Jody Wagner, Secretary of Finance
Jody M. Wagner was appointed as the Secretary of Finance by Governor Timothy M. Kaine and assumed office on January 15, 2006. As Secretary of Finance, Ms. Wagner is responsible for agencies handling all the financial transactions of the Commonwealth, including the collection of taxes, payment of the State’s obligations, distribution of aid to localities, and development of the Governor’s budget. She serves on several boards and authorities, including the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates, Council on Virginia’s Future, Governor’s Advisory Board of Economists, Debt Capacity Advisory Committee, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Virginia Tourism Corporation, and Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.
Ms. Wagner currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Council of State Governments and serves on that organization's executive committee. She also serves as a member of the State Board of the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership.
Ms. Wagner came to the Office of the Secretary of Finance from the Department of the Treasury, where she was State Treasurer from 2002 through January 2006. She served as President of the National Association of State Treasurers, but resigned that position to become Secretary of Finance. While Treasurer, Ms. Wagner served on the Commonwealth of Virginia Treasury Board (Chairman), Debt Capacity Advisory Committee, Virginia College Building Authority, Virginia Public Building Authority, Virginia Public School Authority, Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation, Virginia College Savings Plan, Virginia Housing Development Authority, Virginia Port Authority, Virginia Resources Authority, and Virginia Small Business Authority.
Prior to becoming Treasurer for the Commonwealth, Ms. Wagner practiced law in Norfolk, Virginia for almost twenty years, primarily in the areas of securities, corporate and banking law. She was very involved in the Hampton Roads community and served on several boards of charitable and educational organizations.
Ms. Wagner obtained her graduate degree in Law at Vanderbilt University School of Law, Nashville, Tennessee, and her undergraduate degree in Economics at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. She was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1980 and the Virginia Bar in 1984, and continues to be a licensed attorney in Virginia.
Ms. Wagner was born in Canton, Ohio and is married to Dr. Alan L. Wagner, a vitreo-retinal surgeon. They have four children: Rachael, Jason, Elizabeth and Maxwell.