Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2023
Current Term Ends: June 30, 2027

Retired General John Jumper joined the private sector in September 2005 following a 39-year military career that began as a second lieutenant in Vietnam and concluded serving as the 17^th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Prior to his position as Chief of Staff, Gen. Jumper served as a wartime commander during conflicts in Iraq, Serbia and Kosovo. He also commanded Air Combat Command with headquarters at Langley AFB, Virginia and served as senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and Secretary Les Aspin.

Following his service in the Air Force, Gen. Jumper served as the chairman and CEO of two Fortune 500 companies, SAIC and LEIDOS, until his retirement in 2014.  He also served for eight years on the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Military Institute, including a term as president of the board.  He currently serves on the boards of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia and on three public company boards: Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., NACCO Industries, and Hamilton Beach Brands.

Gen. Jumper graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1966 with a degree in electrical engineering. He also earned an MBA from Golden Gate University in 1978. He and his wife, Ellen, live in Spotsylvania, Virginia. They have three daughters with families: Catherine, a brigadier general in the Virginia Air National Guard; Janet, a critical care Nurse Practitioner; and Melissa, a lieutenant colonel who commands an Air Force civil engineering squadron. All graduated from UVA, have served our nation in the Air Force, and blessed the family with five grandchildren.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 3, 2023
Reappointed: July 1, 2024
Current term ends: June 30, 2028

Delceno C. Miles, is president/CEO of The Miles Agency, a Virginia Beach-based niche marketing and public relations firm she founded in 1989. Ms. Miles honed her skills as a media consultant for political candidates in California and Virginia. She serves on the boards of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce (regional and Virginia Beach Division). She serves as president of the board of Virginia Beach Vision. She served on the Tidewater Community College Board and the Tidewater Community College Educational Foundation board where she is immediate past chair. She is on the Hampton Roads Workforce Council board and is a past chair. She was recently appointed to the Resort Advisory Commission by the Virginia Beach City Council. She continues to serve on the Beach Events Steering Committee.

Ms. Miles was appointed in 2002 as the first African American and only the third female chair of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce regional board. She was elected to the Virginia Beach School Board and served as vice chair for two years. She was honored by Virginia Black Expo and City of Virginia Beach with the 2007 Business Leadership Award. The Virginia Beach NAACP awarded her its 2009 Community Service Award. She was honored by Inside Business with its Women in Business Achievement Award in 2009. The YWCA named her its 2011 Woman of Distinction in Communications, and Inside Business named her to its 2011 Power List as one of the top 75 most powerful leaders in Hampton Roads. She was named to the Power List again in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 and 2023 as emeritus. She also received the 2012 Corporate Supporter of the Year Award from the Girls With Goals Alliance.
Her additional service to the higher education community includes the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia board, 2000 – 2005 where she chaired the Outreach Committee and the Board of Visitors at Christopher Newport University, 2011 – 2014.

She was inducted into the 2013 Inaugural Hall of Fame by the Hampton Roads Black Media Professionals. The Urban League of Hampton Roads Young Professionals and Tidewater Community College awarded her the 2013 Silver Star Award for Jobs/Entrepreneurship.
Her most recent opportunity to serve is as Virginia Beach City Councilwoman – Bayside District. She was appointed by the city council to fill a vacancy August 2022 – December 2022.

She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University and her M.A. in Communications from Regent University.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 6, 2023
Reappointed: July 1, 2025
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2029

J. Douglas “Doug” Straley is the proud Superintendent of Louisa County Public Schools in central Virginia and is now in his eighth year in the leadership role. A lifelong native of Louisa County, Mr. Straley has served in a multitude of roles for his hometown school division, including as a teacher, high school principal, athletics director, assistant superintendent and now superintendent. In total, Mr. Straley has dedicated 29 years of service to Louisa County Public Schools.

