Board of Directors

Sands Anderson

Brian has practiced labor and employment law for over 16 years. Brian is a graduate of The University of Virginia and the William & Mary Law School.

Engineer (ret.)

Van had been the Associate VP for Facilities Management at the College of William & Mary since 2014. He is a registered Professional Engineer, a graduate of the Naval War College, a graduate of The Executive Program at Dartmouth College, and has a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida.

National Center for State Courts, Retired

Financial Analyst

Betsy Crockett worked for 30+ years in the investment banking and financial business. She began her career in sales and trading for a local Virginia bank, later working for a mutual fund asset manager as an equity analyst. In 2002, she moved to West Virginia where most recently she worked in the accounting area of a law firm, managing receivables and resolving client accounting issues. Through her church affiliation in West Virginia, Betsy became actively involved with community groups providing essential services in the area.

Her efforts involved recruiting and organizing volunteers, fundraising, and organizing events. She helped establish guidelines and a process of due diligence to be sure that the financial allocations to each group were being used most effectively.

Both her and her husband, Jim, attended William & Mary, and because of that, chose to return to Williamsburg for retirement. They have four adult children, and now dote on their pets, Pippin the cat and Poco the dog. Betsy enjoys cooking, sailing, bicycling, and spending time with her granddaughter in Richmond.

Retired Social Worker

Kathleen is retired from a long career in social work in New Jersey, where she earned an MSW from Rutgers University and was a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She worked in a variety of settings and with different populations, but most of her career was spent as a psychiatric social worker in a short-term adult residential setting. Her background includes individual, family, and group counseling; attending multidisciplinary treatment team meetings; organizing and facilitating family support groups and staff education; and discharge planning which included coordination with community agencies.

In New Jersey, she volunteered in school settings and several community agencies, including as a legal advocate and helpline volunteer for a local domestic violence agency. She also served on the Board of the Madison Public Library. Since moving to Williamsburg, Kathleen has volunteered for the House of Mercy and the Williamsburg Regional Library. 

Retired Educator

Kelley recently retired from the College of William & Mary, where she most recently served as the Director of Teacher Education in the School of Education (SOE). Prior to that role, she was the Director of Field Experiences at W&M SOE, coordinated programs for Troops to Teachers Virginia, ran several grant-funded STEM initiatives, taught adjunct education courses at W&M, was an instructor at Old Dominion University, and taught mathematics with WJCC Schools for 12 years, where she was the District Teacher of the Year in 2010.

Kelley has been involved with many local nonprofit, community, and mission-focused organizations over the years, including Dream Catchers, Meals on Wheels, Community of Faith Mission, Grove Outreach Center, and Serve the City, as well as national organizations such as Orphan Network. She and her friends also have found ways to serve informally, such as organizing the summer lunch program in Grove, coordinating programs for a local housing development, and teaching cooking classes at Latisha’s House.

Kelley is drawn to organizations like Avalon due to life experiences that have allowed her to see firsthand the profound impact abandonment, emotional abuse, and substance abuse can have and the difference that can be made when someone receives appropriate help and services.

City of Williamsburg Police Dept.

Sean Dunn is the Chief of Police for Williamsburg and has served in that position since 2017. Prior to coming to Williamsburg, he served as Police Chief for the Martinsville Police Department. He received his Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Regent University.

Pediatric Physician (ret.)

Dr. Gilfillan is a retired pediatric physician and a retired Major in the U.S. Army. He received his Bachelor of Science from Muhlenberg College and graduated with his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine.

University of Virginia

Kelly Graham currently serves as Associate Director of Development for Univeristy Priorities at the University of Virginia, and before that at the William & Mary Law School. She was at W&M for seven years, previously serving as Assistant Director for Regional Advancement. Kelly earned her BA in Biology at the University of Virginia and MEd in Higher Education Administration at Willam & Mary.

