Virginia Career Development Association

 Creating Connections for Virginia's Career Development Professionals

VCDA Board Biographies 2010-11

President - Celeste Hall

Celeste Hall is currently a School Counselor at The Georgetown School  in Hanover County. She is also Adjunct Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been active in many VCDA Leadership positions over the years, including President, Treasurer and Professional Development Chair. Celeste has recently completed training to become certified as a Career Development Facilitator Instructor and was chosen by the VCDA board as its member of the year in 2008.   

Past President - Don Landis

Don is currently a Career Coach with Piedmont Virginia Community College, working both at Charlottesville High School and at the community college.

He has served on state-wide planning team for the Career Coach program (during 2006-2007); this program has grown from 10 coaches in 2004 to over 100 coaches in public high schools across the commonwealth. Don was part of the “Career Coaching” program presentation at National Career Pathways Conference (2007 and 2008), Virginia Transition conference (2007), and at the NCDA conference (Summer 2008) 

He is a former high school guidance director at Louisa County High School and a middle school counselor in Albemarle County. Don holds a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, and a Secondary School Counseling Certification in Virginia.

President-Elect – Iris Rivera

Iris is a Career Center Specialist at Hayfield Secondary School. She collaborates with teachers, counselors and administrators to help students from 7th to 12th grades make the connection between classroom academics and career exploration. Iris provides students with numerous resources to assist them with their college and scholarship searches.

Professional Development- Sharon DeBragga

Sharon DeBragga is the Career Development Coordinator at Mountain View High School in Centreville. As a school counselor she has worked at all levels, K-12, and in Student Services at a four year college. She has been involved in career development and education/career curriculum writing throughout her career. In addition to her work with VCDA, Sharon co-chairs the Education Council for the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce, chairs the Mountain View Scholarship Committee, and serves on the board for the Historic Centreville Society and the Fairfax County Public School Partners in Education Advisory Committee. Sharon has a Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters Degree in Counseling and Pupil Personnel Services also from UNC-CH.

Director-at-Large: Membership - Susan Fastabend-Tucker

Susan holds a Masters Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in school counseling and a Master's degree in Digital Computing from East Carolina University. Before entering the education field, Susan spent 25 years in IT related customer support, process engineering, risk management and global outsourcing. Susan joined the VCDA Board as “acting-Secretary” in January 2007.  She is currently employed with Louisa County Public Schools as a Family Support Worker.

Treasurer – Sue Sheffield

Sue Sheffield currently works as a consultant specializing in school counseling and career planning.  She recently retired from Albemarle County schools serving as the Coordinator for School Counseling and Career and Technical Education for the Albemarle County Schools for the last 7 years. She brings experience as a teacher, school counselor, director, and coordinator to Albemarle County. She has a Bachelors degree in Political Science and History and a Masters in School Counseling. Sue was recognized by the VCDA Board as member of the year for 2009- 2010. 

Secretary - Genie Williford

Genie is the Career Experience Specialist at the Edison Academy at Edison High School in Fairfax County. In this role she collaborates with school and business community groups to develop and promote career experiences and career development opportunities to students. Genie has previously been a middle school careers exploration teacher in NC, and a marketing teacher in VA. She has assisted middle school students with academic and career planning, supervised cooperative education and job shadow experiences for high school students, and wrote high school CTE course curriculum for both NC and VA which include exploring and identifying career opportunities and the development of skills for the workforce. Genie holds a Bachelor of Science from The College of Human Ecology at East Carolina University and a Masters of Business Administration from DeVry University. She is also certified by the National Retail Federation in Customer Service.

Website Team - Manny Bartolotta

Manny is a past-president of VCDA and VSCA. Currently, he is officially “actively retired”, working part-time as a counselor for the Northern Virginia Community College, Extended Learning Institute, which works with distance learning students. Manny also enjoys teaching senior citizens computer skills at Lorton Senior Center in Fairfax County. He is serving on the VCDA Web Team and is Council Division Chair for the Virginia Counselors Association, and Vice President of the VCA Foundation.

Communications & Website Team - Terry Burton

Terry recently retired from Albemarle County Public Schools where she served as the Career Specialist at Monticello High School for 13 years and at Albemarle High School for 3 years. In this role, she worked with the school counseling department and administration to provide career planning activities for students. She promoted the career planning program, working with staff, parents, students, and businesses. She was employed with Albemarle County Schools as a Special Education Teacher, Vocational Evaluator, and Transition Specialist`. Terry holds a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of Virginia and an endorsement in Vocational Evaluation.

Community College Representative - Scott Kemp

Scott holds a Masters Degree from the Catholic University of America in Counseling and Masters Degree in Experimental Psychology from Hollins College. After working for 6 years as a Guidance Counselor and 2 years as a Career Counselor, Scott joined the Virginia Department of Education as a specialist in career counseling and career resources. In this position, Scott also worked heavily with the Virginia Transition Forum and the Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow Program. Currently, Scott is the Career Coach Coordinator at the Virginia Community College System office, overseeing the 120+ career coaches who serve in 175 high schools around Virginia. In addition, Scott is involved in several projects related to the statewide Career Pathways Strategic Task Force. Scott also holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Virginia, double-majoring in Psychology and Religious Studies.

High School Representative - Michele (Micki) Coffman

Micki has been employed since August 2006 as a Career Specialist with Alexandria City Public Schools. Micki works with teachers and counselors to implement career development activities in grades 6-12. She also coordinates contract dual enrollment courses and industry certification testing in CTE classes. Prior to coming to ACPS Micki was the Tech Prep Director for the Northern Virginia Region and was also employed by George Mason University as the Career Coordinator for the School of Information Technology and Engineering. She has taught Career Development and Psychology courses as and adjunct faculty member at George Mason and College of Southern Maryland. Micki has her BS in Industrial Psychology from GMU and a Master in Counseling from Shippensburg University. She also has her Career Pathways Certification from the National Career Pathways Network.

Director-at-Large - Ann Emerson, School-to-Career Specialist

Ann has been employed since 2001 by Stafford County Public Schools as a School-to-Career Specialist. During this time, she has worked with groups and individuals (including teachers, counselors and administrators) to further career development in K-12. Ann is a Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) and has received the Career Pathways certification from the National Career Pathways Network.

School Counseling Connections/Academic and Career Plan Representative - Joe Wharff

Joseph is School Counseling Connections Specialist with the Virginia Department of Education Office of Career and Technical Education. His responsibilities include the Career Connections Program, the Academic and Career Plan, and school counseling.

College Representative - Lori Johnson

Professional Recognition - Velma Chamberlain

Zelma is a native Washingtonian and graduate of the University of the District of Columbia with a degree in History. Her Master of Education is from Trinity University in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on the “Urban Learner”. She has been with Fairfax County Public Schools for more than ten years and in ‘non-traditional’ education for more than fifteen years. She is the Career Development Coordinator at Bryant High School. For the past twenty-seven years, she was been involved in Science of Spirituality, a non denomination meditation practice and offers workshops on the subject throughout the United States. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with the love of her life, her grandson.

Middle School Representative - Vacant

Graduate Student Representative - Vacant

Affiliate Counseling Professionals Representative - Vacant