Board of Directors
Suzann Wilson Matthews, Chair
McLean, VA
Suzann Matthews works as an advocate for higher education in the Commonwealth. A graduate of the College of William and Mary, Ms. Matthews previously worked in several capacities for the U.S. Congress and in commodities trading. Currently, Ms. Matthews serves on the College of William and Mary Board of Visitors as Secretary and as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Public Affairs; the College's National Campaign Steering Committee; and the Youth Programs Advisory Board of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. In recent years, Ms. Matthews has served on the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts Board of Directors, the Muscarelle Museum of Art Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the Fund for William and Mary.
Michael Caplin, Vice-Chair
McLean, VA
Michael Caplin is president of Turtle Island Consulting, specializing in strategic planning for nonprofit organizations. Mr. Caplin has worked in the nonprofit arena for twenty years as director and manager of an array of arts, education and social service agencies, including the Lincoln Theater Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution and Childhelp USA. For his work on behalf of children in crisis he received the Northern Virginia Leadership Award and the Governor's Commendation for Outstanding Service to the Commonwealth. Mr. Caplin has also served as a public defender, a federal prosecutor, counselor to performing artists and an educator. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College, University of Virginia Law School and Georgetown University Law School and holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership. He is a member of American Red Cross for the National Capital Region Board of Directors and President of the Board of the New York Center for Children.
Kenneth Dye, Treasurer
Richmond, VA
Ken Dye is currently the director of government and community affairs for Comcast Metro Richmond, Central Virginia’s leading provider of voice, video and data services. In this role he is responsible for fostering a favorable business climate for Comcast among the appointed and elected officials and community leaders in the over 20 localities, including Henrico, Hanover, Chesterfield, the City of Richmond and Petersburg. At the time of the merger of Comcast and AT&T Broadband in 2002, Mr. Dye had been the vice president and general manager for that firm’s Richmond area operations. Previously he had been the director of marketing for predecessor companies (first as Continental Cablevision of Richmond; later as MediaOne), with responsibility for consumer marketing and sales, programming, internal and external communications, and advertising sales. Mr. Dye is the former chairman of the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association. He is a graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond and Comcast’s own Executive Leadership Forum, and his community involvement includes board roles on numerous nonprofit organizations in Richmond and statewide. Mr. Dye is a 1979 graduate of Oberlin College with a degree in Communications Studies.
Joan Fenton, Secretary
Charlottesville, VA
Joan Fenton is owner of Quilts Unlimited/J. Fenton Gallery with seven retail stores in Colorado and Virginia, including Charlottesville, Richmond, Hot Springs and Williamsburg, Virginia. She previously served as chair of the Hillel Jewish Center at the University of Virginia; chair of the Community Mediation Center of Charlottesville; and for 8 years as chair of the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review. Currently she is the Co-Chair of the Charlottesville Downtown Business Association, Vice-Chair of Foothills Child Advocacy Center, an advisory board member of the National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT), and a member of the board of the Shea Center in Charlottesville. For the past twenty-four years she was a teacher and coordinator at Blues Week, Augusta Heritage Workshop in Elkins, West Virginia. Ms. Fenton earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Stewart H. Gamage
Williamsburg, VA
Stewart Gamage is the Vice President for Public Affairs at the College of William and Mary. She is responsible for development and coordination of governmental affairs at all levels and oversees the Offices of University Relations, Publications, Government Relations and Economic Development. Her experience draws from a wide range of responsibilities. She was appointed in 1999 by President Bill Clinton to serve on the Commission for Presidential Scholars. She has served as Chief Operating Officer of APCO Associates, one of the largest public affairs firms in Washington, D.C.; Policy Director and Committee Liaison to House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt; Director of the Virginia Liaison Office as Senior Assistant to Governors Charles Robb and Gerald Baliles; and as Associate Deputy of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House during the Carter Administration. Ms. Gamage graduated from William and Mary and earned her MPA from the Washington Public Affairs Center at the University of Southern California. Ms. Gamage was a founding member of Women Executives in State Government and the Democratic Leadership Council. She is a board member of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. At William and Mary, she has served on the Board of Visitors and the Society of the Alumni Board, and she is an Alumni Medallion award recipient.
Tom Hirst began his real estate career in 1961 in his family’s real estate brokerage business. He became president of The Mason Hirst Companies in 1972. Mr. Hirst has been responsible for the development of over two million square feet of office and industrial parks, providing major facilities or sites for the United States Government, Freddie Mac, Grumman, Hughes Aircraft, the National Wildlife Federation, Google, Yahoo, and numerous local and regional firms. Mr. Hirst also carries on the Hirst family tradition of public service. He is founder and president of the Rapid Transit Action Committee, whose mission is to promote innovative solutions to the suburban transportation problem. His other non-profit activities have focused on economic development, advancing fair credit policies, and assisting local grass-roots organizations in gaining an equal voice in public debates. He is active in reform political movements. Mr. Hirst is frequently quoted in the press – both television and newspapers – on transportation issues. He has published dozens of opinion pieces in the many local and regional news outlets. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton, Mr. Hirst also holds a master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard, where he was a member of the faculty for two years.
