Our excitement grows each week as we complete tasks and receive news from our Vice Presidents and committee chairs regarding winners and information updates on the business we will complete at Annual Meeting.

We hope you will join us May 19-20, 2023 to connect with fellow PTA leaders to reinforce our mission, outreach and impact across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

We will vote on the next leaders of Virginia PTA Executive Board, hear from engaging leaders and experts to enhance your efforts in your school community, provide transformative leadership and membership workshops to grow your skills and ideas, and celebrate the many inspirational leaders, engaging local units and our students!

We welcome you to send as many attendees as you like, who will be your delegates representing your unit for voting. Your President will be asked to assign your PTA’s voting and alternate delegates. Voting delegates will be issued a voting card at registration. Most local units are allowed at least three (3) voting delegates.

Register today! And don't forget to make a hotel reservation if you need to stay overnight.

See you soon!!

Pamela Croom, President

The officer elections will take place during the Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 20, 2023.

To help delegates make an informed decision about their vote, candidate information will be located on the website prior to the annual meeting. Campaign boards will be provided by Virginia PTA and located in public areas of the hotel meeting room area. And, opportunities for delegates to hear from each candidate will be provided through some combination of speeches, candidate forum, or networking areas.

President Elect

Ben Pearson-Nelson

Dr. Ben Pearson-Nelson, nominee for President-Elect, is a powerful advocate for children and PTA officers. Ben has served multiple PTA roles, including executive local leadership, President of Chesterfield County Council, and Virginia PTA James River Director.  

Ben has supported hundreds of PTA officers through training, establishing and rebooting PTAs, and teaching effective programming and advocacy approaches. Ben’s advocacy leadership includes several successful campaigns to fully fund public schools that have increased spending by millions of dollars and attracted media attention. Ben led local PTA engagement resulting in over 8,000 petition signatures, thousands of emails, and hundreds of phone calls to elected officials. Ben’s creations of “Teacher Pay Appreciation Day” and the “$180 Million Dollar PTA Bake Sale” highlight public school funding needs. 

Ben has received many awards for his PTA work including the VAPTA President’s Honor Award, VAPTA Honorary Life Membership, and the CCPS Superintendent’s Game Changer Award.

Secretary Victor Chen

Victor Chen is an associate professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies labor markets.

He is the author of three books on economic issues: The Missing Class (with Katherine Newman), which was named one of Library Journal’s best business books of the year; Cut Loose, for which he received the Labor and Employment Relations Association’s Outstanding Scholar Award; and Organizational Imaginaries (with Katherine Chen), which received the Joyce Rothschild Book Prize. Chen’s work has been featured in the Atlantic, New York Times, BBC News, Fortune, and NPR. He edits In The Fray, a nonprofit magazine devoted to personal stories on global issues.

Chen received his PhD and BA from Harvard and was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Berkeley.

He served as treasurer of the L. Douglas Wilder Middle School PTSA (2019–22) and currently serves as the treasurer of the Henrico County Council of PTAs/PTSAs.

Treasurer Ann Marie Ward

Ann-Marie Ward is a former high school math teacher and tutor living in Fairfax County with her husband and two teenage sons.

She has served one term as the Virginia PTA Treasurer and represents Virginia PTA on the Virginia Mathematics Education Advisory Committee. Ann-Marie is also the current Treasurer of the Justice HS PTSA and a member of the Fairfax County Special Education PTA. She has previously served as an elementary school PTA treasurer, a middle school PTA treasurer, and the Fairfax County Council PTA treasurer.

Ann-Marie is most interested in supporting local and council officers with Treasurer training and guidance. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking and baking, theatre, and the Washington Capitals.

VP Advocacy

Lauren Klute

Lauren Klute began serving on her local PTA in 2015 as the VP Programs for her son’s elementary school. Since then she has held a variety of officer roles at the elementary and middle school level including three terms as President in two different schools.

She currently serves as President for a National School of Excellence PTSA. Lauren has been the Advocacy Chair for the Chesterfield County Council of PTAs for the last five years and a member of the Virginia PTA Advocacy Committee for the last four years. Her advocacy interests center around increasing teacher pay and adequate funding for schools from both state and local sources and believes strongly in the power of parents and communities when we work together on issues impacting schools.  