As superintendent, Mr. Straley has worked to create a positive, team-centered culture throughout the schools and community. In 2020, Mr. Straley was named the Region V Superintendent of the Year, and in 2018, he received the Most Spirited Superintendent Award from the nationally recognized company Varsity Brands.

Under Mr. Straley’s leadership, LCPS has developed a mission of challenging every student to reach his or her maximum potential. This mission is fulfilled through a steadfast dedication to the five Cs and innovative approaches to learning. During his tenure the school division has developed one of the most comprehensive and state-of-the-art Career & Technical Education programs in the country with a priority of hands-on learning and workforce development.

Mr. Straley serves in additional leadership roles throughout Louisa County and the Commonwealth. In July 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin appointed Mr. Straley to the state’s Apprenticeship Council. Mr. Straley has also served as a member of the Virginia High School League (VHLS) Executive Committee since 2021, and as a board member for the William A. Cooke Foundation since 2016. He is also a member of the Louisa County Chamber of Commerce where he has served on the board.

Mr. Straley lives in Louisa with his wife, Kate, who is a teacher. Together, they have six children, all of whom are currently attending Louisa County Public Schools or universities in the Commonwealth.

He earned his B.S. in Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and his M.A. in K-12 Educational Leadership from Regent University.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2025
Current Term Ends: June 30, 2029 

Eric D. Chewning is Executive Vice President of Strategy & Technology at HII. His responsibilities include enterprise strategy, corporate development, strategic growth and technology initiatives.

He oversees HII’s Dark Sea Labs Advanced Technology Group and serves as a director on H&B Defence, the HII-Babcock International joint venture in Australia.

He has 25 years of experience across government and industry working issues at the intersection of national security, technology, and business.

Prior to joining HII, he co-led McKinsey & Company’s Aerospace & Defense practice in the Americas.

While in government, Eric was the Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense. In this role he led the Secretary’s executive team, working across the military services, Joint Staff, Combatant Commanders, and senior civilian political appointees. He also provided counsel and advice to the Secretary on all matters concerning the Department.

Prior to serving as the Chief of Staff, Eric was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. In this capacity, he was the principal advisor for analyzing the capabilities, policies, and overall health of America’s defense industrial base.

A former U.S. Army military intelligence officer, he is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Prior to his military service, Eric was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley & Co. where he focused on corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions in the global industrials sector.

Eric received an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia where he was recognized as a Shermet Scholar. He also earned an MA in international relations and BA with honors from the University of Chicago. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2022
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2026

Walter Curt is the CEO of Power Monitors Inc. (PMI), which he formed to commercialize the development of electronic recorders designed for the electric utilities. During his time as CEO of PMI, Mr. Curt created 17 patents that improve the efficiency and reliability of technological systems.

Mr. Curt has built an impressive career in the technology industry and higher education within the Commonwealth and beyond. In 1988, Mr. Curt created and was the CEO of Shenandoah Electronic Intelligence Inc., which provides business process outsourcing services and electronic test equipment products to electric co-operatives and federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Army.

In addition to his many accomplishments in the technology field, Mr. Curt also has served on the Governor's Commission on Government Reform (1993-1995), The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (1997-2000) and the Virginia Attorney General’s Government Review Commission (2008-2009).

Mr. Curt received his bachelor's degree in physics from James Madison University.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2025
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2029

Mr. Charlie King holds a bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University. Prior to taking the helm of JMU as Interim President, he served for 25 years as the Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance here. In this role, Mr. King oversaw Athletics, Budget Management, Business Services, Finance, Government Relations, Human Resources, Information Technology, and University Police. During these nearly three decades, JMU's campus expanded significantly, and its national reputation flourished. Together with his team, they completed expansive capital projects, such as expanding East Campus and adding AUBC, King Hall, and Rose Library, as well as renovating D-Hall. JMU Athletics also took the world by storm with success on the national stage. 

