Newsroom Archive for 1/, 2008

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

CHARLOTTESVILLE—The Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership today announced the names of those Virginians that have been accepted to its Political Leaders Program Class of 2008.

Sorensen's Political Leaders Program brings together approximately 35 emerging leaders each year from across the Commonwealth—including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—to study the public policy issues facing Virginia. The Sorensen Institute has become the premiere national model of successful bi-partisan leadership training. And its Political Leaders Program has become something of a traditional "first step" towards elected office in Virginia. Participation in the program is incredibly competitive, with more than twice as many applicants each year as there are available seats.

The Sorensen Institute now has over 1,000 graduates of its various programs. Sixteen graduates will serve in the Virginia General Assembly this year—2 in the Virginia Senate and 14 in the House of Delegates; three graduates are serving in Governor Kaine's cabinet; and dozens more have been appointed to boards and commissions or are serving in critical positions of leadership in local governments or in the private sector.

A record number of Sorensen alumni ran and won office in the recent November 2007 elections. Forty-eight graduates were successful at the polls including 18 Republicans, 18 Democrats, and 12 Independents.

The Sorensen Institute celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, having been founded in 1993 to identify, educate, and inspire Virginia's future political and community leaders. Sorensen aims to create ethical, principled leaders who are eager to put aside partisan stereotypes and work cooperatively with others who have different political affiliations than their own to improve the quality of life for all Virginians.

The Sorensen Institute is a non-partisan organization that works to better the quality of governance at all levels throughout the Commonwealth. The Sorensen Institute does not participate in campaigns on behalf of issues, causes, or candidates for office. Though it is housed at the University of Virginia, the Sorensen Institute relies entirely on donations and grants from individuals, corporations, and foundations to support its programs.

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Those Virginians who have been chosen to be members of the Political Leaders Program Class of 2008 are:

Robert Barnette, Mechanicsville

Melissa Bell, Alexandria

Kenneth Bernstein, Arlington

Ana Lucia Buckman, Arlington

Michael Chapman, Charlottesville

Brett Coffee, Burke

R. David Cox, Lexington

Anthony Dale, Alexandria

Steven DeLuca, Richmond

Robert Dorton, Lebanon

Patricia Edmonson, Virginia Beach

Stella Edwards, Colonial Heights

Christopher Fairchild, Palmyra

Sherry Foti, Roanoke

William Frank, Richmond

Dominic Gabello, Arlington

Sarah Godlewski, Arlington

J.D. Morgan Guthridge, Richmond

Kristie Helmick, Mechanicsville

Aryana Khalid, Stafford

W. Matthew Leighty, Richmond

Cheryl Lewis, Charlottesville

Arthur Lichtenberger, Charlottesville

Jennifer McKeever, Charlottesville

Brent Mckenzie, Virginia Beach

Helen O'Beirne, Richmond

Chris Piper, Midlothian

Kala Leggett Quintana, Burke

Bryan Michael Rhode, Richmond

Liane Rozzell, Arlington

Susan Spears, Fredericksburg

Joseph Walton, Powhatan

Claire Winiarek, Chesapeake

Contact: Coy Barefoot
Director of Communications and Alumni Relations
barefoot AT virginia DOT edu

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BREAKING: Dave Norris, a graduate of the Candidate Training Program Class of 2006 was elected Mayor of Charlottesville tonight by his fellow City Councilors.

Dave announced his candidacy for his first-ever run for political office shortly after graduating from the Sorensen Institute in early 2006. He won the election that May.

Dave will serve a two-year term as Mayor of Charlottesville.

Congratulations Dave!

The Virginia General Assembly's 2008 session got underway today, and representatives of the Sorensen Institute were there. In this photo from left to right is Curtis Walton, a graduate of the College Leaders Program Class of 2006 and soon to be a Program Manager for our youth programs this summer; Marc Johnson, Director of Sorensen's Youth Programs and a graduate of the College Leaders Program Class of 2003; and Keri Markiewicz, a graduate of the Political Leaders Program Class of 2007.

We also saw (from left to right) Kelly Porell, a graduate of the Political Leaders Program Class of 2007; Amy Richardson, a graduate of the College Leaders Program Class of 2007; and Chelsea Rock, a graduate of the College Leaders Program Class of 2006 and Vice-Chair of the Sorensen Institute's Richmond Regional Board.

Congratulations to Shonda Copeland, a gradate of the College Leaders Program Class of 2006. Shonda recently announced her engagement to be married to Dudley Ridley.

Shonda is currently attending the University of Michigan School of Law. Dudley is an Electrical Engineer currently earning his Master's Degree at Norfolk State University.

Click here to watch a video of Dudley's proposal.

Congratulations!

Marc Johnson, Director of Youth Programs at the Sorensen Institute and himself a graduate of the College Leaders Program Class of 2003, recently earned his Master's Degree in Education from the Curry School at UVA.

Marc earned his degree in the Curry School's department of Leadership, Foundations and Policy.  The degree is in Social Foundations of Education, a field that is concerned with placing education in its historical, social and cultural context in order to better understand educational goals and practices. 

Marc focused his studies on education policy and civic education. He wrote his master's thesis on teacher training reform, surveying best practices in how different countries prepare and certify their teachers with the goal of determining ways to improve U.S. policy in this area.

Way to go Marc!

Doug Denneny, a graduate of the Candidate Training Program Class of 2007, and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress in the 11th District, recently shared with us his new campaign website.

Congressman Tom Davis first won election to this seat in 1994.

The election will be held in November 2008.

Some recent news from graduate of the College Leaders Program Class of 2007:

Christian Amendola, University of Richmond, spent his winter break tutoring students at the King/Robinson Inter-district Magnet School; K-8 grade public school in New Haven, CT. He taught second graders at the international baccalaureate school.

Ara Freidman, Randolph College, will be interning during the spring semester with Senator Jim Webb in Washington, D.C. through the American University Capitol Semester program.

Amy Richardson has accepted a position as the Deputy Director of the Virginia Redistricting Coalition, a bipartisan effort to create a fair and balanced redistricting process in Virginia.

Diane Kaufman, a graduate of the Political Leaders Program Class of 2007, was recently elected to her first term as Chair of the Norfolk Democratic Committee.

And Jen Little, who won her first elective office in November 2007 to the Mathews County School Board, was also recently re-elected Chair of the Mathews County Democratic Committee.

Congratulations!

THIS JUST IN: Andrew Lamar, an alumnus of the College Leaders Program Class of 2006, has joined the professional staff at Rhumb Line, a full-service state government affairs firm in Richmond.

Rhumb Line describes their new hire as follows: "Having most recently served as campaign manager for Speaker Bill Howell’s successful re-election campaign, Andrew Lamar is currently a Virginia coordinator
for Huckabee for President, and continues to play an active, leading
role in political campaigns in the Commonwealth. Drawing on his
campaign and issue research experience, he will assist clients with
grassroots management, issue research, and government affairs outreach.
A rising star in Virginia politics, Andrew brings campaign-style enthusiasm and focus to Rhumb Line – joining with us to continue to
produce bottom-line results for our clients.

Andrew
is a graduate of the Sorensen Institute's College Leaders Program and
the University of Mary Washington, where he earned a degree in
Economics and Political Science."

Congratulations Andrew!