Lauren brings background skills in communication, team management, and workforce motivation and planning. She is the proud mom to 10^th and 7^th grade boys. 

VP Membership

Ashley Smith

I am mother to three children: Tynain (15), Taelyn (14), and Talia (10) and I am married to Elijah, a Navy veteran, who serves federal law enforcement. Professionally, I am a substitute teacher and copyeditor.

My PTA journey began in 2015, when I served as room parent for both Kindergarten and 2^nd grade classrooms. I saw firsthand the impact that my engagement had on both children and teachers and it inspired me to become more involved. Since then, I have served in several PTA leadership positions, to include: Vice President of Fundraising, Secretary (elementary and middle); President (elementary and middle); and President at the Council level. I have 10 years of PTA experience. I have also fulfilled the remaining term of the Vice President of Advocacy for Virginia PTA since February of 2022.

I also served as secretary of the Special Education Advisory Committee from 2019-2021 and Chair from 2021-2023.

VP Family Engagement Monique Womack

Hi, my name is Monique Womack. I am currently the President of the Chesapeake Council PTA and a member of the VAPTA Advocacy Committee, and I am running for the Vice President of Family Engagement for the 2023-2025 term.

I have been a member of the PTA since 2016 and have held multiple Committee and Executive Board positions at the local and council unit levels. During this time, I have won multiple National PTA grants while participating in several national programs, such as 125 Days of Membership and School of Excellence. Working with a team to push the PTA’s mission forward has always been part of my reason for being a member, but my number one reason to PTA is my middle school daughter. 

My goal in joining VAPTA is to make programs at the National level more accessible for our local units while expanding upon our state level programs.

VP Leadership Development

Christina Whitehouse

My name is Christina Whitehouse and I am running for the Virginia PTA VP of Leadership Development.

I will share a bit about my background and PTA journey. I am a Richmond native and I have a son, Antony, that is in the 4th grade at Mechanicsville Elementary School. I have served in an at-large position as VP of Membership for the past 6 months with Virginia PTA and have loved getting to know local units and work with PTA at the state level. I have been the VP of Communications/Memberhub for Hanover County Council for the past 3 years. I was also president at Mechanicsville Elementary School PTA from 2019-2021.

In this state position, I hope to help units grow and develop leaders for the future and hold training sessions/tools for units to use to develop their PTA leaders. I look forward to making a positive impact!

VP Local Unit Operations

Hamid Munir

My name is Hamid Munir. I am currently a Virginia PTA Vice President of the Local Unit Operations. I am father of 3 kids. 3rd year college, 11^Th Grader in High School, and a 5th Grader in elementary school.

By profession I am an IT Engineer. I have been involved with PTA for several years and served in several different positions (Local PTA VP, Local PTA President, Council Vice President, District Director, VP at State PTA, and DEI Committee member at National PTA). My passion is advocacy. I love standing up for our students, teachers, and schools. I take every opportunity to advocate on their behalf. I believe in our mission of “To make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children”. After the pandemic many PTAs were struggling. I have spent countless volunteer hours to help PTAs.

Bylaws Director

Claire Noakes

Claire Noakes is an attorney with over 15 years of experience in drafting regulations and other transactional documents.

She is currently serving as President of the Arlington County Council of PTAs, helping 35 local units collaborate and raise awareness of the issues that matter most to their communities. She is also involved in several local civic initiatives involving good stewardship of budgets, responsive planning for public facilities, and de-carbonization of our energy systems.

Every year, she starts out as an optimist when planning her vegetable garden, but then quickly converts into a realist once the weeds take over in June. Her two kids are in middle school.

The self declaring window is still open. All information is due no later than Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 5:00PM ET to the president at president@vapta.org, indicating "Nomination" in the subject line.

