginia. However, as a youth he may have taken some of those blessings for granted and was subsequently “fired” by his father around twenty years old. Following that incident, Matt employed the values of hard work that he’d learned since he was a child. He began purchasing cattle and growing his business operation. Through the years, Matt has operated a country store, managed large amounts of real estate, raised cattle, managed farms, and operated numerous businesses. In addition to other projects, he is currently co-owner and Vice President of the Lynchburg Livestock Market, the largest livestock market center in Virginia. Matt has mastered numerous business ventures, and always has multiple projects going on at one time. As delegate, he will apply that business savvy towards serving his constituents in Richmond.
Having never run for or held office before, Matt is ready to take on the new challenge of representing the citizens of the 59th District. Seeking political office is not something that Matt ever planned or envisioned for himself. As a result, Matt has no favors to return in Richmond or in Washington, and his work will be focused solely on serving his constituents. His service comes because he understands that times like these require sacrifices and commitments of those capable of leading. Matt knows that Richmond is in need of a common sense conservative approach, and, as a businessman, he is capable of bringing that much needed attitude to the House of Delegates. Central Virginia needs a man with roots in the district who understands how to create jobs and make common sense decision. As delegate, Matt will never become an ivory tower leader; instead, he will remain committed to being a citizen-legislator fighting for the economy, values, and future of rural Virginia.
Steven Landes
Steven Landes (R) – 25th District: Delegate Landes is serving his eighth term in the House. He is a Member of the House Education, Appropriations, Rules, and Privileges and Elections Committees.
Steve is Vice Chairman of the House Education Committee. He was recently appointed Chairman of the Economic Development, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Subcommittee of House Appropriations as well as a Budget Conferee. Steve is also Past President of the Weyers Cave Ruritan Club.
Steve serves on the Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Projects Approval Commission. He was recently appointed to serve as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates.
Steve is also is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Rural Virginia. Steve serves on the Board of Trustees of the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia as well as the Board of Visitors of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.
From 1988 to 1992, Steve served as legislative assistant to his predecessor, former Delegate A.R. “Pete” Giesen, Jr., and from 1993 to 1995 served as Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s district director and district representative.
Steve is the Community Relations Coordinator for DuPont Community Credit Union, which is headquartered in Waynesboro, Virginia. He served as Executive Director of NewBiz Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley’s small business incubator, for five years. Steve was a life insurance agent and registered representative with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Steve also worked a Davis & Davis Marketing, Inc., a Staunton-based marketing and advertising firm, as a media buyer and then as an account executive.
Steve is a graduate of Buffalo Gap High School in Augusta County, and he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. He and his wife Angela, who is an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Augusta County, live in Weyers Cave with their son Roth. Steve and Angela are both members and elders of Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church.
David Toscano
David Toscano (D) – 57th District: David Toscano is serving his third term in the Virginia General Assembly, representing the 57th District of the House of Delegates, where he serves on the Courts of Justice; Transportation; and Science & Technology committees. David also serves on the Disability Commission and has served on the special Joint Subcommittee to Study Land Use Tools in the Commonwealth and the Joint Committee to study Math, Science, and Engineering. He is also a member of the United Way Board and the Chamber of Commerce.
David, his wife Nancy A. Tramontin, and son Matthew live in Charlottesville. David is a practicing attorney and an active volunteer for many community-based organizations.
David is an attorney with Buck, Toscano & Tereskerz, Ltd., and specializes in family law, real estate transactions, and estate planning.
David’s priorities are education, energy, and the environment. He fights for education funding, against teacher pay freezes, and to protect VRS and retirement benefits. He pushes the cause of renewable energy, and stood against those who deny the reality of climate change. He opposes predatory lending in its various forms. He argues for multifaceted transportation programs that include roads, rail, and public transit. He opposes cuts to services for the poor and disabled, defends a woman’s right to choose, and advances reforms in foster care and adoption, so that all children will have the opportunity to live productive lives in family settings free from abuse and neglect.
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters has named David a “Legislative Hero” four times for his work on environmental issues.
David was born in Syracuse, New York, the oldest of five children. He received a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University, a Ph.D. from Boston College, and a law degree from the University of Virginia. He has taught politics and sociology at various colleges and universities, including Boston College, University of Maryland (European Division), PVCC, University of Virginia, and James Madison University. He recently taught for the University of Virginia as part of its 14-week Semester at Sea program.
