The Virginia Governor’s Office today announced the appointment of Charles S. Reed Jr. ’11 of Sterling to the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors. In addition, Sharon Bulova of Fairfax and Edward B. Hontz of Stafford have been reappointed to second terms on the board. The appointees will serve four-year terms, which will expire June 30, 2024. Reed succeeds Deidre Powell White, who has moved out of state.
A member of UMW’s James Farmer Legacy Council, Charles S. Reed Jr. first became familiar with the late civil rights leader and former Mary Washington history professor when he took a first-year seminar on Dr. Farmer’s life and legacy. The class propelled Reed to numerous leadership positions at Mary Washington, including president of the Black Student Association, vice president of Brothers of a New Direction and treasurer of the campus finance committee, as well as a role on UMW’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Community Values. As a student, he received the Citizenship Award for Diversity Leadership, the James Harvey Dodd Scholarship in Business Administration and the Emerging Leaders Diversity Scholarship.
In May 2011, Reed represented the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of PBS’s 50th anniversary commemoration of the 1961 Freedom Rides. Selected from nearly 1,000 applicants, he was one of 40 college students nationwide to earn a seat on the bus, joining several of the original Freedom Riders to travel the same route they took half a century earlier. Though he missed his own commencement ceremony for the trip, Reed called the 10-day experience “life-changing.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Reed spent three years as a client financial management analyst for Accenture. Since 2014, he’s worked for KPMG International, a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. As a manager in the organization’s federal advisory practice, he develops business and financial strategies to support federal clients.
In 2017, Reed received the Young Business Alumni Award, which recognizes UMW’s College of Business graduates who have distinguished themselves in their professional achievements, outstanding service and exceptional contributions to their field.
Sharon Bulova held the position of chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for the last decade, before retiring in 2019. Previously, she served as supervisor of the Braddock District in Fairfax County and led the board’s budget committee. Bulova also served as chairman of the Council of Government’s (COG) “Greater Washington 2050 Coalition,” an effort that culminated in the adoption of the Region Forward Regional Compact planning initiative signed by all 21 of the COG’s jurisdictions.
In addition, Bulova helped establish the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail system, and has served on the VRE operations board since its inception. The 2009 recipient of COG’s Elizabeth & David Scull Metropolitan Public Service Award, Bulova also earned the Virginia Transit Association’s 2012 Local Public Official of the Year award.
Bulova’s daughter, Karin Bulova Johansson, graduated from Mary Washington in 1991.
Edward B. “Ted” Hontz, a former Navy captain, is the vice president of Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc., in charge of the company’s Navy programs in Dahlgren, Virginia.
During his career with the Navy, Hontz served a year in Vietnam and participated in numerous military operations. He also served various in on-shore duties, including as commanding officer of the AEGIS Training Center in 1995.
Active in the Fredericksburg area, Hontz was a member of the Stafford County Economic Development Authority and the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce board of directors. In 2015, he became a citizen member of the Mary Washington Healthcare board of trustees. A founding member of the Fredericksburg Military Affairs Council (MAC) in 2006, he served on its board of directors until 2012. While chairman, he took a lead role in promoting the establishment of UMW’s Dahlgren Campus, Center for Education and Research.
Hontz also is recipient of the 2015 Prince B. Woodard leadership award given by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. He also led the effort to establish a UMW student leadership cash award supported by an endowment funded by previous Prince B. Woodard award recipients.