Four leaders appointed to William & Mary Board of Visitors

University News

Four business and civic leaders have been appointed to William & Mary's Board of Visitors, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced on June 5.

Former deputy attorney general of Virginia Jeff Bourne '99, J.D. '07; professor and former senior diplomat Jennifer Davis P '27, P '30; Capital One executive Osman "Oz" Parvaiz '99, P '30; and former chief deputy attorney general of Virginia Cynthia Hudson J.D. '87 will begin four-year terms on the board starting July 1. Hudson returns to the board after previously serving from 2020 to 2024.

The four will succeed Kendrick Ashton '98, Steve Huebner '76, Mike Petters M.B.A. '93 and Laura Rigas '01.

"We warmly welcome our newly appointed members," said President Katherine A. Rowe. "I look forward to working with each of them as we advance the mission of the university. William & Mary is also grateful to our departing members for their dedicated service. We appreciate their leadership and most especially the care they showed for the campus community."

Huebner, Petters and Rigas served one term on the board; Ashton served two. The 17-member board acts as the governing body of the university.

"We are grateful to our departing colleagues for all that they have done to propel William & Mary to new heights as a national preeminent university," said Rector Charles E. Poston J.D. '74, P '02, P '06. "We know our new members will carry that momentum forward."

New board members

Jeff Bourne '99, J.D. '07

Bourne is currently the chief legal officer for the Branch Group, one of Virginia's leading construction and infrastructure companies. In that role, he oversees the company's legal affairs, enterprise risk management program, construction support services and strategic compliance initiatives.

He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2017 to 2024, representing the 71st district. Prior to that, he worked as a deputy attorney general for Virginia in the transportation, real estate, land use and construction litigation division. Earlier in his career, he was the deputy chief of staff to Richmond's mayor and director of policy and government affairs for the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Bourne received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from William & Mary before earning a law degree from William & Mary Law School. While at the university, he was a student leader and active community volunteer.

As a legislator, Bourne was a regular participant in the university's annual Road to Richmond event during General Assembly sessions, meeting with students and sharing his experiences.

Jennifer Davis P '27, P '30

Following a distinguished career as a senior diplomat, Davis currently serves as the Knott Distinguished Professor of the Practice in the Peace, War and Defense Curriculum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and an accredited executive coach.

Her time as a foreign service officer spanned more than 20 years and culminated in her serving as acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Her other diplomatic roles included chief of staff to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, consul general in Istanbul, executive assistant to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, special assistant to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice D.P.S. '15, director of the orientation division at the Foreign Service Institute and a watch officer in the Department of State's Operations Center.

She earned her bachelor's and law degrees from UNC Chapel Hill and an LL.M. degree from the University of Oxford. She is also a graduate of the U.S. National War College.

She started her career as a corporate attorney focused on media and banking law. In addition to teaching at Georgetown, she served as a Council on Foreign Relations Fellow at the university and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Osman "Oz" Parvaiz '99, P '30

A financial services executive with more than 25 years of experience at Capital One, Parvaiz currently serves as the company's chief procurement officer. Prior to that, he was the company's managing vice president of global procurement and supply chain. Before that he served as president and chairman of Capital One Asia Pacific & Americas.

Some of his other roles with the company have included vice president of product management for credit decisioning platforms and senior business director and head of marketing operations.

During his time with Capital One, he has led teams of more than 10,000 in transforming and scaling the company's businesses in North America, South America and Asia. His teams have also launched and managed such flagship products as Venture and Quicksilver.

Parvaiz graduated from William & Mary in 1999 with a degree in government and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia.

Parvaiz has remained involved in the university throughout the years. He recently hosted a session on "Championing a Purposeful Career" during W&M's Professional Development Week and offered some career tips in the W&M Alumni Magazine.

Cynthia Hudson J.D. '87

Hudson has had a long career in public legal service. She served as city attorney for Hampton from 2006 to 2014, following several years in private practice at McGuireWoods LLP. She was appointed chief deputy attorney general in 2014 and served in that role until 2020, overseeing legal services provided by the state's Department of Law as well as administrative matters for a staff of nearly 400.

She is currently the owner and managing attorney of Eppes-Hudson Law, PLLC, where she provides legal and government affairs services. She is also a member of The McCammon Group, where she focuses on alternative dispute resolution services. Previously, she served in the government practice group of Sands Anderson PC where she advised and represented Virginia local, regional and state government entities and officials. She also chaired the governor's Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in the Law and served as president of the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, receiving its highest award in 2021.

She received her undergraduate degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and her law degree from William & Mary, where she later served as an adjunct professor. She was first appointed to the William & Mary Board of Visitors in 2020 and served on its Executive Committee. She was also vice chair of the Committee on Administration, Buildings and Grounds and chair of the Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance.

Departing board members

Kendrick Ashton '98

Ashton is the co-founder and co-chief executive officer of The St. James, a leading developer and operator of performance, wellness and lifestyle destinations, brands, experiences and technologies. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Cronos Group and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Board of Directors of the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. In addition, he is an emeritus member of the William & Mary Foundation Board of Trustees. In 2024, he served as a fellow for the 13th annual McGlothlin Leadership Forum.

Ashton earned his Bachelor of Arts in international relations at William & Mary. While a student at William & Mary, he was a star football player who made all-conference. Appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2012 and reappointed in 2022, he served on the Committee on Athletics and the Executive Committee and chaired the Committee on Institutional Advancement and the Committee on Financial Affairs. Ashton was elected vice rector of the board and previously served as secretary of the board.

Steve Huebner '76, P '09

After graduating from William & Mary and receiving his commission through the ROTC program, Huebner served 22 years - active and reserve - in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Following his time in the service, he worked in several major hospitals, including Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. In 2018, he retired from his position as vice president for materiel operations at Bon Secours Health Systems.

Throughout his life, he has remained closely connected to William & Mary. He has served on the William & Mary Athletic and Association of 1775 boards as well as his reunion gift committees. A former student athlete, he has also volunteered with the track and cross country teams.

He was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2022 and most recently was a member of the Executive Committee and Committee on Financial Affairs. He also chaired the Committee on Audit, Risk & Compliance.

Mike Petters M.B.A. '93

Petters recently served as executive vice chairman of the board of directors at Huntington Ingalls Industries. He previously served as the company's president and CEO. Before that, he was president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and president of Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector.

Petters earned his undergraduate degree from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS George Bancroft (SSBN 643) and spent five years in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He earned an M.B.A. from William & Mary in 1993 and has remained closely connected to the university ever since. A gift he and his wife, Nancy Briggs Petters '81, provided through their foundation expanded Camp Launch, a STEM camp for gifted students.

He was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2022 and most recently served on the Committee on Academic Affairs and Executive Committee. He also chaired the Committee on Financial Affairs.

Laura Rigas '01

Rigas' career has focused on leading executive management, public affairs and communications teams. She recently served as senior vice president for reputation and risk management for Syneos Health. Her previous roles include deputy director for the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, deputy chief of staff for partnerships at AmeriCorps and as communications director for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

She also served at the White House, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Education.

As an undergraduate studying public policy at William & Mary, Rigas played varsity volleyball and served as Student Assembly President. In 2000, she was the first student representative to the Board of Visitors.

She was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2022 and served on the Committee on Athletics and Executive Committee. She also chaired the Committee on Academic Affairs.

Staff, University News & Media

Subscribe to W&M Weekly

• share by email
• share on Facebook
• share on X
• share on LinkedIn

• share by email
• share on Facebook
• share on X
• share on LinkedIn

Related Stories