Fran Bradford is a senior vice president on McGuireWoods Consulting’s Virginia government relations team and national education practice.

Prior to joining the firm, Fran most recently served in the education secretariat for Gov. Ralph Northam’s 2018 – 2022 administration, first as deputy secretary and then as secretary of education. During this time, she helped shape and implement education policy from pre-kindergarten through higher education, providing support and direction to the state’s public colleges and universities, State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV), the Virginia Community College System, the Department of Education, as well as state museums, arts and historical organizations, and higher education centers.

During her tenure with Gov. Northam’s administration, Fran helped to shape and pass legislation creating G3, Virginia’s free community college program, expanded access to in-state tuition and financial aid, created the Virginia Office of Education Economics, and worked to pass budgets that made historic investments in need-based financial aid and in Virginia’s historically Black colleges and universities. She also played a key role in the implementation of Virginia’s Tech Talent Initiative.

Before her appointment to the governor’s cabinet, Fran spent 15 years with William & Mary, where she served as the associate vice president for government relations and was responsible for the university’s state and federal government relations efforts. She also served in several communications and government relations capacities during her 13 years at SCHEV, the commonwealth’s higher education coordinating agency.

Fran is an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University and a regular guest lecturer on campuses and for leadership programs. She serves on the executive board of the Virginia Network, an organization that promotes women’s leadership in higher education, and is a Trustee for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). She also serves on the board of the Science Museum of Virginia, Jamestown Yorktown Inc., the Richmond Public Library Foundation, and Virginia 21. She previously served as the chair of the National Higher Education Government Relations Conference, and as an appointed Commissioner on the Education Commission for the States.