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Edward Auriemma M.B.A. '23

Edward Auriemma is the Chief Operating Officer for Blue Yonder. As a transformational business leader, Edward brings a record of success and expertise in driving innovation and accelerating performance across global businesses.

A supply chain software veteran, Edward has held various leadership roles at Alight, Infor, and Blue Yonder (then JDA Software). In his most recent role, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of Alight, a leading cloud-based provider offering business solutions for employees to enrich their health, wealth, and work while enabling employers to achieve a high-performance culture. There, he was responsible for creating, building, and providing a common operational go-to-market framework to drive Alight's growth strategy forward while driving a relentless focus on execution.

Edward also served as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Operations at Infor, an industry cloud applications company with over 70,000 customers. He was responsible for sales operations, including sales effectiveness and simplification, customer operations, ecosystem, portfolio management, business intelligence insights, and analytics. One of his greatest accomplishments while at Infor was building and creating the inside sales and business development functions, for which he was recognized and awarded the Excellence in Structure Award by the University of Houston in 2018.

Edward holds an MBA from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary, where he also sits on the Advisory Board of the college’s Washington Center, and a bachelor's degree from George Mason University. He also plans to continue his learning journey with the College's Law School as a candidate for a Master of Legal Studies with a concentration in Compliance and Risk Management. 

Meredith Viens Delaware '03

Meredith Viens Delaware has over 16 years of experience in strategy, business operations, and analytics. Meredith currently serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Booz Allen Hamilton for a $500M+ business unit supporting defense and military intelligence clients. In this role, she oversees a multi-million-dollar innovation and investment program and an advanced analytics team focused on emerging technology trends. Over her career, Meredith supported multiple defense and intelligence organizations in the areas of analysis, wargaming, economic policy, emerging technology, and modeling and simulation.  As an executive for a Fortune 500 company, Meredith recognizes the impact new graduates have on business success and passionately supports talent development through mentorship and servant leadership.  

Meredith graduated from William & Mary in 2003 with a B.A. International Relations with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. During her time in Williamsburg, Meredith was a Monroe Scholar, interned on the Hill and at the U.S. Embassy to Belgium, was a member of Chi Omega sorority, and was a student assistant for the Government Department.  Meredith continued her academic studies with three certifications from Mercyhurst University in Intelligence, Law Enforcement, and Counter-Intelligence Analysis, and is currently completing the General Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. 

Born in Williamsburg, Meredith moved to Richmond, VA in elementary school but couldn’t resist the pull of the ‘Burg when she was choosing colleges, happily returning in 1999 for freshman year.  I am proud to be in the ranks of W&M alumni and look forward to supporting our Alma Mater in new ways.  Go Tribe!

Ben DeMaria '05

Jesse Ferguson '03

 Jesse Ferguson is a senior Democratic Strategist, General Consultant, and Political Marketing adviser for causes, candidates, and campaigns. He’s been involved in more than $300 million in marketing campaigns for a variety of progressive groups, independent expenditures, and candidates. Time Magazine recently described him saying, “Jesse Ferguson has been one of the quiet forces inside rooms where power has been negotiated, won, or ceded over the last two decades." Of his media relations work, the National Journal wrote, “Jesse Ferguson’s skill is shaping a media narrative while remaining behind the scenes.” In 2018, Ferguson played a key role as general consultant and chief strategist for nearly $50 million in IE and issue advocacy campaigns that helped flip control of Congress and win public debates on health care and taxes. Prior to that, Ferguson was the Deputy National Press Secretary at Hillary for America and, in 2014, he was the Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Independent Expenditure, overseeing $67 million in television, radio, and digital advertising. In 2019, Campaigns and Elections Magazine named him one of its 40-under-40 Rising Stars and the National Journal featured him as one of its “35 and Under Power Set.” Ferguson earned a bachelor’s degree, with highest honors, in Government and Economics from the College of William and Mary and a certificate in Political Leadership from the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. He’s on the board of House Majority Forward and an Advisory Board Member to the Zinc Collective, Higher Ground Labs, and Rural Party Building Project at Movement Labs. He has written about politics, messaging, and strategy for USA Today, CNN.com, Politico Magazine, Fortune Magazine, and others.