Candidate's checklist of required materials:

• One-page cover letter sharing your reasons for wishing to be considered for the position(s) you have indicated, as well as the skills and expertise you would bring to the position(s). Cover letter must be on one side of an 8.5" X 11" single sheet of paper, in no smaller than 11 point type, single spaced.
• Completed Professional/Personal Experience Resume
• Current/Previous PTA Involvement Resume 
• Current/Previous Community Service Affiliations
• List of 3-5 References [must not be members of the Nominations Committee or VP of Leadership Development]
• Honors and Awards (optional)
• Copy of Conflict of Interest Policy Form
• Copy of current PTA membership card
• Local unit must be in compliance with Virginia PTA

It is imperative that all candidates complete all of the required steps to be eligible for consideration. All candidates must follow procedures as provided by Elections Oversight Committee Chair Art Wayne.

The Elections Oversight Committee oversees the election process. The committee shall review all materials for compliance with Virginia PTA policy. All concerns raised during the election period shall be directed to the EOC chair.

Voting delegates decide all business, motions, and the election of officers during the annual meeting.

To facilitate the election of officers, Virginia PTA will use electronic ballots issued by Election Runner, an electronic voting tool. All other business matters during General Sessions will be decided by our standard issued voting credential card.

Virginia PTA will host a virtual Meet the Candidates Town Hall with slated and self declared candidates and training session on the voting process on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 2:00pm.

As per the bylaws, candidates are officially nominated by the Nominations Chair at annual meeting. Therefore, voting delegates will receive a link via email to enter the online voting platform at the end of that process. Voting delegates must be present and accounted for in order to receive their electronic ballot link. The elections oversight committee chair will announce the ending time for all ballots to be completed.

Voting delegates will enter their votes for officers through their cell phones, computers, tablets, or any other device with a web browser connected to the internet. A limited number of devices will be available onsite for use.

Once voting is complete, the elections oversight committee chair will review and confirm recorded votes for consistency with the number of present and credentialed votes. Each candidate will be notified of the results.

The secretary and parliamentarian will confirm accuracy of the reported votes and the results will be announced by the elections oversight committee chair.

Congratulations to Jenna Adams, Jessica Wiley, and Jen Parker! They are the Virginia PTA Volunteer of the Year in the Primary, Secondary and Special categories respectively.

Every year, the Virginia PTA recognizes outstanding volunteers who have given many hours to help make their school community an overall better place for both the students, families, and the staff. The Virginia PTA is determined to help empower parents to make a difference in, not only the education, but the health and safety of our children as well.

Thank you, Jenna, Jessica, and Jen, for your dedicated efforts in serving your school community, students and staff.

The award ceremony will take place at the Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Reception to follow annual meeting in conjunction with our Student Programs Awards Event. More information below and to follow.

Delegates of the Association will be voting on the following items:

• Bylaws Amendments Bylaws Director will be available to assist delegates with any questions on procedures or secondary amendments to proposed amended bylaws.

• Resolutions: Virginia PTA is a nonpartisan organization concerned with the education, care and protection of children and youth. Resolutions are adopted by delegates at annual meeting and provide the basis for Virginia PTA advocacy efforts.

1. Fentanyl Abuse & Prevention
2. Pathways Out of Poverty
3. School Libraries & Access to Books



• Annual Meeting Standing Rules

Congratulations to our hardworking students. We are so proud of them all who shared their talents with us this year!

Annual Meeting registrants are invited to stay and attend our Student Award Ceremony to be held on Saturday, May 20, 2020 at 5:00pm. The cost is included in your registration fee.

Student participants in the below programs will be honored with awards in their respective programs and social. Invitations will be sent to students and their families directly.

Program slated to be awarded:

• Reflections Arts Program [Outstanding Interpretation, Award of Excellence & Award of Merit Only]
• Spoken Word
• Student Video
• Scholarship

If you have any questions, please contact the VP Programs.

Make a commitment to attend the Annual Meeting and be sure to participate in the business of VAPTA by attending the general sessions.

• Verify budget limits for conference expenses.
• Make sure all reimbursement plans are clearly understood by you and your PTA.
• Carefully read and complete all forms. Understand the Credential Form and be prepared to debate and vote.
• Encourage attendance by teachers and school administration.
• Attend different workshops than others in your unit or council in order to gain the most information to share after attending.
• After attending, report back to your unit and help develop a plan to utilize programs and ideas learned, share materials received with your team.