VCU Globe Speaker Series

Mayor Danny Avula

Dr. Danny Avula took office as the 81st Mayor of the City of Richmond on January 1, 2025.

Before his election to public office, Danny served the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts for 12 years, including 6 years as its Director. There, he championed efforts to increase access to care for the most vulnerable residents of our community, prioritized the voices of those with lived experience, lifted up the intersection of housing and health, and addressed the root causes that shape health outcomes-especially poverty and race.

In January 2021, Governor Northam appointed Danny to lead Virginia's COVID-19 vaccination effort. He jumpstarted a struggling vaccine rollout and elevated the Commonwealth from 50th to one of the top 10 most-vaccinated states in the country. As Virginia emerged from the pandemic, Danny was then appointed as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services by Governor Youngkin, where he led significant transformational work to support families and to create more sustainable pathways out of poverty.

Danny is a pediatrician and works as a hospitalist at Chippenham Hospital.

Born in Hyderabad, India, he immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1979. A father of five, Danny and his wife, Mary Kay, have lived in Richmond's East End for over 20 years. Mary Kay is a teacher with Richmond Public Schools.

Danny holds degrees from the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Johns Hopkins. He was named one of Richmond's "Top Docs" each year from 2013-2022, a Richmond Times-Dispatch Person of the Year in 2019, and Style Weekly's Richmonder of the Year in 2020. In 2017, he won the Dancing With the Richmond Stars contest.

Dr. Jatia Wrighten

Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Wrighten conducts research that focuses on Black women, state legislatures, and leadership, particularly through the lens of intersectionality. She developed the innovative Heavy Lifter Theory to highlight the key differences in the leadership roles of Black women and Black men legislators within state legislatures. As an assistant professor in the Political Science Department at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), she is dedicated to research and teaching that emphasize themes of equity, justice, and the political impacts on the most marginalized groups in the United States. Dr. Wrighten is currently working on an upcoming book titled Oppression Made Us Leaders: Black Women, Heavy Lifting, and Leadership in State Legislatures. As a former military brat, she values broadening one's worldview to better understand individual roles within the community. She has led a study abroad course in Milan, Italy, as well as a study away course through the Deep South. She believes that the more people you meet, the more you realize how deeply our humanity is connected.