After Gov. Abigail Spanberger asked former Rector Rachel Sheridan and former Vice Rector Porter Wilkinson to resign from the Board of Visitors in January, the Board’s two leadership positions sat empty for just over a month. Ten newly-appointed members and the remaining seven selected Carlos Brown as rector Feb. 20 — he will step into the role less than a year after his first term on the Board ended June 30, 2025 and brings experience from Dominion Energy and his previous position as vice rector.
Brown was appointed to the University Board of Visitors in 2021 by former Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and served as vice rector from 2023 until his term ended June 30, 2025. During Brown’s time as vice rector, the Board voted March 7, 2025 to dissolve the University’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in accordance with national executive orders. The Board also voted to pass a resolution April 29 rescinding portions of a 2020 resolution which endorsed goals laid out by the University’s Racial Equity Task Force to support diversity. The resolution passed unanimously.
The now-rector served as a member of Spanberger’s “United for Virginia’s Future” transition committee, along with two other recently appointed Board members, Michael Bisceglia and Rudene Haynes. According to OpenSecrets donor lookup, Brown has not made any personal political donations since 2024 and did not donate to Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign, although he has mostly donated to Virginia Democrats since his earliest listed donation in 2005.
Brown currently serves as executive vice president, chief administrative and projects officer and corporate secretary at Dominion Energy, as well as president of Dominion Energy Services. Dominion Energy provides electricity services to 3.6 million households and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and, according to its website, is one of the United States’ leading developers of offshore wind and solar power.
In his current role, Brown oversees corporate services provided to Dominion Energy’s operating companies and is responsible for all major generation, environmental and corporate construction projects. He joined Dominion Energy in 2007 as senior counsel and moved through eight positions in the company before beginning his current role as president in Jan. 2024 and role as executive vice president, chief administrative and projects officer and corporate secretary in June 2025, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Brown graduated from the University with degrees in American Government and Politics and African American Studies in 1996, also according to his LinkedIn profile. He later graduated from the School of Law in 1999 and worked as an associate at McGuireWoods and McCandlish Holton law firms before co-founding Brown, Martin, P.C., where he worked as president and managing director from 2003-2007. He also joined Obsidian Capital Group, LLC as managing director from 2003 to 2008.
Brown has held a number of board positions throughout his career besides his work for the Board of Visitors, including at Christopher Newport University between 2009 and 2013. He also served on the boards of NextUp, Inc., Feedmore, Inc., the Virginia Small Business Advisory Board and the Richmond Virginia Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Although Brown has not made personal political donations in the past year, between January and July of 2025, Dominion Energy donated $200,000 to the Democratic Governors Association, Spanberger’s largest source of funding in 2025. The company also donated $100,000 to the Republican Governors Association in the first half of 2025. A report on contributions between August and December of 2025 is not yet available.
Dominion Energy also donated $250,272 to Winsome Earle-Sears for Governor in 2025, as well as $100,000 to Spanberger’s Inaugural Committee. Their website states that by participating in political affairs, Dominion Energy hopes “to contribute to legislative and rule-making activities affecting our business consistent with our corporate values and strategies.”
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