MEET OUR 2025 PRESENTERS
VEBA is pleased to announce its lineup of presenters for this year’s Annual Meeting. We appreciate their taking time to participate and look forward to hearing from them as they provide timely information for the administration of our elections.
GUEST PRESENTERS
Susan Beals
Virginia Elections Commissioner
Prior to her appointment, she was a member of the Chesterfield County Electoral Board for three years, serving as both Chair (2019-2021) and Secretary (2021-2022).
Throughout her career, Beals has staffed campaigns for state senate, governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. She has also worked as a legislative aide at the state and federal levels. She and her husband have two teenagers and reside in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
Dr. Mitchell Brown
Professor of Political Science – Auburn University
Rachel Lawless
Confidential Policy Advisor, Virginia Department of Elections
Rachel Lawless is the Confidential Policy Advisor at the Virginia Department of Elections, where she acts as a trusted advisor to the Commissioner and manages both the Policy and FOIA/Record Retention teams. Prior to her tenure in state government, Rachel was a staffer on both statewide and national political campaigns, which facilitated a lifelong love of the democratic process and grassroots policy making. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Michigan State University and a Masters of Public Affairs from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. In her spare time, Rachel is a member of the Advisory Board for Yes, And! Theatrical Company in Richmond, Virginia and enjoys reading and traveling abroad.
Dr. Edward Long
Parliamentarian
Dr. Edward R. Long is a retired National Aeronautics and Space Administration physicist.
Since retirement he has continued work in science and engineering as a consultant for NASA, DoD, and private companies, both domestic and foreign.
He has been a parliamentarian for 10 years and is known to attendees of earlier VEBA conferences as “The Grumpy Ole Parliamentarian.”
Donald Palmer
Chair, United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
Donald Palmer currently serves as Chair of the EAC and the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for the Local Leadership Council (LLC). During his term as EAC Chairman, Mr. Palmer and the Commission instituted a process to establish security testing standards for electronic poll books. The initiative resulted in the Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) for the testing of election supporting technology.
As a former Bipartisan Policy Center Fellow, he advanced recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. Mr. Palmer is a former Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections and served as the Commonwealth’s Chief Election Official from 2011 to 2014.
Dr. Charles Stewart
Professor of Political Science – MIT
Charles Stewart III is the Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science at MIT, where he has taught since 1985, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research and teaching include American politics, elections, congressional politics, and American political development.
Professor Stewart is an established leader in the analysis of the performance of election systems and the quantitative assessment of election performance. Since 2001, he has been a member of the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, a leading research effort that applies scientific analysis to questions about election technology, election administration, and election reform. He also provided advice to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. In 2023, he facilitated a bipartisan task force of state and local election officials sponsored by the American Law Institute to articulate ethical principles for election officials.
Professor Stewart has been the author or coauthor of over 70 articles and books chapters and seven books.
VEBA PRESENTERS
Bruce Brown
Alexandria City Electoral Board
Lynette Clements
Chesterfield County Electoral Board
Lynette Clements currently serves on the Legislative Committee of the Virginia Electoral Board Association. She is also the Secretary of the Chesterfield County Electoral Board.
Donna Dagner
VEBA District Director
Donna Dagner serves as the South Central District Director of the Virginia Electoral Board Association. This is her 11th year of serving as an electoral board member of Lunenburg County where she currently is the Chair of the board.
Donna’s other professional and community involvement include being a long -term substitute teacher at Lunenburg County Public Schools, Executive Director – Community Resource Services, and Membership Chair for the Lunenburg Chamber of Commerce.
Dale Dunn
Orange County Electoral Board
Dale Dunn serves as Chairman of the Orange County Electoral Board.
Jody Elson
VEBA Executive Board
Kate Hanley
Fairfax County Electoral Board
Rick Herrington
Fairfax City Electoral Board
Rick is a jealous adherent to the election laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and supportive of the effort of electoral boards to ensure general registrars of their localities have the necessary resources to faithfully execute the election laws of the Commonwealth.
Paul Kitchen
VEBA District Director
Paul Kitchen is an English born Canadian who became a naturalized United States citizen in 1996. Since taking the oath of citizenship and pledging allegiance he has never failed to exercise his constitutional right to vote.
After more than ten years traveling our amazing country in an RV, Paul settled in Floyd, Virginia. Since then, he has served as an election observer, an Officer of Elections, and was appointed to the Floyd County Electoral Board, which he chairs.
At the 2024 VEBA conference Paul was elected to Director of the Southern District. Paul is a detailed oriented person who has helped VEBA revise our bylaws and create our new ethical principles and code of conduct. As an active VEBA member he looks ahead believing in a bright future for our association.
Rick Michael
VEBA Executive Board
Rick Michael currently serves as the Second Vice President of the Virginia Electoral Board Association. He is also an electoral board member in Chesterfield County.
John Nunnally
VEBA Executive Board
Jim Oaks
Suffolk City Electoral Board
Jim Oaks has been a member of the Suffolk City Electoral Board as the Chairman since 2023.
Jim has been employed by Shield Technologies Corporation since 2005 and currently serves as the Director of Operation. Prior to that he served for twenty-nine years in the United States Coast Guard as a Gunners Mate, and then as a Chief Warrant Officer (Weapons), retiring in 2005.
His qualifications and certifications include Curriculum Development, Instructor, Quality Management Process Developer, Facilitator, and Lean Six-Sigma Yellow Belt.
Shelley Oberlander
Loudon County Electoral Board
Shelley Oberlander is the Vice-Chairman of the Loudoun County Electoral Board and a participant of the VEBA Legislative Committee. She has served as Officer of Election, Precinct Chief, Assistant Chief and is Help Desk certified.
She is a graduate of James Madison University, with a degree in International Business and home educated her four children through high school. She is a native Virginian, who has lived in Tidewater, the Shenandoah Valley, and now Loudoun County for the past 25 years with her husband and near her two grandchildren.
Roger Omwake
Accomack Electoral Board
Roger Omwake currently serves as the Secretary of the Accomack Electoral Board.
Kimberly Phillip
VEBA District Director
Kimberly Phillip currently serves as the Northern District Director of the Virginia Electoral Board Association. She is also the Secretary of the Arlington County Electoral Board.
Phillip holds a BA in Religion from the College of William and Mary and an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies, Religion in World Traditions, from George Mason University.
Wanda Taylor
VEBA Executive Board
Wanda Taylor currently serves as the First Vice President of the Virginia Electoral Board Association. She is also an electoral board member in Goochland County. Wanda’s service in Goochland County began in 1994 as an Officer of Election and then precinct chief. She was appointed to the Electoral Board in 2007.
Wanda has an Information Technology background of 30+ years and served as the PMO Program Manager in the chemical industry. She currently teaches Project Management Principles and Standards at the PM College.
Clara Belle Wheeler
VEBA District Director
Mike Ziegenfuss
VEBA District Director
Mike “Zig” Ziegenfuss currently serves as the Tidewater District Director of the Virginia Electoral Board Association. He is also an electoral board member of Norfolk City.