Heather Fink '06, M.Acc. '07

Heather Fink currently serves as Director, Area Controller, Operations Finance Americas at Hilton based in McLean, VA. In this role, she identifies common compliance challenges and themes across Managed hotels in the Americas region and performs root cause analyses to facilitate communication and training on proposed solutions.  As a former KPMG audit associate, Heather prides herself on her partnerships with Hilton’s Internal and External Auditors to maintain Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) controls and compliance with Hilton policies and procedures with the goal of minimizing control deficiencies across the portfolio of Americas hotels.  As the hospitality industry continues to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, Heather is grateful to be celebrating 10 years with Hilton this summer.

Heather graduated from William & Mary in 2006 with a B.B.A. in Accounting. She wasn’t quite ready to end her time with the Tribe, so Heather stayed an additional year and received her Master's of Accountancy in 2007.  During her time in Williamsburg, Heather was a member of the Club Volleyball team which allowed her to travel to VA & NC colleges & universities to compete with other clubs.  She was also a member of the Tri Delta sorority and recalls her time as Homecoming Chair fondly. 

Heather was born in Virginia Beach and still calls that home but spent most of her childhood moving every couple of years as her family followed her father’s Navy career around the country.  Heather now lives in Virginia with her husband, Mike, her daughter, Quinn, and her golden retriever, Gracie.

Nicole Gibson '98

Nicole Gibson is a Partner with Guidehouse leading their Intelligence Community (IC) Portfolio. For over 20 years, Ms. Gibson has led teams providing change management, strategic planning, business process improvement, and customer relationship management services to national security clients. Under her leadership, her teams of consultants have successfully assisted clients in developing strategies to help guide their programs in changing environments; enhance their critical policies and processes; and improve engagement with their customers, increasing the value of the intelligence products for end users. Ms. Gibson serves on the Advisory Committee (ADCOM) for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), the WashingtonExec Intelligence Community Council, and the Executive Steering Committee for the Society of 1918 at the College of William & Mary. She also co-chairs INSA’s new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council. Previously, she served on the Executive Committee (EXCOM) and Board of Directors (BoD) for INSA as well as the co-chair for the INSA Intelligence Champions Council, a council aimed at developing careers in the field of Intelligence through inclusion, involvement, and empowerment. Nicole graduated from William & Mary in 1998 with a B.A. in European Studies with a minor in German. While at the College, Nicole was an Orientation Aide and was very involved with her sorority, Kappa Delta, serving as the Vice President of Membership and President during her tenure. Nicole continued her academic studies at George Mason University, receiving her Master’s in Public Administration in 2000. She is a certified project management (PMP) and change management professional (CMP) as well. Nicole is thrilled to join the Washington Center Board of Directors and looks forward to meeting and supporting students at our Alma Mater. Go Tribe!

Daria Grastara '17

Daria Grastara is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Direct Persuasion, a right-of-center digital agency based in Washington, DC. In this role, Daria and her team manage full-funnel marketing campaigns for candidates, political committees, super pacs, non-profits and charities, freedom-economy brands, and Fortune 500 companies. During the 2022 cycle, she served as Digital Director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) under Chairman Senator Rick Scott. Under Daria’s leadership, the NRSC became the #1 GOP committee in total raised, total net raised, total number of donors, and total number of new donors for the first time ever. The Digital Operation raised $100 million dollars from grassroots voters and invested a historic $35 million in growing the donor database and technical infrastructure to benefit future cycles.

Previously, she served as Digital Advertising Director for President Donald J. Trump’s reelection campaign. Managing a team of 30 specialized ad buyers, Daria oversaw $450 million in paid advertising – the highest any presidential candidate has spent on digital media on both sides of the aisle. She also helped raise $1.3 billion for President Trump and the Republican National Committee – the highest any Republican group has raised from grassroots donations to this day. During the 2018 cycle, Daria was on the digital fundraising team at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and later named Digital Director for the NRCC’s Independent Expenditure Unit.

Prior to that, Daria was on Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign and is an alumna of FP1 Strategies and the House Republican Conference. She has won the American Association of Political Consultant (AAPC)’s “40 Under 40” award in 2021, as well as FamousDC’s “Best of Digital” award in 2018. She serves on the Advisory Boards for two advertising technology companies.

