Changing the Commonwealth: Virginia Executive Institute Strengthens Leaders and Policy

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By The VCU Wilder School Office of Research and Outreach
July 8, 2024

Since 1997, more than 1,500 public services leaders from across Virginia have completed the Virginia Executive Institute (VEI) program. The list of alumni reads like a “Who’s Who of Virginia government”, including cabinet secretaries, agency heads, managers, directors and other key decision-makers. Twenty-seven years later, the program, which is run by the VCU Wilder School’s Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, continues to have a transformative impact on Virginia’s public service leaders and public policies.

 “The Virginia Executive Institute continues to be a signature program in the development of Virginia’s top leaders,” said Wilder School Dean Susan T. Gooden, Ph.D. “Through VEI, we are shaping skilled decision-makers and ethical leaders who are prepared to address the complex challenges of today and tomorrow. This commitment to excellence and problem-solving at the highest levels of government ensures that Virginia remains a leader in effective and responsive governance.”

In addition to self-assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and 360 Feedback, a robust reading list, media training, conflict resolution and ethical decision-making sessions and coaching, the VEI program also assigns a leadership challenge to research and present to a panel of state government leaders at graduation at the state Capitol. These challenges have included topics such as:

• Developing Consistency for Conflict Resolution in the Workplace
• Feasible or Unreasonable? The Four-Day Work Week
• Living the Dream: The Struggle to Find an Affordable Home
• Service Beyond the Desk: Embracing Volunteerism to Support our Communities and Improve our Personal Wellbeing
• Virginia Flex: Transforming Virginia’s Work Paradigm to Improve Organizational Culture and Performance Outcomes

For one recent group, this leadership challenge project is having a lasting impact throughout the commonwealth.

In the fall of 2023, a group in the VEI class presented a project entitled “A Virginia Crisis: The Fight against Fentanyl,” which focused on educating the public about the risks of Fentanyl and the importance of providing Narcan to state agencies. The group consisted of the following individuals:

• Zacc Allen: Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Unit, Department of Corrections
• Mike Alston: Director, Human Capital & Development Division, Department of Medical Assistance Services
• Allen Blair: Senior Talent Management Consultant, Department of Human Resources Management
• Tiffany Yacomeni: Branch Chief, Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency

In describing the importance of their project, the team stated:

“Drug overdoses are the leading cause of unnatural deaths in Virginia. According to the Virginia Department of Health, more than 7,300 fatal fentanyl deaths occurred from 2013 to 2021. An average of five Virginians die from fentanyl overdoses each day. Ninety-four percent of these overdose deaths were accidental. According to the CDC over 150 people die each day across the United States from overdoses that are related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Many Virginians are fighting back against this deadly killer. [Our VEI group] plans to present facts about legal and illicit fentanyl, the crisis that is before us and the current efforts in Virginia to help lower overdose deaths. Our group will also explore factors that we believe can help reduce overdoses, such as training and awareness.”

Ultimately, the team set a goal of allowing state agency employees to possess and administer Narcan as needed. The presentation by this group, nicknamed The Fighting First, was well-received, and they were invited to present their work at the Virginia Attorney General’s office in December 2023.

Their presentation impressed the attendees, and resulted in the Office of the Attorney General deciding to fund the project. Additionally, the Opioid Abatement Authority requested them to present their work, with the possibility of a Senator attending that session. Since their presentation at the VEI fall 2023 graduation, their work has become part of Virginia law in the form of Virginia House Bill 342. This Bill:

• Requires state agencies to possess naloxone or other opioid antagonists used for overdose reversal,
• Permits employees of any state agency to possess and administer naloxone or other opioid antagonists,
• Directs the Department of Health to post on its website informational resources relating to the use of naloxone and other opioid antagonists for opioid overdose reversal and prevention in public places and
• Directs the Department of Health to develop a plan for the procurement and distribution of naloxone or other opioid antagonists to each state agency.

The group’s full presentation is available here.

The work done by this group, and by all of the other graduates of VEI, contributes to the program’s long tradition of excellence and problem solving. As we look ahead to the fall of 2024, we also look forward to seeing how future program participants will leave their own lasting impact on the commonwealth of Virginia.

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Author: The Wilder School’s Center for Public Policy advances research and training that informs public policy and decisionmaking to improve our communities. Drawing on the wide-ranging expertise of Wilder School faculty, we provide services including leadership development and training, economic and policy impact analysis, survey insights and program evaluation to clients in governments, nonprofits, businesses and the public, across Virginia and beyond. Twitter: @VCUWilderSchool

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