By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger named two more cabinet picks this week as she gets ready to take office Jan. 17.
On Monday, Spanberger said that Carrie Chenery will serve as Virginia’s next secretary of commerce and trade. The role oversees economic development, business recruitment, workforce development and trade efforts across the commonwealth.
The incoming administration said that Chenery is a native Virginian with experience in economic development, public policy and government relations. She founded Valley Pike Partners in 2018, a firm focused on public affairs, business development and community engagement.
She previously served as executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, a regional economic development organization representing the Shenandoah Valley. Before that, Chenery worked in the Office of the Governor as assistant secretary of agriculture and forestry, where she oversaw economic development efforts tied to the commonwealth’s agriculture and forestry industries.
“The number-one job of the governor of Virginia is to grow the commonwealth’s economy and create good-paying jobs in every community,” Spanberger said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Spanberger also named longtime public school educator Jeffery O. Smith as Virginia’s next secretary of education, a cabinet role overseeing K-12 education policy.
Smith has over 32 years of experience in public-school education and has held a range of instructional and administrative roles across Virginia.
He previously served as superintendent of Hampton City Schools and as superintendent in the town of West Point. His background also includes instructional leadership roles in Amelia County, Williamsburg–James City County and Newport News public schools.
The secretary of education works with state agencies, school divisions and lawmakers on education standards, funding priorities and policy coordination across Virginia’s public school system.
Smith currently serves as executive director and CEO of the Virginia Air and Space Science Center in Hampton and has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Old Dominion University and the College of William and Mary.
The two picks are among several cabinet appointments Spanberger has announced ahead of her administration’s start.