Spring Commencement 2023

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

Mr. Travis Staton President and CEO United Way of Southwest Virginia

Travis Staton is the President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Southwest Virginia. Over the past decade, he has worked to reposition the organization as a new model United Way by leading a dynamic shift from having been recognized for decades as a premier fundraiser and distributor to utilizing a community impact model to improve the region’s health, education, and financial stability. Under Staton’s leadership the organization has successfully created numerous new systems of support to bridge the gap between employers and the educational system through the development of an initiative-based cradle-to-career continuum to prepare the next generation for the jobs of tomorrow, supplying businesses with skilled workers, building a robust competitive economy. In addition to this change in focus, Staton has brought his efforts to scale by guiding the organization through nine different mergers and acquisitions to now overseeing geographic operations of 17 counties and 4 cities, nearly 20% of the Commonwealth. Staton’s work has received recognition and support from national organizations including the Appalachian Regional Commission, Aspen Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. In November 2017, the organization was one of the inaugural recipients of the Virginia Governor’s Award for Excellence and Innovation in Education for achievements in preparing students for the New Virginia Economy. In August 2018, Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest independent charity evaluator, ranked the organization among the 10 best United Way Chapters (of more than 1,200 chapters) nationwide. In addition, Staton himself has received accolades that include Virginia Business Magazine’s top 100 people to meet in 2020, and Virginia’s 50 most powerful and influential executives in 2022 and 2023. Today, Staton oversees the long-term recovery efforts for multiple disasters, including the 2021 Hurley, VA, flood and the flooding in Buchanan County, VA, and surrounding counties that occurred in July 2022. He is married to his beautiful wife, Ryiah, who serves as senior vice president and director of marketing for New Peoples Bank. They currently reside in Abingdon, VA, and are the proud parents of four young children.