Va. aquarium hires new CFO

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach has hired a new chief financial officer, the city announced April 4.

Mary Anna Twisdale started her new role on April 7.

Twisdale has more than 30 years of experience managing multimillion-dollar city and county departmental budgets in the cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake; and Fluvanna and Goochland counties. In Goochland, she was director of financial services for the county’s finance department, in Chesapeake, she was business manager of the health department, and an accountant in the finance department, in Fluvanna, she was the county’s finance director and also a management and budget analyst.

Twisdale previously worked for the city of Virginia Beach, from 2005 through 2013 as an accountant clerk for the parks and recreation department, public works and the police department, then as the finance office supervisor for parks and recreation and again from 2018 to 2019 as a financial specialist in information technology, then as a management and budget analyst for management services.

Twisdale joined the executive team and will report directly to the aquarium’s executive director.

“Mary Anna’s impressive background makes her the perfect fit for the Virginia Aquariu. We are thrilled she is joining our team and look forward to the ways in which she will drive revenue growth to further our mission of inspiring the conservation of the marine environment,” said Executive Director Cynthia Whitbred-Spanoulis in a statement.