Virginia Early Childhood Foundation Elects New Board Members and Honors Legislator
Richmond, Va. (June 21, 2017) – William “Bill” Ermatinger, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News, Va., was elected chairman of the board of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) at the organization’s annual meeting on June 21, 2017. He succeeds Reginald “Reggie” Jones, partner at Williams Mullen law firm in Richmond, Va., who had served as the VECF’s board chair since 2015 and will continue to serve as Director Emeritus.
At a luncheon following the board meeting, Loudoun County’s Delegate Thomas A. “Tag” Greason (R-32nd District) received the organization’s first-ever School Readiness Champion Award recognizing his significant support of school readiness initiatives to benefit young children in Virginia. Delegate Greason is a member of the Commonwealth’s School Readiness Committee, the House Appropriations Committee and serves as chairman of the House Education Innovation Subcommittee.
The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation is a public-private partnership established in 2006 to develop and promote innovative school readiness initiatives that ensure quality early learning outcomes across the Commonwealth.
Also, the following new board members were elected to three-year terms, serving from July 2017 through June 2020:
- Alexandra B. Cunningham, partner, Hunton & Williams law firm (Richmond, Va.)
- Robert Hurt, vice president and director of the new Center for Law and Government at Liberty University (Lynchburg, Va.)
- Dr. Cynthia Romero, MD, FAAPP, director, M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health at Eastern Virginia Medical School (Norfolk, Va.)
In other action, Ned W. Massee, president of Croatan Advisors, a consulting firm in Richmond, was elected vice-chair of the board. Monica Q. Matherly, human resources leader in Wealth and Investment Management for Wells Fargo in Richmond, and Nicholas “Mick” G. Sladic, vice president and chief counsel in Enterprise Loss Mitigation for Capital One in Richmond, were re-elected for a second three-year term.
Bill Ermatinger has been a VECF board member since March 2014. At Huntington Ingalls Industries, he is responsible for many of the company’s high-profile operations including human resources strategy, executive and employee compensation, health and welfare, diversity and inclusion and organizational effectiveness, among other areas of the business. Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and is a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry.
“We congratulate Bill and Ned on their new board offices and welcome Alexandra, Cynthia and Robert to our team,” said Kathy Glazer, president of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. “We extend our sincere thanks to Reggie for his outstanding leadership over the past two years as chair and his nearly 11 years of service as a founding member of our board.”
Glazer added that Delegate Tag Greason is a worthy recipient of VECF’s inaugural School Readiness Champion Award. “Through his unwavering support of school readiness initiatives in the halls of government, he has significantly elevated the conversation about early learning as the pathway to school, life and workforce success,” she said.
“It is a privilege to serve as board chair of VECF alongside a collaborative team of exceptional business and community leaders, as well as with elected officials from both political parties,” said Ermatinger. “In order to build a talented workforce that can compete on the national and global stage in the future, Virginia must invest in quality school readiness initiatives for today’s young children. VECF is providing innovative leadership in this important effort to impact our state’s long-term economic vitality.”
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About the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation: VECF creates results-oriented partnerships to ensure that young children are healthy and prepared for school, life and workforce success. To learn more about VECF and the Smart Beginnings initiatives, visit archive.vecf.org.