Two former state education secretaries and multiple education experts have been appointed to serve on Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s transition team, tasked with preparing the new gubernatorial administration for the next four years. 

The team was announced on Friday after Spanberger rolled out her “Strengthening Virginia Schools Plan” in August. 

Former secretaries of education Jim Dyke, who served under former Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder’s administration, and Anne Holton, under former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration, highlighted the list of appointments. 

“I am excited that we will have new leadership in education in Virginia from Governor-Elect Spanberger and her team,” Holton told the Mercury. “It is sorely needed, and I am honored to help with the transition in any way I can.” 

Holton recently completed her term on the Virginia Board of Education, during which she frequently challenged Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration on education policy issues including overhauling the state’s accountability system. 

Dyke, who has known Spanberger since she ran for Congress, said he looks forward to sharing his expertise. 

“I know what it’s like to have to transition into office and actually to govern, and to the extent I can … I’m looking forward to helping in any way that she thinks is appropriate,” Dyke said. 

The list of education experts also includes Douglas Garcia, a former assistant secretary of education; Monica Logothetis, a former senior advisor to the U.S. Department of Education; Baron Braswell, a former School Board member of Spotsylvania County Public Schools; and Deborah Frazier, the chief academic officer of Spotsylvania County Public Schools. 

Spanberger has pledged her commitment to maintaining public funding for Virginia’s schools, enhancing the affordability and accessibility of higher education, and expanding opportunities for high school students to take college coursework. 

This summer, Spanberger’s campaign said she would “make it a priority to give public schools the resources to explore best and promising practices through innovative career and technical education programs and work-based learning.” 

Spanberger also expressed her views on balancing parental rights and children’s privacy during her August interview with the Mercury and said she supports more proactive information-sharing between schools, students and families that enhances safety without compromising students’ rights. She said Virginia has the potential to lead in addressing communication barriers related to issues such as school overdose incidents and teacher arrests involving children. 

The transition team, more broadly, is expected to prepare the way for the administration’s focus on “lowering costs, expanding economic opportunity, increasing business investment in Virginia’s economy, and creating a safer commonwealth for all Virginia families.” 

The team also includes two professors connected to the University of Virginia: Yohannes Abraham, former executive director for the Biden-Harris transition team, former U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a visiting professor at UVa.; and Chris Lu, former executive director for the Obama-Biden transition team, former U.S. deputy secretary of labor and James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at UVa.’s Miller Center. 

“These Virginians not only bring together deep ties from across every region of our commonwealth, but the experience, integrity and know-how required to deliver the pragmatic and principled leadership that Virginians overwhelmingly voted for this November,” Spanberger said in a statement on Friday. 

Spanberger’s inauguration will take place in Richmond on Jan. 17, days after the start of the 2026 General Assembly Session. 

This story originally appeared on VirginiaMercury.com.