Jeff Jaeckel '95

Jeff Jaeckel is a co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group, a member of the board of directors of Morrison & Foerster LLP, and former Chief M&A Officer and at Sprint Corporation. Jeff is an experienced antitrust litigator and counselor. He represents foreign and domestic corporations in connection with all manner of antitrust and competition law matters, from M&A strategy and investigations to cartel investigations to civil litigation. 

Jeff has notable experience representing public and private corporations in connection with their most significant and complicated antitrust litigation in federal and state courts. He regularly represents clients in all antitrust aspects of complicated transactional matters, including strategy and structuring of transactions to avoid antitrust risk and achieve strategic business objectives, and U.S. and multinational merger notification and review. Jeff also represents domestic and international companies in connection with government investigations of conduct, including civil investigations relating to monopolization or criminal investigations of alleged price-fixing. Jeff also assists clients in the protection of their intellectual property and counsels clients on the antitrust ramifications of commercial agreements to capitalize on the value of intellectual property.

Jeff serves as an associate editor of the Antitrust Magazine of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section and is a former chair of the firm’s Washington D.C. litigation practice and co-chair of the firm’s E-Discovery Task Force. He graduated from William & Mary with a B.A. in Public Policy and a J.D. from the University of Wiscon

Louisa Janssen

Louisa Janssen is an experienced finance and field staffer in the political campaign and organization industry. She currently serves as Finance Director for Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). In this role, she manages donor relations with individual and PAC supporters, handles political scheduling for the Senator, and organizes fundraising events ranging from intimate lunches to large, small-dollar receptions.

Ms. Janssen previously served as Deputy Finance Director for Christina Bohannan for Congress (D-IA), Finance Assistant for Delegate Joshua Cole (D-VA), Legislative Session Aide for Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-VA), and Field Organizer for Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA). A native of Winchester, Virginia, Ms. Janssen holds a B.A. in Government and History from the College of William and Mary. During her time at W&M, she served as President of William & Mary Young Democrats and Vice President of Campus Affairs of the William & Mary Debate Society. In her free time, Ms. Janssen enjoys exploring the DC food scene, figure skating, and spending time with her two cats.

 Travis Johnson '99

  With 15 years of leadership experience in Congress, Travis has worked with prominent members of the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee.

Since 2016, he has worked with small to Fortune 500 companies and trade associations across the banking and finance, insurance, and transportation industries.

Travis was named one of The Hill’s Top Lobbyists in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Previously, Travis was Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator David Vitter, Chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, and a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, where he formed a reputation of forging unexpected bipartisan partnerships to pass legislation.

 Amy Johnston '87, M.A. Ed. '93

 Amy McPhaul Johnston, who holds a B.A. in English and Government ('87) and an M.A. in Education ('90) from William and Mary, has a distinguished career that spans both the pharmaceutical and entrepreneurial sectors. As a former owner of three non-healthcare businesses, including a design/build employee-owned utility company, Amy and her business partner strategically navigated economic instability during the COVID-19 pandemic to grow revenue from $10 million to $25 million. Concurrently, she has cultivated an impressive 30-year career in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, including a 15-year tenure at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Transitioning later to consulting, Amy has led cross-functional teams focused on commercial biotech strategies, ensuring compliance with FDA regulations. She has managed projects for top-tier pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, AbbVie, NovoNordisk, Eli Lilly, and AstraZeneca, offering key insights and guidance at the board level. Her teams have been instrumental in data analytics, providing valuable benchmark comparisons to drive product strategy, brand messaging, and sales training across diverse therapeutic areas, including rare diseases and oncology. Collaborating with multiple departments like sales, legal, and regulatory, Amy has significantly contributed to accelerated business growth and increased shareholder value on a global scale. Currently, Amy resides in central Pennsylvania with her teenage daughter.

Amy Klein '05

Amy Klein is a Senior Director with Chemonics International, an implementing partner for the United States Agency for International Development. She brings 15 years of experience as an international development professional specializing in programming and management in democracy, post-conflict, and stabilization/transition across east Africa and the Middle East. She served in senior leadership roles in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan and on Syria, implementing assistance programs up to $175 million dollars in fragile environments.

