2025 Virginia C-Suite Awards: Large Nonprofits

SEAN T. CONNAUGHTON

PRESIDENT AND CEO, VIRGINIA HOSPITAL & HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATION, GLEN ALLEN

For the past 11 years, Connaughton has led VHHA — a trade association representing 26 member health systems operating 111 hospitals — from being a traditional association to becoming an organization with a larger mission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, VHHA tracked how many hospital beds were in use across the state, and the association has developed a workforce program to address health care labor shortages, as well as introducing safety and security initiatives, conferences and educational programs.

A retired Coast Guard officer and Naval Reserve commander, Connaughton worked as an attorney and served twice as chair of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. He was Virginia’s transportation secretary from 2010 to 2014, and under President George W. Bush, Connaughton led the U.S. Maritime Administration. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College who also holds degrees from George Mason University, Georgetown University and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

One of his goals at VHHA is to make Virginia the nation’s healthiest state, and to that end, he proudly notes the high rankings hospitals from across the state have received in recent years from The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that grades hospital safety. Connaughton helped Virginia usher in Medicaid expansion and modernize the state’s certificate of public need program, which determines how many and what kinds of hospitals are built.

How I foster a positive culture: To support our team members in achieving professional and personal fulfillment, we make intentional investments in their growth and development. This occurs through leadership training, mentorship, educational support and resources, and opportunities to help staff members reach their full potential.

MELINDA HANCOCK

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, SENTARA HEALTH, VIRGINIA BEACH

Hancock is the finance leader of Sentara Health, a $13 billion health system with 12 hospitals and more than 1 million health insurance customers. She took on that role in January after serving as Sentara’s chief transformation officer since 2023 and, prior to that, as the health system’s first chief administrative officer.

Formerly a health care consultant and auditor at both Ernst & Young and Deloitte, Hancock worked for Culpeper Regional Hospital, Dixon Hughes Goodman and as senior vice president and CFO for Bon Secours’ Virginia market. Immediately before joining Sentara, she was chief administration and financial officer for VCU Health, which had 13,000 employees at the time. Hancock also was the 2015-16 national chair of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Leading Sentara’s transformation office, Hancock is credited with helping launch more than 1,150 initiatives with a gross impact of $735 million, often through reducing administrative burdens and streamlining processes.

Hancock graduated from William & Mary with a business administration and accounting degree and earned her MBA in health care administration from the University of Phoenix.

How I foster a positive culture: I strive to create a consistent atmosphere that welcomes all views and acknowledges that we are all in our positions for a reason. We all bring different perspectives and backgrounds to every conversation, and it is important to engage all voices to ensure well-informed strategies and decisions.

ELIZABETH ANN McCLANAHAN

CEO, VIRGINIA TECH FOUNDATION, BLACKSBURG

McClanahan retired as a justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2019, but she’s gone on to have significant second and third acts, including serving as dean of the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy and in her current position leading the Virginia Tech Foundation and as president and director of the foundation’s Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.

A graduate of William & Mary and the University of Dayton School of Law, McClanahan practiced law with Penn, Stuart and Eskridge, and became the state’s chief deputy attorney general and a state appeals court judge before she was named to the state’s high court. In her role leading the Virginia Tech Foundation, McClanahan is responsible for managing the university’s endowment and real estate holdings, valued last year at $2.8 billion.

McClanahan grew up in Buchanan County and participated in the 4-H Congress on Virginia Tech’s campus as a teen. She says that the 4-H motto, “to make the best better,” still comes in handy today. In addition to her professional duties, McClanahan chaired the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), was W&M’s vice rector and is an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business, focusing on legal, financial and ethical issues for entrepreneurs.

Best advice I’ve ever received: Judge Glenn Williams told me, “There is no pancake so thin it doesn’t have two sides.” We encourage dissenting opinions in all forums at all times. The majority opinion is always better when tested by an opposing view.

BECKY SAWYER

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER, SENTARA HEALTH, VIRGINIA BEACH

Sawyer joined the Hampton Roads health system in 2006 as a regional director, and in 2017, she was named to her current post, overseeing human resources strategy for one of the state’s major private employers. More than 33,000 people work for Sentara, which received national recognition in 2022 as one of Forbes’ Best Employers for New Grads and for Veterans.

A graduate of Troy University and Arkansas State University, Sawyer served on the board of Virginia Ready, the nonprofit founded in 2020 by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to assist people in finding jobs during the pandemic. She also serves on the boards of the Neptune Festival and the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, a group that facilitates connections between higher education and business interests to improve Virginia’s economy.

Sawyer also has served on the boards of Virginia Career Works, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Norfolk State University’s business school. Asked about the best advice she’s ever received, Sawyer says that her mother-in-law’s counsel — “Sweetheart, at least put on a little lipstick” — when she was 19 actually turned out to be useful over the long term. “What I heard was, ‘Show up, be seen and make an impact.’”

On my responsibility to my organization and my community: The well-being of our organization is inseparable from the health of our communities. We are part of the ecosystem. As a health care leader — and as someone who lives, works and raised a family here — I believe we have a responsibility to be more than good employers; we must be good neighbors.