The City of Charlottesville is pleased to announce that the City’s Tax Credit Consultant Dan Gecker has appointed the individuals listed below to the Jefferson School General Partnership.
The Jefferson School General Partnership is:
Mr. Steve Blaine-Founding partner of law firm LeClair Ryan. Current Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing Authority Commissioner. Director of the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce. Founding director of Virginia National Bank. Governor and Area Representative of the Virginia State Bar, Real Property Section.
Col. Martin Burks- U. S. Army Ret.-Vice President and General Manager of J.F. Bell Funeral Home. Attended Jefferson Elementary School and graduated from Jackson P. Burley High School. Past president of the Dogwood Festival Board of Directors, the Paramount Theater Board of Directors, and the University of Virginia/Charlottesville Community Relations Board. He is a member of the Charlottesville, Virginia Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Mr. Craig Barton-University of Virginia Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design. Founding principal in the Charlottesville architectural firm RB Studio. His firm designed places of historical significance for African Americans such as museum and visitor’s center in Selma, Al for the National Voting Rights Museum, and several Rosenwald Schools in Virginia. Former member of the Charlottesville Planning Commission, Board of Architectural Review and the Jefferson School Task Force.
Mr. Raymond Carey- Native of Charlottesville and retired executive of State Farm Insurance Company. He served on the Piedmont Virginia Community College Board of Directors. He attended Jefferson Elementary School and graduated from Jackson P. Burley High School. He is a member of the Charlottesville, Virginia Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He is a member of the Trustee Board of Mount Zion First African Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Virginia ad served as vice-chairman of the building committee. He is a member of the University of Virginia/Charlottesville Community Relations Board.
Ms. Alison Dickie-Immigrated from Aberdeen, Scotland with her family in 1972. Publisher of Albemarle magazine. Serves on the Presidents Council of the International Regional Magazine Association, the Advisory Council of Piedmont Virginia Community College, Corporate Committee for UVA Children’s Hospital, Development Committee for the Virginia Film Festival, The Paramount Theater Board of Directors and other community organizations. An enthusiastic volunteer for many community events such as the United Way, MACCA’s Women Who Golf, The Albemarle County Fair, Pink Ribbon Polo Tournament for the American Cancer Society, and The Blind and Dyslexic to name a few.
Mr. Earnest Edwards- Retired Senior Vice President and Controller Alcoa, Inc. Former Director of Duracell International Company. Emeritus Director of LaRoche College. Martha Jefferson Hospital Board of Directors. Virginia State University Board of Visitors.
Deacon of Mount Zion First African Baptist Church.
Councilor Kendra Hamilton- Well known as an activist, and an advocate for educational equity, affordable housing, and environmental justice. Writer, poet, and an independent scholar of the literature and culture of the South. Award winning journalist, one of 12 Southern writers to be invited to the Spoleto Festival USA’s 2000 forum on the Confederate Flag. Featured in CSPAN’s Booknotes and NPR’s Morning Edition. Independent curator at the Spoleto and Zora! Festivals. Author of her poetry collection The Goddess of Gumbo.
Mrs. Gennie Keller- Lifelong resident of Charlottesville. Architectural historian and preservation planner. Participated in the development of design guidelines for the neighborhood adjacent to the Brown v. Board of Education Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas. An Affiliate Associate Professor of Architecture at Iowa State University. Served on the Governor’s Commission to Study Historic Preservation in Virginia. Board of APVA Preservation Virginia.
Mr. Joseph Toomer- Consumer Market Manager, Central Virginia Market, Bank of America. Lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina before moving to Virginia in 2004. He has been employed with Bank of America for 9 nine years and has developed an expertise in organizational development particularly in the areas of cost-savings and operational efficiencies. He served in the Marine Corps Reserves for 6 years.
Mr. Frank Stoner (to join when he returns to Charlottesville)
Councilor Julian Taliaferro-Resident of Charlottesville since 1962. Served as Fire Chief of the Charlottesville Fire Department for 34 years and retired as Fire Chief Emeritus. International Association of Fire Chiefs Board of Directors since 1992. Vietnam Veteran and awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals for his service.
Mrs. Bitsey Waters- Independent planning consultant with 25 years in consensus building activities related to community and economic development, transportation, environmental protection and historic preservation. Recently served as a peer reviewer for the Museum of the Confederacy project. Served as Associate Staff Director for Governor Chuck Robb’s Commission on Virginia’s Future from 1982-84 and was a Senior Associate at the Institute for UVA’s Environmental Negotiation. Former member of the Jefferson School Task Force. Former Mayor of the City of Charlottesville,
A more complete biography will be made available next week.