David served on the Charlottesville City Council from 1990 to 2002 and as Mayor 1994-96. David is a resident of the City of Charlottesville, where he lives with his wife, Nancy A. Tramontin, and their son, Matthew.
Craig Littlepage spoke at the Charlottesville Senior Center Wednesday.
What is the proper role of intercollegiate athletics with various institutional programs such as teaching and learning? Where does the sports program fit in with other programs? In this podcast, Craig Littlepage, UVa athletics director, responded to these questions and more this month’s meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.
Craig Littlepage received his B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1973. He was appointed assistant basketball coach at Villanova University in 1973, assistant basketball coach at Yale University in 1975; assistant basketball coach at UVa in 1976; head basketball coach at University of Pennsylvania in 1982, head basketball coach, Rutgers University in 1985, and assistant basketball coach at UVa in 1988. Mr. Littlepage was appointed assistant UVa assistant athletics director in 1990, associate athletics director for programs in 1991, senior associate director of athletics in 1995, and named as UVa’s athletics director in 2001.
Cavalier student-athletes who exhaust their eligibility at UVa graduate at a rate comparable to the student body as a whole. Annually, UVa student-athletes rank among the top Division I-A public universities in the country in graduation rates.
Littlepage is a member of the Associate Faculty for the University’s Center for Alcohol and Substance Education, and participates in various alcohol and drug prevention/education conferences. He served on the Board of Directors of the Ronald McDonald House and is a Trustee for the Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Mr. Littlepage is married to the former Margaret Murray of Charlottesville. The couple has three children.
Mr. Littlepage spoke at the Wednesday, March 14, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Charlie Smith.
Dahlia Lithwick speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.
In this podcast, Dahlia Lithwick, a renowned journalist and expert on the Supreme Court, addresses such questions as, “What health reform cases will be coming up in this important election year?” and “What other major cases are in the pipeline?”.
Ms. Lithwick is a senior editor at Slate Magazine, and in that capacity, writes the “Supreme Court Dispatches” and “Jurisprudence” columns. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, The Washington Post, and Commentary, among other publications. She received the Online News Association’s award for online commentary in 2001 and again in 2005 for a series she co-authored on torture.
Dahlia was the first online journalist invited to serve on the Steering Committee for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. She was editor of The Best American Legal Writing of 2009 and the co-author of “Me v. Everybody: Absurd Contracts for an Absurd World,” a legal humor book. In addition, she has written “I Will Sing Life: Voices from the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp,” a book about seven children from Paul Newman’s camp with life-threatening illnesses. She lives in Charlottesville with her husband and two sons.
Ms. Lithwick spoke before a packed house Wednesday.
Ms. Lithwick spoke at the Wednesday, February 8, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Grace Zisk.
On Wednesday, January 11, 2012, Albemarle County Chief of Police Steve Sellers, and City of Charlottesville Chief of Police Timothy Longo, gave a comprehensive presentation addressing the multifaceted issues of crime, crime prevention and law enforcement in both the City and County.
Chiefs of Police Timothy Longo (left) and Steve Sellers speaking before a full house at the Charlottesville Senior Center Wednesday.
Their joint presentation included an overview of area crime, a look at traffic safety in Albemarle and the Occupy Charlottesville demonstrations from a constitutional and operational perspective.
City of Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo
Timothy J. Longo, Sr., Chief of Police, City of Charlottesville, is a 25-year veteran of law enforcement and is nationally-recognized in the area of police ethics and professional standards. He holds a law degree from the University of Baltimore and was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1993. From 1981-2000, Longo served on the Baltimore police force, where he commanded several divisions and retired as Colonel in charge of Technical Services. Since 2001 he has served as Chief of Police for the City of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Longo lectures across America in the fields of Ethics, Professional Standards, Internal Affairs, and a variety of legal topics. He has served as adjunct faculty at Towson University and a guest lecturer at University of Virginia schools of law and business. Longo serves on the boards of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation, the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission, the Central Shenandoah Criminal Justice Training Academy, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Commission on Children and Families, and Special Olympics Virginia. He chairs the Thomas Jefferson Area Community Criminal Justice Board. He is a non-voting member of the Charlottesville Police Department Foundation board. Other professional affiliations include the Police Executive Research Forum and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
During his tenure on the Baltimore force, Longo worked in a variety of operational positions, led investigations of criminal wrongdoing within the department’s ranks, commanded the department’s Southeastern District, served as chief of staff to the police commissioner, and led the Communications Division to implement the nation’s first three digit non-emergency number, 311, for which the division received the prestigious Weber Seavey Award for innovative law enforcement.