Leigh B. Middleditch Jr.
Charlottesville, VA
Mr. Middleditch received a Bachelor of Arts degree (1951) and a Bachelor of Laws degree (1957) from the University of Virginia. He is a Vice President with McGuireWoods Consulting and Of Counsel in the Charlottesville office of McGuireWoods LLP, where his practice is now concentrated in the Non-Governmental and Exempt Organizations fields. Mr. Middleditch has previously served on the Board of Visitors and as the Legal Advisor to the University of Virginia and was a founder of the University’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. He also held the position of University Lecturer in the Law and Darden Graduate Business Schools and is co-author of Virginia Civil Procedure. Mr. Middleditch has been Chair of the University’s Health Services Foundation; the Virginia Health Care Foundation; the Charlottesville-Albemarle Chamber of Commerce; the Virginia Chamber of Commerce; the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association; and a member of the ABA Board of Governors. He has also served as a Director of the United States Chamber of Commerce; a Trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (Monticello); and as President of the University of Virginia Alumni and Law Associations. He currently chairs the University’s White Burkett Miller Foundation for the Study of the Presidency and serves on the board of the public television station WVPT and Virginia’s Secure Commonwealth Panel. Mr. Middleditch served on active duty with the United States Navy from 1951-1954 and retired as a Captain USNR.
Dr. W. Eric Thomas holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biology from Tennessee State University and earned his doctorate degree in Biochemistry from Meharry Medical College. He currently serves as Provost of Virginia State University, having been an instructor and administrator at various institutions including Meharry Medical College, The Ohio State University, Howard University, Mississippi Valley State University and Illinois State University. He has earned numerous awards for the quality of his research and instruction in the sciences, including recognition from his alma mater Meharry Medical College. An author, Dr. Thomas has published articles in various scientific journals. He has been an invited speaker at many different universities, including Yale University, Rutgers University and Morehouse College. He is also committed to community and professional involvement, with memberships ranging from the American Aging Association, New York Academy of Sciences, Greenwood (MS) Rotary Club, and the Normal (IL) Rotary Club.
Ray Warner is a partner at Smith Dawson & Andrews, Inc., a prominent government relations firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. that represents a diverse group of companies and local governments and authorities at the state and federal levels. He specializes in aviation, aerospace, railroad, transit and automotive transportation issues. Ray has held numerous leadership roles in his community including president of his civic association, vestryman at this church, chairman of Central Fairfax Services and president of the International Aviation Club. He was a political appointee at the Department of Transportation serving three Presidents and five Secretaries of Transportation from both political parties. At his alma mater, the College of William and Mary, Ray has served on the National Campaign Committee, the Greater Washington D. C. Alumni Chapter Board and the Washington Office Council. He chaired his 40th Reunion Gift Committee and currently serves on the Fund for William and Mary Board. Ray graduated in 1963 with a degree in Economics.
Judy F. Wason
Williamsburg, VA
A successful business leader and long-time education advocate, Alan Wurtzel is chairman emeritus of Circuit City Stores, Inc. Mr. Wurtzel joined the company in 1966 as vice president for legal affairs. He served as the company's CEO from 1973 to 1986, during which time the company was recognized as one of the best performing companies on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Wurtzel served as vice-chairman of the board from 1994 to 2001. He is currently the Chairman of the State Commission for Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). He was a member of the Virginia State Board of Education from 1991 to 1995. During his tenure, Virginia adopted grade-by-grade standards of learning in four core subjects. He has been a trustee of Oberlin College and Virginia Commonwealth University and president of Operation Independence, a nonprofit organization that supports Israel's economic independence effort. Mr. Wurtzel is director of several not-for-profit standards based education policy organizations including New American Schools, National Center of Education and the Economy, and the Council for Basic Education. Mr. Wurtzel earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and received his A.B. from Oberlin College.
Irene Wurtzel is a playwright, freelance writer and teacher of playwriting. She is former chairman of the board of the Family and Children's Trust Fund of Virginia, a governor-appointed commission aimed at preventing domestic violence and child abuse in Virginia. Currently, she chairs the Board of Trustees of Enterprise Works/Vita, a development organization that works in eleven countries in Africa, and in Asia, and serves as co-chair of the Board of Theatre J in Washington DC. She is on the Council of the World Wildlife Fund, and is a trustee of Shenandoah University.