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors at Avalon Center, Kelly serves as Treasurer of the Cavalier Marching Band Alumni Association (UVA) and is a member of the College Agents committee for the College Foundation at UVA. A survivor of sexual violence herself, Kelly is passionate about sexual and domestic violence prevention, education, response, and advocacy, and she has volunteered in her local communities since her days as an undergraduate student.

In her free time, Kelly enjoys traveling, reading, trying new recipes, and hiking with her husband and sheltie, Piper. She is also a classically trained flutist and RYT-200 certified yoga instructor.

University of Virginia

Richard is the Director of Development at University of Virginia Children's Hospital, and prior to that was Director of Development for Alumni Engagement and Corporate Sponsorships for the College of William & Mary. Among his many fundraising accomplishments, Richard successfully led fundraising initiatives in W&M’s For The Bold campaign effort raising $34.5M towards alumni engagement and the Alumni Association. He also has served on the W&M University Advancement – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force for the past three years.

He is a former collegiate coach at Auburn University winning three national championships and eight conference championships. His community service includes serving as co-head swim coach for Bruton High School and youth lacrosse coach for the Williamsburg Warriors, and is a former board member for the Windsor Forest HOA and the WJCC Schools Foundation. 

College of William & Mary Law School

Paul will soon retire from the W&M Law School faculty, where he is the Haynes Professor of Law. Professor Marcus was a co-reporter for the National Right to Counsel Committee, 2004-2007 and founder of the Literature and the Law Program at the Central Virginia Regional Jail. He is frequently interviewed by the media as an expert in criminal law and procedure and has written several books and articles in the criminal justice area. He served as President of the Association of American Law Schools, President of AALS Fellows, and completed a three-year term on the AALS Executive Committee.

Locally, Professor Marcus has served on the Board of the Peninsula Habitat for Humanity and worked to help people through Meals on Wheels and the Virginia Peninsula Food Bank.

Williamsburg Landing

MarshBerry

Matt is a Regional Vice President with MarshBerry, and previously a Senior Vice President at Towne Insurance with 16 years of experience in the insurance industry. He specializes in developing risk management and insurance solutions for businesses. He was the 2013 Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia Young Agent of the Year and has served on agent advisory councils for Alfa Alliance, Donegal Insurance Group, Liberty Mutual, and Hanover Insurance. He is a Certified Insurance Counselor.   

Matt was raised in the Williamsburg area and is a graduate of Lafayette High School and UNCGreensboro. He is a graduate of the LEAD Historic Triangle program and has previously volunteered with the Dancing with the Williamsburg Stars. Matt served on the board of directors for the Historic Virginia Land Conservancy for six years, serving as the board chair in 2020. Matt and his wife Jacquelyn live in Williamsburg with their three children.

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

Glenda Turner has over 24 years of experience marketing. in advertising and For 22 years, she held several leadership roles in brand, advertising, sponsorship , Country USA. and promotions for Busch Gardens and Water Glenda is currently the Senior Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

Serving in the community is important to Glenda. She is a trustee for the Williamsburg Health Foundation where she chairs the External Affairs Committee and serves on the Board of Directors for the Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce, and the National Council of Attractions and Experiences. She served on The Institute for Dance board, and as the past chairman of the Avalon Center Board of Directors. Glenda is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the Newport News Chapter of The Links, Inc., and the Hampton Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

Glenda and her husband, William, live in Williamsburg and are the proud parents of Jordan and Jada. She is an active member of First Baptist Church.

TowneBank

Amanda is a private banker with TowneBank, where she has worked for 17 years, after 15 years with Wells Fargo. She has lived in Virginia for over 30 years and in Williamsburg since 2002.

Amanda has contributed her time and resources to the Williamsburg community over the years in several capacities, including Board service for the WJCC School Foundation, WJCC Community Action Agency, Olde Town Medical, Hospice House, and Williamsburg Area Meals on Wheels. She enjoys participating in community and agency sponsored events. Amanda has always admired the work that Avalon does for our community.