Keynote Speaker: Dr. Ghazala Hashmi
Senator Ghazala Hashmi, PhD, serves in the Virginia General Assembly and represents the 15th Senatorial District which includes parts of Richmond City and Chesterfield County. After nearly 30 years in higher education, she first ran for office in 2019 and won her second term to the Virginia Senate in November 2023. Senator Hashmi serves as Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee. She also sits on the following Senate Committees: Finance and Appropriations; Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; Transportation; and Rules. Senator Hashmi has also been appointed, for the past four years, to numerous boards and commissions; additionally, she was elected in 2023 to serve as Vice Chair for the Education Committee of the Council of State Governments – Southern Region. She is currently serving her second term as Vice Chair of the Virginia Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus (VAAPIC). Prior to her first election in November 2019, Senator Hashmi taught literature at the University of Richmond and then at Reynolds Community College. She was also the founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Reynolds. She has authored book chapters, articles, and presented at numerous conferences. Senator Hashmi is the first Muslim American and the first South Asian / Indian American to serve in the Virginia Senate.
Introduction of the Keynote Speaker
Chancellor, Virginia’s Community College System
Dr. David Dore
As chancellor of Virginia’s Community College System, Dr. Doré provides day-to-today leadership for a system of twenty-three colleges that serves more than 200,000 degree-seeking and workforce-career training students annually.
Like so many community college students, Dr. Doré is a first-generation college student. His decades-long career has been guided by a fundamental belief that every learner can be successful. His commitment to serving diverse and underrepresented populations to foster inclusive learning communities, supporting open access, student success, and economic mobility is both palpable and unwavering.
A self-described student advocate, Dr. Doré is laser-focused on recruiting the “New Majority of learners” — those twenty-five and older who face limited job prospects because they lack post-high school credentials. Before taking the reins at the Virginia Community College System, Dr. Doré served as President of Campuses and Executive Vice Chancellor at Pima Community
College. There, he led the college’s five campuses and workforce development initiatives.
Dr. Doré has also served in higher education leadership positions in Tempe,Arizona and San Francisco, California. Doré earned his Doctor of Education degree at Pepperdine University; master’s degrees at Georgetown University, Boston College, and Santa Clara University; an
advanced degree in Philosophy from Gonzaga University; and his bachelor’s degree from Gannon University.
Named a Presidential Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program in 2017, Dr. Doré is active in community leadership and is a staunch proponent of community college education at the state and national levels. Dr. David Doré is the tenth chancellor to lead the Virginia Community College System, which was founded in 1966.
Welcome and Kickoff
President, Brightpoint Community College
Dr. Bill Fiege
Dr. Bill Fiege became Brightpoint Community College’s eighth president in January 2024. For nearly 12 years prior, Dr. Fiege oversaw operations for academic and student affairs as vice president of learning and student success at the college. Before joining Brightpoint, Dr. Fiege held positions at Germanna Community College and Longwood University, serving in a variety of roles including division dean, speech communication faculty member, assistant director of alumni relations, and assistant director of athletics.
He completed his bachelor’s degree in political science at Longwood University; master’s degree in speech communication from Bloomsburg University; and Ph.D. in community college leadership through Old Dominion University. He is currently a member of the Longwood University Real Estate Foundation, ChamberRVA Board of Directors, and Virginia’s Gateway Region Board of Directors. Dr. Fiege coaches a competitive 16u travel softball team and managed the Chesterfield Little League softball team that finished second at the 2021 Little League World Series. Bill and his wife, Renee have two teenage daughters, both of whom are dual enrollment students at Brightpoint. They live in Midlothian, Virginia.