Prior to her current role, she served as the Chief of Party for the Facilitating Urban Recovery and Transition program, working in the liberated areas of Raqqa and Deir Ez Zour, Syria as part of the Defeat of ISIS campaign for the US Department of State. Ms. Klein has experience forging successful partnerships with government counterparts, research and training entities, civil society, and grassroots stakeholders to design, implement and grow sustainable projects that consistently meet or exceed targets. Ms. Klein holds a MA in anthropology, specializing in international development from the George Washington University and a BA in anthropology from the College of William and Mary.

During her time in Williamsburg, Ms. Klein was active in Greek Life as a member and leader within Alpha Chi Omega, and served her fellow students as part of the Alphas. She worked as an Orientation Aid for the incoming freshman class in 2003 and 2004. She volunteered with the Susan G Komen Organization and the National Eating Disorders Association. Ms. Klein currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband and golden retriever.

Arjun Maniyar '18

 Arjun is a management consultant with Aminad Consulting, a strategy consulting firm tackling some of the DoD’s most challenging logistics problems. Arjun has worked with logistics experts from across the government and private sector to help provide resiliency to fragile or compromised supply chains. Arjun has also helped organizations retool and reskill to modernize logistics and supply processes. Prior to Aminad, Arjun was a business analyst with McKinsey and Company, working on projects primarily in South Asia. At McKinsey, Arjun worked with corporate leaders from across the globe, helping to answer the companies’ most impactful questions. Arjun grew up in Washington DC where he currently resides with his fiancé. He is an avid reader of sci-fi and fantasy, a diehard DC sports fan, and a person who never says no to a beer and friendly conversation.

Megan Marlin '06

Megan is a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP specializing in compensation and benefits. Prior to rejoining PwC, Megan was Legislation Counsel for the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation where she advised Members of Congress, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Finance Committee in the areas of employment tax, executive compensation, retirement plans, and healthcare. She is the US Domestic leader for the Global Employment Tax network at PwC and is responsible for advising employers on corporate restructuring and payroll transformation, global mobility, fringe benefits, equity compensation, worker classification, tax controversy, and the federal and state payroll tax compliance function.

Megan is also the former chair of the Employment Taxes committee of the American Bar Association and a frequent panelist for the American Bar Association, Maryland State Bar Association, Tax Executive Institute, and Practicing Law Institute. Hailing from Minnesota, Megan graduated in 2006 with a B.A. in International Relations. While at William and Mary, Megan was a captain of the Division I volleyball team, a representative on the Student Athletic Advisory Council, and co-founder of the William and Mary chapter of the pre-law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta. Megan also had the opportunity to study abroad at Cambridge University and the University of Oxford satellite program in Bath, England. After graduation, Megan received a J.D. cum laude from Suffolk University Law School and LL.M. in Taxation specializing in Employee Benefits from Georgetown University Law Center. Outside of work, Megan loves mountaineering and hiking with her two children and is an avid sports fan.

 Tom Moyer '08, J.D. '12

Tom Moyer is a Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C., where his practice focuses on white-collar defense and government investigations.  As a member of the firm’s congressional investigations practice, he advises corporations, institutions, and individuals facing complex and politically sensitive government investigations and related criminal, civil, and regulatory proceedings. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law.

Tom lives in Virginia with his wife—who is also a William & Mary alum--and their dog. 

 Brian Morra '78 

Brian J. Morra has over forty years of experience in government and industry.  He is the author of The Able Archers series of historical-thriller novels, published by Koehler Books.

He is a member of the Canadian company CAE’s Global Defense & Security Board of Directors, is on the Board of Advisors of Fusion Constructive, and is an external advisor to the Bain Company.

He is chairman of the advisory board of the Armed Forces Cycling Classic and a member of the Board of Regents at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

Mr. Morra retired from Northrop Grumman at the end of 2016 after serving for more than twelve years as a senior vice president. He was General Manager of the Transformation & Simulation business unit at General Dynamics and was President of Veridian’s Advanced Systems & Technology Sector.  Lastly, he was a senior executive Pacific-Sierra Research Corporation.

Mr. Morra had a combined fifteen years of active and reserve duty in the U.S. Air Force as a decorated intelligence officer.

Education: BA, William & Mary; MPA, University of Oklahoma; MA, Georgetown University; AMP, Harvard Business School.

