Recent Placements

Darren D. Kelly, a 2004 alumnus of the McIntire School of Commerce, has been named the new Associate Vice President and Dean of the Office of African American Affairs (OAAA). Darren will join the division on October 2.

Boar’s Head Resort and the University of Virginia Foundation announced today the appointment of Gigi Vega as general manager effective Aug. 14. Vega, who has amassed more than three decades of hospitality experience over her career that spans the globe, comes to Charlottesville from San Francisco, where she was the general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero. Russ Cronberg, who has served as general manager at Boar’s Head for the last seven years, recently assumed the position of director of hospitality for the University of Virginia Foundation.

Susan Klobuchar joined UVA Engineering as Executive Director, Strategic Communications on August 1, 2023. She will be responsible for enhancing the UVA Engineering brand, leading internal and external communications strategy and execution, serving as a member of the school’s leadership team, and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Department of Communications. In her role, she will help UVA Engineering achieve its mission of making the world a better place by creating and disseminating knowledge and by preparing engineering leaders to solve global challenges.

The University of Virginia has appointed Kelly P. Doney as the next Vice President and Chief Information Officer.

She brings decades of experience in higher education, technology and management consulting, most recently serving as vice president and chief information officer at Villanova University. At UVA, Doney will be responsible for oversight of areas including the planning and delivery of central information technology applications, infrastructure, support, information security and policy, and research computing.

Chris Neal joins UVA Health Development from Longwood University where he has served as Assistant Vice President for Leadership & Planned Giving. He has led a team of gift officers to serve as generalists, fundraising for the greater Longwood community. During the course of Chris’s tenure, he has played an integral role in increasing Longwood’s endowment from $51.8M to over $100M. Chris is passionate about the advancement profession, relationship building and serving on a team.

Melissa Wolf Riley joins UVA’s Office of the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer as Special Advisor.  Melissa is an experienced attorney who has lived and worked in the Charlottesville area for over 20 years.  A graduate of Washington & Lee University and University of Richmond School of Law, she spent 15 years with the law firm of McGuireWoods LLP, where she provided a broad range of litigation and consulting services to clients in many areas of the law while also focusing on employment law and the health and education industries.

Nicole Hall comes to the University of Virginia from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She is an accomplished leader known for her skills in strategic planning, management, building internal and external partnerships, use of technology, marketing, and fundraising. At the University of North Carolina Greensboro, she has successfully moved the career operation from one of delivering general services to one that is more market-informed, partnerships-based, and metrics-oriented.

Molly S. Zlock comes to the University of Virginia from Elon University, where she has been the Director of HR Compliance, Equal Opportunity and Title IX since August 2020. Mrs. Zlock has an extensive background in higher education since 2010, specifically in the areas of Title IX and Equal Opportunity. Molly has previously held positions at Seton Hall University; Belmont University; and Vanderbilt University.

Raphael Malbrue has been named the next Director, Center for Comparative Medicine and Attending Veterinarian. Dr. Malbrue is a native of Baton Rouge, LA. He completed his undergraduate and veterinary school training at Tuskegee University. He then went on to complete a residency program in Laboratory Animal Medicine at Louisiana State University. In conjunction with his residency program Dr.

Chris will be joining the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office as its new Director of Development. Chris recently served as the Director of Development for University Initiatives with the University Development Office at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With over six years development experience, Chris has a proven background of soliciting and closing major gifts, prospect portfolio and travel territory management. Prior to his fundraising career at UNC, Chris spent 14 years in financial services in both personal and business banking, and management.

Tyisha is a strategic leader with more than 10 years of experience in graduate education - with success in supporting and mentoring students from recruitment through graduation. Her data-driven and forward-thinking approach has enabled successful collaboration with numerous colleagues throughout each university community she has served.  She is passionate about empowering future leaders from diverse backgrounds that will advance science and higher education.

Devin leads the Custom solutions team for organizational partners and clients as part of the Darden Executive Education and the Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning. He is responsible for overall client engagement, team leadership and expanding Darden’s reach to global organizations to drive impact. Prior to Darden, Devin served as Director, Custom Live Programs at the integrated area of Cornell University in Cornell External Education. In that role he worked closely with global clients such as Merck, Amazon and RSM leveraging faculty across Cornell University.

Elinor (Ellie) Tappé serves as Executive Director of Strategic Advancement where she helps shape and realize the strategic objectives of the Batten School. With a 25-year history in strategic planning and development, Ellie has held a variety of leadership roles in the corporate sector, as well as higher education and nonprofit. Her experience in philanthropy spans more than a decade and includes UC Berkeley, Larkin Street Youth Services and Urban Teachers. 

The University of Virginia announced today that Melissa M. Lubin has been appointed the dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, effective Sept. 19. Lubin is currently the dean of the School of Professional & Continuing Education and chief economic engagement officer at James Madison University.