With an Eye Toward Cross-Sector Perspectives, UVA Darden Launches Dean’s DC Fellows Program

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has announced the launch of the Dean’s D.C. Fellows program, a new initiative intended to catalyze collaborative engagements between a variety of Washington, D.C., area leaders and the Darden community.

Recognizing the value they bring to the Darden School’s community and classroom, the Dean’s D.C. Fellows program assembles innovative and intellectually accomplished experts who have distinguished themselves in fields outside of academia. The program, which will be based out of UVA Darden DC Metro, launches with an inaugural group of 14 fellows. These leaders are drawn from the worlds of finance, public policy, health care, data science, media, government and defense, think tanks, sustainability, and diversity, equity and inclusion, with consideration given to building a diverse cross-section of multidisciplinary experts.

In addition to coming together as a group four times per year, the fellows can collaborate with Darden faculty and students in a variety of ways, including classroom engagements in the Darden Executive MBA and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs, speaking as part of a Darden speaker series event and collaborating on thought leadership, case writing and research projects with faculty and students, and other opportunities.

Fellows are invited to join the program for a two-year term.

“The D.C. Fellows program is a natural extension of the Darden School’s efforts to build bridges and foster cross-sector collaboration throughout the region,” said Professor Greg Fairchild, associate dean for Washington, D.C., area initiatives. “We’re thrilled with the caliber of the inaugural class of fellows and can’t wait to work and learn with them.”

2021–23 Dean’s D.C. Fellows

• Jerome Adams, 20th United States Surgeon General
• George Ashton III, managing director of strategic investments, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
• Rahul Bhandari, CEO, Force Multiplier Capital
• Nadia Crisan, executive director of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
• Michael Finnegan (MBA ’07), president, Atlantic Media
• Jerry Johnson, senior vice president of corporate development, EnPro, and operating executive, the Halifax Group
• Robert Kehler, retired general, U.S. Air Force
• Paula Kerger, president and CEO, PBS
• Tam Nguyen, global head of sustainability and president of bechtel.org, Bechtel Corporation
• DJ Nordquist, former executive director for the United States, World Bank Group
• John Rogers, former COO, The Urban Institute
• Shamina Singh, founder and president, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and executive vice president of sustainability, Mastercard
• Kerrien Suarez, executive director, Equity in the Center
• Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO, The B Team

Since opening UVA Darden DC Metro at the Sands Family Grounds in Arlington, Virginia, in 2018, Darden activities in the global gateway of Washington, D.C., have grown exponentially. The Grounds now serve as the home for Darden’s Executive MBA, much of Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning’s programming and the Master of Science in business analytics program, a degree delivered in partnership with the UVA McIntire School of Commerce.

“Darden has long drawn strength and inspiration from our close relationship with the world of practice, and the D.C. Fellows program will add a new venue for collaboration with a unique group of responsible leaders,” said Darden Dean Scott Beardsley. “I can’t wait to see how these esteemed leaders enrich the Darden ecosystem.”