 Travis Nels '02

Travis Nels is the Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis at the AES Corporation, an Arlington, Virginia-based global energy company and the number one supplier of renewable energy to corporations. Within the corporate finance function at AES, he leads the team with responsibility for forecasting, planning, budgeting, a variety of ad hoc financial analyses, and communicating the outcome of all of those activities up, down, and across the organization--from the teams on the line to the board of directors. Prior to AES, Travis was a regional business manager at NextEra Energy, with P&L responsibility for renewable energy projects in the United States and Canada. Travis began his career as an active duty officer in the United States Air Force, first as an Air Battle Manager in NATO’s E-3A component, NATO’s premier multinational flying organization, then as a liaison officer and joint terminal attack controller with the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division. After leaving active duty, he remained in uniformed service, first in the Air National Guard as a command and control planning officer supporting Air Force Global Strike Command, then as a reservist on the floor of the Joint Operational Center of US Central Command. Travis earned his BA in International Relations and Economics from the College of William and Mary, an MA in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma, completed a variety of military professional education including Air Command and Staff College, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 Avery Newton '13

 
Avery Newton is an educational researcher currently serving as the Senior Director of Learning & Evaluation for the national nonprofit Propel America.  In this role, she leads impact measurement, evaluation, and data governance efforts in service of the organization’s mission.  In 2023 she additionally founded a research and evaluation consultancy focused on building strategic data capacity in school districts and other K-12 settings.  Previously, she worked on the data & assessment team at Providence Public Schools and taught research methods at the University of Connecticut.

She holds a B.A. in Education Policy, Sociology, and Theory (a self-designed major) from the College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, & Assessment [MESA] from Boston College. Dr. Newton is a proud alumna of the W&M Washington Center's 2011 Summer Institute in Community Engagement and she is honored to now serve on the board. 

Outside of work, she is an active community volunteer and enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing the drums.  She lives outside of Boston with her husband (a fellow W&M alum) and their two awesome toddlers.

Daniel Ricchetti '13

 Daniel Ricchetti is a foreign policy professional with a decade of government experience. He currently serves as the Deputy Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. In this role, he works with mayors, governors, and other municipal officials to strengthen local government engagement on the international stage and help bring the benefits of foreign policy to the local level. Mr. Ricchetti previously served as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs and as a Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Mr. Ricchetti served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A native of Arlington, Virginia, Mr. Ricchetti holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and a B.A. in History and Government from the College of William and Mary.

Kayla Sharpe '17

Kayla N. Sharpe is the Board Development Committee Chair of the William & Mary Washington Center Advisory Board. She works as the Deputy Newsletter Team Leader at Bloomberg Government and previously served as an Associate Editor at Axios — where she oversaw reporting teams in D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Twin Cities — at POLITICO as Engagement Editor for Subscriber Strategy and as a Digital Producer, and at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting supporting student and freelance journalists covering under-reported global issues.

Kayla graduated from William & Mary in 2017 with degrees in Film & Media and American Studies. At the university, Kayla began her journalism career at The Flat Hat, serving as the newspaper's inaugural Digital Media Editor. As a sophomore, she was selected as a New Media Fellow for the Washington Center's 2015 Summer Institute and returned in 2016 as the institute’s teaching assistant. In addition to her work on the Advisory Board, Kayla has remained involved in the Center as a speaker and mentor. She also serves as Co-Chair of the William & Mary Young Guarde Alumni Council and is a member of the Lambda Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She currently resides in Reston, with her Australian Shepherd and many houseplants.

Ron Starzman '00

Ron Starzman is the Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources at PublicPolicy Holding Company (PPHC), a group of premier advisory firms specializing in government affairs, public relations, strategic research, grassroots influence, and digital campaign solutions.

Throughout his comprehensive career in human resources management, he has developed key workplace improvement initiatives, built and administered employee engagement strategies, oversaw performance management programs, and implemented HR processes at leading corporations across a wide range of industries. In his current role, he is responsible for strategic HR planning, direction, and operational support while simultaneously serving as a leader, consultant, resource, and subject matter expert on HR policies, practices, and programs across PPHC. Previously, Ron was the university-wide head of employee relations at William & Mary, where he directly oversaw all full-cycle performance and talent management initiatives for over 2,500 staff.

