2014 Luncheon Keynote Speaker: Dr. Basil I. Gooden
Posted March 27, 2014 at 1:30 AM
Basil Gooden currently serves as the State Director of USDA Rural Development for the Commonwealth of Virginia having been recently appointed to this position by President Obama in April 2014. Prior to this position, he served as the Principal Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development having been appointed to this position in May 2002 by former Governor Mark Warner and re-appointed by Governor Tim Kaine. In this position, his primary administrative responsibilities included strategic management and planning, technology advancement, and minority procurement initiatives. Additionally, his work focused on community and economic development, home ownership initiatives and coordinating the annual Governor’s Housing Conference. The Department, which has an annual budget of more than $100 million and 140 employees, provides community development and housing program support to communities across the Commonwealth.
Some of his previous professional experiences include working four years as a Legislative Assistant for a U.S. Congressman and receiving a Congressional Fellowship to work for a U.S. Senator. Prior to assuming his current position, Basil worked at Virginia Tech where he served as the Coordinator of Outreach and Community Relations. In that capacity, Basil worked to increase the number of minority faculty, staff and students at the university. In 1999, Basil worked as an Extension Specialist with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service where he provided leadership in a statewide community development research initiative. Through this initiative, he worked with local extension units and agents to assess the community needs and issues in localities in Virginia.
Basil is a native of Buckingham County, Virginia where he and his family still own and operate a cattle farm. As a youth, Basil was extremely involved in many Extension related activities that focused on crop production, livestock and 4-H activities. He continues to be very active in numerous civic and community based organizations.
Basil received a B.A. in Political Science from Virginia Tech and holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Syracuse University. Additionally, he is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Ph.D. in Social Work in 1998.