Mr. King is especially proud of JMU's significant growth and weathering the Great Recession and COVID without laying off any employees or asking anyone to take a pay cut. During this current transitional year, he is looking forward to keeping the trains on schedule and continuing to elevate the JMU student experience that we know is second to none. 

Appointed: July 1, 2021
Current Term Expires: Ex officio

Jason El Koubi served as executive vice president of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) since 2017 and was named interim president and CEO of VEDP starting in January 2022. Working with a wide variety of partners and stakeholders, Jason helps lead the development and implementation of a multi-year strategic plan for economic development of the Commonwealth that encompasses activities across state government. He was previously president and CEO of One Acadiana, a regional economic development organization based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Prior to that, Jason served as assistant secretary of Louisiana Economic Development (LED) where he led initiatives that helped secure projects that created more than 63,000 new jobs along with more than $28 billion in new capital investment. He also served as policy director of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, where he directed policy and research operations during the response and recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

Jason is an outdoor enthusiast and has focused his volunteer service on education and the arts. He has lived, worked, or traveled in more than 40 countries, was selected for the French-American Foundation’s Young Leaders program, the British-American Project and term membership in the Council on Foreign Relations. Jason earned a B.S. in Biological Engineering from Louisiana State University, where he was elected speaker of student senate and awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for leadership. As a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar, he earned an M.S. in Public Policy from the London School of Economics.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2024
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2028

As the founder of Lodestone DC, Lindsay Fryer works with organizations at the national, state, and local level to develop, improve and implement policy and advocacy strategies. Fryer has a strong grasp of federal legislative and regulatory processes to masterfully affect policy change. Her policy expertise includes federal education, workforce, research and other social services issues, both from an authorizing and appropriations perspective. She was recently recognized as one of DC’s top education lobbyists in the Washingtonian Magazine in 2023 and 2024.

Before founding Lodestone DC, Fryer worked at a top lobbying firm supporting the development and execution of the federal policy agendas for clients. She secured numerous policy and funding wins by building bipartisan consensus for ideas both on Capitol Hill and across several administrations.

On Capitol Hill, Fryer served as a senior education policy advisor to former Chairman Lamar Alexander on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee. She was responsible for managing the Committee’s legislative agenda for K-12 education and other issues. She served as principal negotiator for the Chairman on S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95).

Prior to serving on HELP, Fryer worked on the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce and also at the American Institutes for Research.

Fryer holds degrees from Boston College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2022
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2026

Dr. William Harvey served as the 12th president of Hampton University from which he retired after 43 years in June 2022. As president, Dr. William Harvey introduced innovations that solidified Hampton's stellar position among the nation's colleges and universities. His innovative leadership was reflected in the growth and quality of the University's student population, academic programs, physical facilities, and financial base. His outstanding leadership skills were exemplified by the appointment of seventeen former Hampton University administrators to CEO positions at other institutions during his tenure.

During Dr. Harvey's presidency, student enrollment increased from approximately 2,700 to a high of approximately 6,300. Ninety-two new academic programs were introduced, including doctorates in physics, pharmacy, nursing, atmospheric and planetary science, physical therapy, educational management and business administration. During that time, 29 new structures were built.

His achievements were recognized through inclusion in Personalities of the South, Who's Who in the South and Southeast, Who's Who in Black America, Who's Who in Education, International Who's Who of Intellectuals, Two Thousand Notable Americans, Who's Who in Business and Finance, and Who's Who in America.

A native of Brewton, Alabama, Dr. Harvey is a graduate of Southern Normal High School, Talladega College and Virginia State University. He earned his doctorate in College Administration from Harvard University in 1972. Before coming to Hampton, he held administrative posts at Harvard, Fisk and Tuskegee universities.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2025
Term expires: June 30, 2029 

Jennifer Montague serves as President and Chief Operating Officer for Columbia Gas of Virginia, a NiSource subsidiary. She has profit and loss responsibility, as well as oversight of operations, risk management, regulatory, legislative and external affairs for the company. Her focus is on delivering safe, reliable and efficient natural gas service for nearly 290,000 residential, industrial and commercial customers in 98 communities across the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Previously she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at NiSource as well as Vice President of Communications and External Affairs at Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), NiSource’s natural gas and electric utility in Indiana.  