In Charlottesville, Longo has guided the police department through a transition from a traditional reactive force to a proactive problem-solving model. Under his leadership, the department has instituted a comprehensive strategic plan for community policing throughout the organization, and has undertaken major initiatives to improve police effectiveness, transparency and accountability. Those include a sophisticated crime analysis software system, a monthly Compstat process, an intensive 8-week Citizens Police Academy, a community-wide gun violence project, a strict internal quality assurance process, advanced leadership training opportunities, and community partnerships for targeted problem-solving projects.
County of Albemarle Police Chief Steve Sellers
Steve Sellers, Chief of Police, County of Albemarle, is a 29 year police veteran in Virginia and was appointed as the Chief of Police for Albemarle County in January 2011.
Shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, Sellers developed a plan to improve criminal intelligence and information sharing between local, state and federal law enforcement and helped to create the National Capital Regional Intelligence Center (now the Northern Virginia Regional Intelligence Center) staffed by local, state and federal agencies. The Center is now heralded as a national model for the sharing, collection and investigation of criminal intelligence.
In 2003, Sellers led the Washington Area Sniper Prosecution Taskforce, responsible for the successful prosecution of Lee Malvo and John Mohammed. In coordination with his counterpart in the Prince William County Police Department, his role was to lead the 26-agency team, responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Washington Area Snipers.
Sellers is married with three children and resides in Crozet, Virginia. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Capital Wireless Information Network and is on the Board of Directors for the Fairfax County Police Historical Association. His hobbies include fishing, boating, motorcycles, blue grass music, wood working, hiking and amateur radio.
Sellers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Virginia Tech. Additionally, he is a graduate from the FBI National Academy and is a graduate and alumni of Leadership Fairfax.
Sellers enjoys membership in the International Association of Chiefs of Police, FBI National Academy Associates and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.
Chiefs Sellers and Longo spoke at the Wednesday, January 11, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Jim Perkins.
Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Brian Wheeler speaking before the November 9, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.
The day after the local elections for Charlottesville City Council and Albemarle Supervisors, Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Brian Wheeler will break down the results and get you engaged in a discussion about what it means for the future of the community. How will these elections shape our transportation future, our water supply, our rural landscapes, and our city?
Brian Wheeler was hired as Charlottesville Tomorrow’s first Executive Director in July 2005. Mr. Wheeler has lived in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region since 1984. He represented the community as an elected member of the Albemarle County School Board during 2004-2010. During 1998-2005, Mr. Wheeler served as Chief Information Officer at SNL Financial, a leading provider of data to Wall Street. Prior to that, he was employed at the W. Alton Jones Foundation, a private family foundation that focused on grant making supporting environmental and international security projects. Mr. Wheeler received a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in May 1990. Brian and his wife Jean have two children and currently live in Ivy, Virginia.
Charlottesville Tomorrow is a community news platform covering growth, development, and local politics. It connects local residents with vital information for making informed choices about our community’s future. Through a partnership with The Daily Progress, the first of its kind in the nation, Charlottesville Tomorrow’s reporting is now a regular feature in the pages of the local newspaper of record.
Brian Wheeler spoke at the November 9, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Grace Zisk.
Sara Okos speaking before the October 12, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.
While the recession is clearly at the center of the Commonwealth’s continuing fiscal shortfalls, the downturn also has revealed some serious underlying challenges with the state’s revenue structure. This discussion provided an overview of the issues the state faces in raising the resources necessary to meet public needs and introduced some key reform ideas for strengthening Virginia’s path to economic recovery.
Sara Okos is the Policy Director at the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, where she analyzes, conducts, and coordinates research on a wide array of tax policies, the overall budget process, labor and wage issues, and education. Prior to joining The Commonwealth Institute in 2007, Sara worked in the Executive Office of Governor Jennifer Granholm in Lansing, Michigan. Sara has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Economics from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master’s of Public Policy from the College of William and Mary’s Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy, where she was a Schroeder Fellow in Health Policy. She is a 2011 recipient of the Richmond Community Foundation’s Stettinius Award for Nonprofit Leadership and is a member of the 2011 class of the Political Leaders Program with the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.
Sara Okos spoke at the October 12, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV Vice President Bob McGrath.