He previously served as a managing consultant at Watershed, where he helped industryleading partner companies successfully define, identify, attract, select, integrate, develop, train, and retain top talent. Ron is also a graduate of William & Mary, where he earned a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in psychology.

Dane Snowden '91

Dane Snowden’s biography is forthcoming. 

Jessica M.E. Taylor '97

Jessica M. E. Taylor currently serves as the chief of the United States Park Police in Washington, DC, a Force created by George Washington in 1791.  She previously served as the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, where she supervised the investigation of environmental crimes. She joined federal law enforcement in 1999 as a special agent with the United States Secret Service.  After 11 years with the Secret Service, Jessica joined the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, serving as the special agent-in-charge of operations and investigations, creating, and advancing the Wildlife Trafficking Initiative.

She is an active member of Women in Federal Law Enforcement. Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from the College of William and Mary in 1997 and participated in the Washington Center’s student program in Washington, DC as a senior. She was a member of Chi Omega Sorority and rowed on W&M’s Rowing Team. She worked late evenings, responsible for locking up the Wren Building at night with skeleton keys, a job not for the faint of heart. Jessica is a military spouse and resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, an Air Force pilot, and their two sons.

Zakiya Thomas '02

Zakiya Thomas, MSW. Zakiya Thomas is a change agent; helping businesses, nonprofits, and political campaigns transform. For over 15 years she has worked with organizations in transition to execute on and achieve their goals. Whether leading a nonprofit through its next phase, managing a political campaign to victory, or consulting with a start-up company, Zakiya helps organizations chart their course to success.

As the Executive Director of the National Woman’s Party, she helped the 100 + year-old organization transition from a museum to a dynamic nationally recognized women’s rights organization. Zakiya founded a consulting firm on the premise of doing well while doing good to help organizations grow, adapt, and thrive.

In 2018, she managed a successful campaign for Lt. Governor of Virginia helping to elect only the second African American to the position in the state’s history. She is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law teaching a nonpartisan course on how to run for political office. A licensed social worker, Zakiya actively volunteers with Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services and is on the Board of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. Zakiya received a Master's of Science in Social Work from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science from William & Mary. 

Jeanette (Jenny) Thompson '86

Jenny is a Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with over 20 years of consulting experience in Performance Measurement, Strategic Planning, and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR).  At Booz Allen Hamilton, Jenny leverages her knowledge and expertise in project management, program and process evaluation, strategic planning, and performance management to assist clients in defining strategy, clarifying performance objectives, designing performance measurement systems, and developing and implementing strategies for optimizing organizational performance outcomes.  In addition to her consulting work at Booz Allen & Hamilton, Jenny had a concurrent career in the U.S. Army Reserve, retiring as a Colonel.  She had operational experience in multiple DoD and Joint environments including the Joint Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense (DoD CIO), and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). 

After growing up in Virginia Beach, Jenny was excited to join “The Tribe” at William & Mary.  At William & Mary, she participated in the Cambridge Program (still thinking that Cambridge is the inspiration for Hogwarts) and was also a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, the Mermettes, and student government.  Jenny continued her education by earning an M.B.A. at Florida Tech and also a Master’s of Science in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.  She is proud to be working with such talented alumni to set the path for continued excellence at W&M.

Jason Torchinsky '98, J.D. '01

Jason Torchinsky is a partner at Holtzman Vogel, specializing in campaign finance, election law, lobbying disclosure, and issue advocacy groups. In addition to his practice counseling clients on compliance with campaign finance, ethics laws, lobbying disclosure, and election laws, Jason has served as lead counsel in a number of litigation matters dealing with First Amendment freedoms and election law and redistricting issues.

Jason has filed numerous cert petitions, jurisdictional statements, and amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court. At the Supreme Court, Jason has won a summary reversal from a redistricting case out of Michigan and was counsel in a rarely granted petition for cert before judgment in another redistricting matter. His amicus briefs on behalf of the NRSC and NRCC were cited in the Court’s opinion in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. Jason has also represented candidates across the country during post-election canvass and recount processes. Jason attended William and Mary for both his undergraduate degree and for law school and serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Law School.

