ABOUT OUR STAFF

Ms. Betsy McBride - Executive Director

Betsy McBride is the Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement. She has been a practitioner and advocate for citizen involvement in public decision making since the early 1970s.

Education: B.A. in Political Science, Minor in Economics, University of Denver

Education Related: Adjunct faculty appointment, University of Denver; Metro Internship Leadership Program, University of Minnesota

Governmental Appointments:

• Community Leaders Network, the U.S. Department of Energy
  Appointed by U. S. Deputy Asst. Secretary of Energy
• Board Member, Colorado Center for Environmental Management
  Appointed by Governor Roy Romer (CO)
• Hazardous Wastes Regulation Committee
  Appointed by Governor Richard Lamm (CO)
• City Transportation Committee
  Appointed by Mayor of DeKalb, IL
• City Recycling Committee
  Appointed by Mayor of DeKalb, IL
• Illinois citizen representative for Federal Energy Administration (FEA)
  Appointed by FEA Administrator
• Tribal and Stakeholder Working Group
  Appointed by U. S. Deputy Asst. Secretary of Energy

League of Women Voters Leadership:

• State President, League of Women Voters of Colorado
• State Vice-President, League of Women Voters of Colorado
• State Vice-President, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania
• State Energy Chair, League of Women Voters of Illinois
• Community Information Project Manager, League of Women Voters of Illinois
• Board, League of Women Voters of Boise, Idaho
• Board, League of Women Voters of Keokuk, Iowa
• Vice-president, League of Women Voters of Quincy, Illinois
• Vice-President, League of Women Voters of Schaumburg, Illinois
• Vice-president, League of Women Voters of DeKalb, Illinois
• Board, League of Women Voters of Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Vice-President, League of Women Voters of Arapahoe County, Colorado
• Board, League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads
• Author, publication for League of Women Voters of the U.S.
• Advisory committee, publication for League of Women Voters of the U.S.  

Other Boards and Advisory Committees:

• Board, Women's Resources Center, Arapahoe County Community College
• Board, Central City Opera Guild
• Board, Women's Forum (Hampton Roads)
• Elder, First Presbyterian Church, Boise, ID
• Elder, Presbyterian Church, Hoffman Estates, IL
• State Steering Committee, Colorado Environmental Quality Institute
• Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory Committee (radioactive waste clean-up)
• Citizen Advisory Committee on Risk, Medical University of South Carolina
• State advisory committee on judicial campaign ethics, Pennsylvania

Miscellaneous Community Activities:

• Co-chair of state meeting on women and political action (Idaho)
• Newspaper column in small local paper (Hamilton Pilot)
• Consulting on city recycling in Minnesota
• Lobbied in Washington, D.C. for the Clean Air Act
• Testimony before Colorado legislative committees
• Project manager, town meetings on hazardous wastes, organized for governor
• Planning committee, state ballot initiative
• Paid staff for 2 statewide campaigns

Work Experience:

• Media and Communications Coordinator, Office of the City Manager, City of Virginia Beach, VA  
• Assistant Executive Director, Search for Common Ground, USA Washington, D.C.
• Public Affairs Consultant
• Director of Communications, Colorado Center for Environmental Management Denver, CO
• Corporate Government Relations, The Pillsbury Company, Minneapolis, MN

Odd job:
Appointed to Federal technology selection panel and asked to review all applications for inclusion of appropriate design for community involvement

Awards:

• Public Interest Award for "Expanding Public Participation"
• National award for "Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation"

Interesting Contribution:

• Author of Public Involvement Principles adopted by the Western Governors' Association

Presentations and Training sessions:

• Training session, "Libraries and Civic Engagement," Public Library Association,
  National Conference, Minneapolis, MN - 2008
• Presentation, "Public Voices on Redevelopment," The Innovations Group,
  Annual National Conference, Bellevue, WA - 2007
• Facilitator, White House Crime Technology Initiative Forum, Executive Office of
  the President, Washington, D.C. - 2000
• Speech, "Involving the Public in Environmental Decision Making," Southeastern
  States Energy Board, Oak Ridge, TN - 1998
• Presentation to IRS Director - Invited by The Gallup Organization,
  Washington,D.C. - 1998
• Panelist, "Public Participation," National Forum for Black Public Administrators,
  Annual Conference, Kansas City - 1997
• Planner/facilitator, "Transportation Workshop," Susquehanna Conference,
  Harrisburg, PA - 1994
• Panelist, Eleventh Annual Good Government Seminar, Pennsylvania State Senate,
  Harrisburg, PA - 1994
• Presentation, "Letting the Public In: Citizen Access to the Decision making Process,"
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Denver - 1994
• Panelist, "Citizen Participation," Environmental Restoration and Waste
  Management Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of Energy - 1993
• Training session "The Debate Game," Newpapers in Education Program,
  The Denver Post - 1993
• Training session "Effective Media Relations," League of Women Voters of
  the United States, National Convention - 1992
• Training session, "Taking the Initiative," Americans for the Environment,
  Denver - 1992
• Presentation, "Education As An Agent for Change," Northern Illinois University
  1980
• Presentation, "Community Organizing," Ford Foundation Community Seminar,
  Idaho - 1972

 

Mr. Todd Solomon - Program Director

Todd Solomon, a resident of Virginia Beach for the past 15 years, graduated from Virginia Tach with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Engineering, Science, and Mechanics. As a Nuclear Engineering Supervisor for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Todd was responsible for a dozen employees, a $10 million annual budget and the management of radiological ship support systems. Todd has been trained on many managerial practices that include Lean Thinking, Risk Mitigation and the Powers of First Line Supervision.

Todd also spends much of his free time as a Virginia Beach community activist. He is a graduate of the City's Neighborhood Institute, a founding member and President of the Shore Drive Community Coalition, and a past vice president of the Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations. Todd participated in the City's Public Voices on Redevelopment initiative and represented the community as a panel member during the public forum. Todd was also a guest speaker for the City's Community Connections Workshop. A recent accolade was being the only citizen representative on the City's Real Estate Tax Penalty Review Committee.

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