Governor McDonnell Announces Additional Appointments to Administration
RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell today announced additional appointments to his administration under the Commerce and Trade; Education; and, Health and Human Resources secretariats.
Bios for today's appointments can be found below. Further announcements regarding additional appointments in the McDonnell Administration will continue to be made in the months ahead.
Commerce and Trade
John Broadway, Commissioner, Virginia Employment Commission
John Broadway began work as Assistant to the Secretary of the Commonwealth in 1975 during the second Godwin administration. From 1979 to 1982, he was a staff attorney for the General Assembly at the Division of Legislative Services, where he also served as counsel to the Senate Committee on General Laws and as Registrar of Regulations for the Commonwealth. He later was Director of Government Relations for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, then was the first fulltime State Director for the Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) from 1990 to 2000.
Broadway served as Liaison for Senate Relations in the Governor's Office from 2000 to 2002, and also as Executive Director of the Governor's Commission on Government Finance Reform.
He has been at the Virginia Association of Realtors since 2003, serving as Vice President for Law & Policy and General Counsel for the 30,000-member organization.
Broadway is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Bar Association and the Virginia Society of Association Executives (past president and 2005 recipient of the Award of Excellence, the association's highest honor to recognize achievement and professionalism). He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and past chairman of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources.
Broadway received his undergraduate degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Washington & Lee University.
Gordon Dixon, Director, Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
Gordon Dixon has over 15 years working with regulatory, public policy and community engagement issues affecting various businesses. He has held numerous leadership positions in corporate and non-profit organizations. Most recently, Dixon held a management position in Corporate Affairs at Altria Client Services Inc. where he successfully developed and enhanced community engagement and corporate social responsibility. Prior to his work at Altria Client Services, he led the Virginia chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) with over 9,000 independent business owners. He oversaw public policy and regulatory issues affecting business owners on the state and federal levels to ensure a fair and prosperous business climate. Other organizations Dixon has worked with include the Home Builders Association and the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce where he helped lead government, business and manufacturing issues. He is married to the former Valeta Vander Linden, has two boys and resides in Henrico County. He enjoys mountain and road biking and landscape architecture.
Education
Lawrence D. "Larry" Wilder, Special Assistant on Re-entry Education
Lawrence D. "Larry" Wilder, Jr. has over 20 years experience in designing, developing and implementing community and economic development models. Wilder most recently served as a consultant with Unisphere Development Strategies, which focused on creating innovative business and investment strategies that fostered economic opportunity in low-income communities.
Immediately prior to Unisphere, Wilder served as Strategic Markets Director in the Los Angeles office for Urban America, an investment advisor and asset manager specializing in the urban real estate investment niche. In addition, he served as political liaison and worked on special projects for the President/CEO.
Wilder began his legal career at Wilder & Gregory in Richmond, Virginia. During 14 years practicing law Wilder served as counsel to state and local governmental entities. Subsequent to his law practice, Wilder held a variety of finance-related positions with public and private sector entities, including the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System, Jackson Securities, and The World Bank's International Finance Corporation.
Wilder earned both his BA (Economics) and JD degrees from the University of Virginia. He also holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He served as a business advisor with Pacific Community Ventures. Wilder is a member of the Richmond Community Development Alliance. Wilder served in the Virginia General Assembly House of Delegates from 1992-1994.
Health and Human Resources
Arne W. Owens, Chief Deputy, Department of Health Professions
Arne W. Owens is an executive with leadership, management, operations and communications experience spanning a career of military, private sector and public service. He was most recently a member of the Bush Administration, serving in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as acting Deputy Administrator and Senior Advisor to the Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, where he assisted with agency executive management, maintained broad policy oversight of agency programs and served as liaison to key White House offices. He also served as a Director in the Administration for Children and Families, advancing Administration human services policy priorities related to welfare reform and improving the lives of people in need.
Owens served the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Administration of former Governor James Gilmore, as Deputy Commissioner, Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, where he managed key program areas of the agency, was instrumental in advancing plans for mental health transformation throughout the state and reinvigorated substance abuse prevention and treatment services. He has also supported Federal government agencies as a contractor, and served in senior positions in non-profit public policy organizations as a national and statewide advocate for building and maintaining strong families. Until 1997, Owens was a career Army officer, serving in a variety of executive and staff assignments throughout the world, including the Persian Gulf and Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. He completed his military service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., at the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Owens is a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, and holds a Masters Degree in Organizational Systems Management from the University of Southern California. He resides in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Arlene, and son Wesley.
# # #