Montague has three decades of experience in the energy industry in customer operations, branding, communications and marketing. Prior to joining NiSource, she served as Director of Strategy and Technology for Commonwealth Edison Company, and prior to that, she served in roles of increasing responsibility for British Petroleum/Amoco in the United Kingdom and United States. 

Montague currently serves on the board of directors for United Negro College Fund of  Richmond, American Association of Blacks in Energy, Merit School of Music, Virginia Business Council and Virginia Chamber of Commerce. 

Montague has a bachelor’s degree in quantitative economics and feminist studies from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. 

She lives in Richmond, Virginia and has a husband and two children. 

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2022
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2026

Cheryl A. Oldham is vice president of education policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. In this role, she serves on the senior leadership team to inform the strategic direction of the Foundation in addition to overseeing the Center for Education and Workforce (CEW).

Oldham has 25 years of experience in public policy development and implementation as well as in
project management and government relations. Her previous experience includes serving for eight years in President George W. Bush’s administration. In July 2008, the president designated Oldham as acting assistant secretary for postsecondary education while also serving as chief of staff to the under secretary of education.

In September 2005, the secretary of education appointed Oldham executive director of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education. The commission was the first of its kind to look at needed reforms in higher education related to accessibility, affordability, and accountability and produced a seminal report titled A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education. Oldham previously served in the White House offices of Presidential Personnel and Cabinet Affairs.

Oldham received her Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Texas Christian University.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2024
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2027

A Navy veteran and mission-oriented education leader, Olsen has distinguished himself through a commitment to service and advocacy throughout his 35-year career. His experience in education includes several leadership and board roles at education companies and colleges working across the pre-K, K-12, and higher education spectrum.

During this period, Olsen led and championed experiential summer learning efforts, supported school districts and charter schools in service of non-traditional students, and facilitated lifelong learning for young adults seeking new careers. He has also previously served as a trustee of Sierra Nevada College and currently serves as a trustee of the Naval Academy Foundation Athletic and Scholarship Programs.

Influenced by his experience as a father of a disabled daughter, Olsen is passionate about finding and unleashing the unique potential in every child. He previously served as a founding board member of Variety – the Children’s Charity of the National Capital Region, which supports the needs of low-income children with mobility impairments and their families.

He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and received an M.B.A. from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Appointed by Governor Youngkin: July 1, 2024
Current Term Expires: June 30, 2028

Dr. Steven Taylor is a director and senior fellow for postsecondary education and future of work at Stand Together Trust. He leads the policy partnership and investment strategy and builds issue-focused coalitions to elevate policy reforms to remove policy barriers in the education-to-work ecosystem so all individuals can leverage their skills to contribute through meaningful work.

In 2019, Dr. Taylor founded ED2WORK® to help postsecondary institutions, employers and states address the critical needs of adult and working learners. He also held affiliated roles as senior adviser on upskilling at Greater Washington Partnership and managing consultant of the National Task Force on the Transfer and Award of Credit at the American Council on Education (ACE).

Before ED2WORK, Dr. Taylor was director of the Center for Education Attainment and Innovation at ACE. He was the principal investigator on three practice and research grants to advance teaching effectiveness, competency- and work-based learning, and flexible credentialing pathways. Dr. Taylor previously taught in the College of Business at Wilmington University (DE). Early in his career, he worked in academic and student affairs roles at the University of North Texas and Dallas County Community College District.

Dr. Taylor is a first-generation college student and Pell Grant recipient who attended a California community college before transferring to Texas A&M University, Commerce, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He later completed his doctorate in business administration (D.B.A.) from Wilmington University, where his research focused on employee motivation and engagement in performance improvement.