Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced 10 nominees to fill the Board of Visitors’ vacancies Saturday, less than a day after former Rector Rachel Sheridan and four other members of the Board resigned. The nominees come from a variety of fields including law, business, medicine, government and nonprofits, and are varied in their donations to political campaigns and parties.
The 10 individuals still require confirmation by the General Assembly, for which the Democrats hold a majority, to assume their roles. If confirmed, the Board would transition from a majority of Republican governor-appointed members to a Democrat governor-appointed majority.
The Cavalier Daily analyzed public records of all 10 nominees’ past political contributions from the Virginia Public Access Project and OpenSecrets.org.
While the majority of Spanberger’s nominees have made contributions to Spanberger herself and other Democrats in recent election cycles, at least five have donated to Republican-affiliated candidates or organizations in the past. One nominee, Peter Grant, has consistently donated to Republican candidacies.
Mike Bisceglia, chairman elect of the Medical College of Virginia Foundation and a Class of 1979 alumnus, donated $24,000 to Spanberger’s campaign for governor, and he gave $12,500 to her inaugural committee in December. Bisceglia also donated $5,000 to former Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) inaugural committee in 2018 and gave to the campaigns of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and former Attorney General Mark Herring (D). Bisceglia donated $6,000 to Richmond Mayor Danny Avula’s (D) 2024 campaign and has a history of donating to Democratic state legislative and local candidates in the Richmond area. In 2001, Bisceglia gave $500 to the Republican Party of Virginia.
Carlos Brown, former Board vice rector, Class of 1996 and Law Class of 1999 alumnus and president of Dominion Energy, has donated over $78,000 to Democratic candidates and organizations. However, this figure includes nearly $23,000 donated to his own Democratic campaigns for the House of Delegates in 2008 and 2009, neither of which resulted in his election. In 2011, when Brown was not running for delegate, he donated over $16,000 to his campaign.
Brown’s other donations include over $4,000 to both Spanberger’s and Northam’s campaigns for governor, as well as over $10,000 to Richmond mayoral candidate Michelle Mosby (D) in 2024. He donated $2,500 to former Attorney General Jason Miyares’ (R) A Safer Virginia PAC in 2022 and $500 to the campaigns of former House Speaker Kirk Cox (R) and Del. Terry Kilgore (R-45).
The Cavalier Daily verified via OpenSecrets that Robert Byron, chairman and co-founder of Blue Vista Capital Management and a Class of 1973 and Law Class of 1976 alumnus, donated over $11,000 from 2002 to 2022 to the Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs. That committee seeks to elect candidates to federal office who support the Committee’s ideals, including “unwavering support” for Israel, combating antisemitism and “full reproductive freedom” for all women. Byron has given $25,000 to the Democratic National Committee and donated to the campaigns of Democratic candidates such as Sen. Tim Kaine (D) in 2015 and presidential candidate Kamala Harris (D) in 2024.
Peter Grant, board member of the University’s Licensing and Ventures Group and Class of 1978 and Darden Class of 1986 alumnus, has donated $62,000 to Republican candidates and organizations in Virginia. This figure includes $10,000 to gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, who ran against Spanberger in 2025. Grant also gave $25,000 to Youngkin’s 2022 inaugural committee and $10,000 to his 2021 campaign for governor. OpenSecrets indicated that Grant has also given to federal Republican candidates, including $3,000 in donations to Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke and a $250 donation to Yesli Vega, who challenged Spanberger for her Congressional seat in 2022.
Owen Griffin, president and chief financial officer of Currie Medical and Class of 1993 and Darden Class of 1999 alumnus, has donated over $50,000 to Democratic candidates in Virginia. This includes $22,500 to Spanberger for Governor in 2025 and $18,500 to McAuliffe for Governor in 2021. He has also donated to both of Attorney General Jay Jones’ campaigns and to the campaigns of several democratic and independent local and state legislative candidates in the Hampton Roads area.
Victoria Harker, chair of the Batten Foundation Advisory Board and Class of 1986 alumna, has donated primarily to Democratic candidates, including $35,000 to McAuliffe's 2021 campaign for governor, $15,500 to Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign and $10,000 to Spanberger’s inaugural committee. Harker has donated to several state and federal Republican candidates as well. In 2023, she gave $6,600 to Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC.
Elizabeth Hayes, managing partner at Hunter Andrews Kurth LLP and Law Class of 1978 alumnus, donated $2,700 to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, $1,000 to presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, $500 to former President Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and approximately $1400 to President Donald Trump in 2024, according to OpenSecrets. She also donated $250 to former Congressional candidate John Foust (D) in 2014 and $100 to Del. Dan Helmer’s (D-10) 2019 campaign.
Rudene Mercer Haynes, managing partner at Hunter Andrews Kurth LLP and class of 1996 alumna, has donated over $45,000 to Democratic causes, including $16,584 to Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign and over $6,000 to Rep. Jennifer McClellan’s (D-4) campaigns for the state Senate and governor. Haynes also donated to Jones’ 2025 campaign for attorney general, McAuliffe's 2021 campaign for governor and Northam’s campaign for governor. Further, Haynes has donated to Democratic legislative candidates and local candidates in Richmond and to federal Democratic candidates, such as Kaine and Sen. Mark Warner (D).
Evans Poston, director of federal and state affairs at Troutman Strategies and Darden Class of 2017 alumnus, has donated approximately $124,000 to candidates on behalf of his campaigns for Norfolk Commissioner of the Revenue, an office he was elected to in 2013 as a Democrat. Some notable donations from the OpenSecrets website include over $14,000 to McAuliffe's 2021 campaign, $7,573 to Northam for Governor and $1,300 to the Democratic Party of Norfolk. Poston has also donated to several nonpartisan local candidates across the political spectrum.
Mohsin Syed, former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Transportation and Class of 2002 and Law Class of 2008 alumnus, has donated $600 to Spanberger for Governor, $550 to Del. Elizabeth Guzman’s (D-22) 2025 campaign, $250 to Jones’ 2025 campaign and $50 to Del. Jessica Anderson’s (D-71) 2025 campaign. In 2011, Syed donated $250 to Kaine and in 2013, he donated $250 to Lt. Governor candidate Aneesha Chopra (D).
The two resources — VPAP and OpenSecrets — sometimes report different donation sums, with OpenSecrets typically offering a more complete history than VPAP by including smaller contributions and federal donations.
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