Board of Commissioners

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Commissioner Veronica Blount is  Chair of the Board of Commissioners. Blount has served her community as a resident of Richmond for 13 years as the Creator and Director of several support groups, a PTA President, a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children, a Community Advocate and Resource Center Specialist doing Healthcare administration for the Richmond City Health District, served her country as an AmeriCorps member at Embrace Richmond, interned at Central Virginia Legal Aid Society before earning a degree in Paralegal Studies at Bryant & Stratton College, served as a member of CVLAS Client Council, the 7th District Health & Wellness Initiative, participated in and supported many programs of the Peter Paul Development Center, and now appointed by the Richmond City Council to serve on the Board of Commissioners for the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Blount holds many certificates in allied health, case management, mental health, and human services. Blount is a PTA Executive Board member, a Richmond Community High School Board member, working full time and always continuing her education, all while building a nonprofit to serve an underserved community. Veronica is most proud of her role as Momager to her incredible daughter.

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Commissioner Neil S. Kessler is Vice Chairman of the Board of Commissioners and is a partner in the Richmond office of  Troutman Sanders LLP.  Kessler has represented clients in various types of commercial real estate transactions for more than 40 years, with an emphasis in financing, leasing, sales, purchases, development, and construction.  Kessler is a former co-chair of the Committee on Design and Construction Contracts and the Property, Casualty and Other Non-Title Insurance Committee of the Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law of the American Bar Association.

Kessler is the author of the Virginia law section of the ABA publication entitled A State-By-State Guide to Construction and Design Law and a chapter on insurance for a publication of the International Council of Shopping Centers. Kessler is also the co-editor of the Virginia Law Foundation Handbook entitled Real Estate Transactions in Virginia.  Kessler is a past Chair of the Real Estate Section of the Virginia State Bar and is currently a member of its Board of Governors. He is a former member of the Board of Governors and is a current member of the Insurance and Leasing Committees of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He is also a member of the Program Committee of the International Council of Shopping Centers Law Conference.

Kessler has been elected as a member of the Virginia Commonwealth University Real Estate Circle of Excellence and as a Fellow of the Virginia Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation.  Kessler has been recognized as a Leader of the Law by Virginia Lawyers Weekly, as one of the Best Lawyers in America and in the International Who’s Who in Real Estate Law. Kessler received his undergraduate degree with honors from Washington & Lee University and his law degree with honors from The George Washington University. He is a frequent continuing legal education lecturer.

Commissioner Marilyn B. Olds’ activities include being a graduate of the Richmond Bureau of Police Citizens Academy, member of the Virginia Poverty Law Group and Woodville Elementary School Steering Committee, President of RRHA Resident Patrols, Deacon for Faith Community Baptist Church, President of the Creighton Court Tenant Council, and a volunteer for numerous children’s programs such as the Creighton Court Steppers.

Commissioner Jonathan E. Coleman is co-founder of the New Y-CAPP Inc. In 1999, the organization was formed by Coleman and Donna Z. Pierce-Baylor to serve the needs of children and adolescents. The agency began providing services in the City of Richmond and successfully expanded to the Hopewell, Tidewater and Charlottesville regions. Coleman is also Vice President of the Association of Community Based Service Providers (ACBSP), an organization that provides its members with access to the latest developments and proposed regulations in the field of Mental Health Service. Coleman also serves as a Board Member of the Downtown YMCA and Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers. Coleman is an alumnus of Virginia Union University.

Commissioner Robley Shelton Jones began his service on the board in 2013. Jones retired in September of 2016 ending a career that included the following positions: Director of Government Relations and Research for the Virginia Education Association, State Director for Senator Charles S. Robb, president of the Virginia Education Association, and teacher of secondary English in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Jones, and his wife, Jacqueline, reside in the Forest Hill Section of Richmond.

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Commissioner Basil I Gooden, PhD, is a Visiting Scholar in Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University’s iCube Institute (Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry and Innovation). His focus is on Sustainable Food Access.

Gooden has nearly 20 years of policy experience with governmental agencies in the areas of community development, affordable housing, transportation and economic development.

He is the former Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving under Governor Terry McAuliffe. In this role he provided strategic vision, support and advocacy for two of Virginia’s largest private industries, agriculture and forestry and well as provided oversight and policy guidance for three state agencies—the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Racing Commission.

His professional interest and expertise involve working in an innovative and collaborative environment to help promote inclusive, equitable and sustainable food systems, good government, agriculture policy, public health , community economic development and wealth building strategies in minority and underserved communities.

Gooden has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Virginia Tech, a Master of Social Work from Syracuse University, a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

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Commissioner Michael Barrett Hardiman a government relations professional with more than a decade of experience.  His career includes advocacy for housing, development and construction issues. He is a former lobbyist and currently serves as Principal for his firm, Hardiman Advisors.  Prior to becoming self-employed, he was Senior Government Relations Manager for Genworth Financial with responsibility for all 50 states. Before joining Genworth, he served as Director of Government Affairs for Luck Companies focusing on state and federal transportation funding and policy, economic development, and local land use issues. Barrett has also worked for a variety of state trade associations covering diverse topics from broadcast television to home construction.

Barrett received a B.A. from the University of Virginia with a double concentration in Economics and American Politics.

Barrett serves as the chairperson of the Virginia Solar Energy Development and Energy Storage Authority, and previously served as the chairperson of the Transportation and Infrastructure sub-committee of the Greater Richmond Chamber’s Government Relations Committee.

Barrett and his wife Helen live in the City of Richmond’s Battery Park neighborhood with their daughter. He is a lifelong resident of Virginia and has spent time living and working in Richmond, Charlottesville, and Northern Virginia.

Commissioner William R. Johnson, Jr. currently serves as a mentor to at-risk males.  He is a current member of the Metropolitan Day School, a private, alternative school with an intensive and highly structured curriculum that serves the needs of students with specific disabilities.  He is a former zoning administrator for Hanover County and served on Richmond City council member from 1998 to 2004.  He is a former Board Chairman of the Neighborhood Housing Services of Richmond Inc, a non-profit organization created specifically to present opportunities for low and moderate-income families preparing to purchase affordable homes.  A Richmond native, Johnson attended Armstrong Kennedy High School and currently resides in the city’s 6^th council district. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Studies and Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University, and an Assessment Administration Specialist designation from J. Sargeant Reynolds.