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A visit from Secretary of Education Anne Holton

VISTA campers
VISTA campers Two VISTA campers explain their rain gardens to Virginia Secretary of Education, Anne Holton. The campers were members of the THRIVE (Together Helping Restore and Integrate Virginia's Ecosystem)Tribe, working together to restore the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
VISITA Executive Director with Secretary Holton
VISITA Executive Director with Secretary Holton W&M Science education professor and VISTA Executive Director Juanita Jo Matkins explains to the Virginia Secretary of Education what the VISTA campers have been working on. Rachael Reid
Ribbon Cutting
Ribbon Cutting Virginia Secretary of Education Anne Holton cuts the ribbon to officially open Sea City, the water park designed by VISTA campers with the goal of being environmentally friendly AND educating the public about marine systems. Rachael Reid
Celebration
Celebration VISTA campers celebrate as Virginia Secretary of Education Anne Holton officially opens the Sea City water park designed by the campers. Rachael Reid
by Christine M. Baron |  July 23, 2014

Virginia Secretary of Education Anne Holton visited the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the College of William & Mary on Friday, July 18. While at the School of Education, Secretary Holton spent time learning about the College’s initiatives to support underrepresented populations, met with the STEM Education Alliance team, and visited the Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA) camp. See related story.

Anne Holton is a life-long advocate for children and families in Virginia. After graduating with a B.A. from Princeton and a Harvard law degree, Holton worked as a legal aid lawyer serving low-income families. She served as a juvenile and domestic relations district court judge from 1998 until 2005 when her husband, Tim Kaine, was elected Governor of Virginia.

As Virginia's First Lady, Holton championed a successful initiative to secure permanent family connections for more foster youth. She later served as a consultant at the Annie E. Casey Foundation on foster care systems reform, with a focus on judiciary issues and preventing unnecessary out-of-home placements of youth due to complex behavioral issues.

In 2008 Anne Holton worked with the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education to establish the Great Expectations program, which works through campus coaches based on community college campuses to improve access to and success in higher education for Virginia's foster youth and alumni. She served as the Program's Director in 2013.

Holton attended public schools in Roanoke, Richmond, and Fairfax County, Virginia. With her family she helped integrate the Richmond Public Schools in 1970. She has been an active PTA member and volunteer at six Richmond public schools, where her children were educated. Holton served on the Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation Board 2010-2012 and on the Voices for Virginia Children Board 2010-2013. She also has served on the Advisory Board to Youth-Nex, the UVa Center to Promote Effective Youth Development at the Curry School of Education.

Holton is the recipient of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Life Award of Distinction and the Richmond YWCA Outstanding Woman in Law award in 2006 among other honors.

She and her husband (now U.S. Senator Tim Kaine) have three adult children and reside in Richmond, Virginia.