Mark Washko '90, M.P.P. '94

Mark Washko's biography is forthcoming

Ex Officio Members

Renard Miles, Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement

Renard is a native of Jackson, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice and Austin Peay State University with a Master of Science in Management. He is currently working on a Doctor of Philosophy in Learning and Leadership from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Professionally, Renard serves on the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) Board of Directors as Director of Targeted Knowledge Groups. Before being elected to the board, he served as the Past Chair of the Employer Relations Knowledge Group and the Assistant Chair of Conference Breakouts. In these roles, he has worked with a team of diverse career services professionals to offer a comprehensive series of workshops, webinars, and breakout sessions for the association. Additionally, Renard has served SoACE as the Chair of the Employer Relations Knowledge Group, Co-Chair of the APEX: The Black Career Services Professional Summit, and Program Coordinator for Webinars and Virtual Professional Development.

Prior to coming to William & Mary, Renard worked at the University of Tennessee at Martin and the University of Memphis. He also has experience working in secondary education and urban ministry. Renard enjoys both learning from students as well as sharing what he has learned from his professional experiences. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and reading and volunteering with his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. His hobbies include traveling, hiking, and teaching fitness classes.

Christine Nemacheck, Associate Professor of Government

Christine Nemacheck is the Class of 2024 Associate Professor of Government at William & Mary. Chris joined the faculty in 2002 and was the inaugural instructor in the Washington Center’s Semester Program in the fall of 2006. Since then, Chris has taught in several of the Washington Center’s programs, including several additional semester-long and short-courses. 

Chris’s research focuses on the U.S. court system and the intersections of law and politics, broadly defined. She has published a book on the politics of Supreme Court appointments and is a coauthor of an American politics textbook, Government by the People. Her work has also appeared in numerous political science and law journals, as well as The Washington Post.

Chris has been recognized for her teaching and scholarship through a number of awards and term-distinguished professorships including the Alumni Fellowship Award, several Mellon Teaching Fellows grants, the Alumni Memorial Distinguished professorship, the William & Martha Claiborne Stephens professorship, a Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer and Coco Faculty Fellow, and the Class of 2024 professorship. 

Chris has an extensive record of service at W&M. She directed the Center for the Liberal Arts from 2018 and 2021, and she served as a Fellow with the CLA from 2015-2017. She also previously served on the Curriculum Review Steering Committee and several COLL Curriculum implementation committees. Chris founded and directs the W&M Legal Scholars Program and co-directs the H. Stewart Dunn Civil Liberties Project. She has previously served as a WMSURE Faculty Fellow and as the Associate Chair of the Government Department. 

Chris received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and her Master’s Degree and PhD from George Washington University.

Mike Ryan '90, Mason School of Business Graduate Career Management Center 

As leader of the Employer & Alumni Engagement team, Mike is a passionate alumnus who guides our strategic outreach initiatives focused on bringing together W&M alumni, employers, partners, and friends in support of student career outcomes. Mike leverages over twenty years of experience in marketing, business analysis, HR/talent management, recruiting, business development, and public relations.

Most recently, Mike led the university’s Plan Ahead Team Career Pathways squad in support of strategic planning during and post-pandemic. Prior to joining William & Mary, Mike worked in the aerospace/ defense, telecommunications, and financial services industries where he led large-scale projects, events, and diverse teams with companies such as Northrop Grumman, Verizon, and SAIC (formerly Engility/TASC) as well as the federal government. He previously served as an executive committee member of W&M’s Washington Area Alumni Alliance strengthening the W&M network and driving breakthrough employer connections.

Mike is currently a volunteer board member for the 9 Dollar Club (9dc.org) - a DC-based nonprofit focused on people/causes that support those in need and change lives. Mike resides in the DC Metro area with his wife and two children where he stays involved with youth/high school sports and all things W&M!

 Michael Steelman, Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement

Michael Steelman has over seventeen years of experience in higher education, alumni relations, career services, arts administration, and non-profit fundraising. As the Director of Alumni Career Management and Professional Networks at William & Mary, Michael designs programs and resources to enhance the professional success of nearly 100,000 alumni globally. As a volunteer, Michael is a board member and past president of the Alumni Career Services Network, a mentor in the Michigan in Washington Program, and a member of the Congressional Chorus.

Michael received his Bachelors of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from the University of Michigan and a Certificate in Career and Workforce Development from George Washington University.