100 People to Meet in 2025: Educators

As leaders in our pre-K through higher education workforce, these educators, curriculum creators and administrators are passing on their knowledge to the next generation of Virginians.

Louise Fincher

Interim president, Emory & Henry University, Emory

On Aug. 1, Emory & Henry College officially became Emory & Henry University, and Louise Fincher assumed the role of interim president. She succeeded John Wells, who stepped down as president last summer and became the university’s inaugural chancellor.

Fincher joined Emory & Henry in 2014 as founding dean of the School of Health Sciences and oversaw the development of the school’s four graduate health science programs and the renovation of Smyth County Community Hospital as the school’s headquarters. She continued as dean after becoming Emory & Henry’s senior vice president in 2020. In that position, Fincher served as chief academic officer for the university’s health sciences campus in Marion and provided administrative oversight for online and adult education initiatives and research compliance. 

Autumn Adkins Graves

Head of school, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, Charlottesville

Autumn Adkins Graves has been a pioneer in the education sector for more than 25 years, serving in key leadership roles in private schools throughout the country. In 2020, Graves took the reins at Charlottesville’s St. Anne’s-Belfield School, which educates nearly 1,000 students from 25 countries, 2-year-olds through high school seniors — including her two children.

“I really love that I’m in a space where I can bring social entrepreneurship and human-centered design to education,” Graves says. “We help students understand that they can be solution makers, not just problem identifiers. They’re trying to solve social and environmental issues versus just feeling like they’re victims of them.”

Graves is involved in numerous organizations in the independent school community, including serving as a trustee for the Southern Association of Independent Schools.

Donna Weaver McCloskey

Dean of the College of Business and Economics, Radford University, Radford

Donna Weaver McCloskey took her post at Radford University in July, after serving as associate business school dean at Pennsylvania’s Widener University. In her new role, McCloskey says she’s focused on building internship offerings, career preparation and curriculum aligned with job certifications and real-world projects. Above all, she was attracted to the school’s focus on “developing ethical leaders.”

McCloskey earned her doctorate in business administration from Drexel University, an MBA in finance from Widener, and a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Delaware.

Irina Novikova

Professor of physics, William & Mary, Williamsburg

In 2023, Irina Novikova, a physics professor at William & Mary, was named a fellow of the American Physical Society — a nod to her advances in quantum research.

A native of Russia, she came to William & Mary in 2006 as an assistant professor and has won a faculty award and an alumni fellowship award at the university. Novikova’s research focuses on achieving better understanding of quantum interactions between light and atoms that can lead to light generation with special quantum features, she says — information that improves diagnoses for cardiac disease.

Novikova is also a member of the faculty for a proposed new school at William & Mary that would focus on computer science, data science, applied science and physics, which anticipates accepting the first students in fall 2025, she says. 

Kelsey Robertson

Founder and CEO, TECHnista, Pittsylvania County

When Kelsey Robertson and her husband brainstormed a name for her company, which develops curriculums for K-12 programs in defense and advanced manufacturing, they wanted a moniker that alluded to the fact that it’s a woman-owned small business.

“The manufacturing sector is kind of male dominated, so we knew if we kind of played into that female aspect of it, it would definitely stand out,” she says.

Founded in 2020, TECHnista has caught the attention of the federal government. This summer, the company won a five-year federal contract for an undisclosed amount through the U.S. Department of Defense to develop advanced manufacturing programming for middle schoolers. Ultimately, TECHnista’s mission is to strengthen the manufacturing workforce pipeline. “The opportunities are endless,” Robertson says.

Freda Roberson

Executive director, Fremont Street Nursery, Winchester

Freda Roberson has served as executive director of Fremont Street Nursery for 20 years, but she started out in its kitchen, working every position from kitchen manager to aide, assistant teacher, lead teacher and assistant director before leading the organization.

The oldest licensed child care center in Winchester, Fremont Street Nursery opened in 1943 to care for the children of working Black mothers during World War II, when many local husbands and fathers were serving in the military.

Today, the nursery serves children of all backgrounds ranging in age from 6 weeks to 12 years, with a focus on care for kids from low-income or single-parent families. Roberson herself grew up in Fremont’s neighborhood with a single mom, as her father died in a traffic accident when she was 10.

Check out the rest of our 100 People to Meet in 2025.