Back
Meet the Executive Cabinet for Prince William County
Christopher Shorter, County Executive
Chris Shorter was named County Executive for Prince William County, Virginia, by the Board of County Supervisors in October 2022. Prior to serving as the County Executive in Prince William County, Chris served as the first City Administrator in the City of Baltimore, Assistant City Manager in Austin, Texas, and served for more than 10 years in various leadership roles for the District of Columbia government, including Director of the DC Department of Public Works.
Chris has dedicated his professional career to helping build better communities through improved municipal operations by supporting healthy, people-centered organizations. He has extensive experience across a range of disciplines and has helped lead the development of innovative local government programs, performance management initiatives, operational process improvements, teambuilding efforts, and strategic planning activities. Chris is a recognized member of the International City/ County Manager's Association (ICMA) and pledges to uphold the ICMA Code of Ethics. He was selected GoldenGov: City Executive of the Year in 2022. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public & International Affairs.
Chris is also a graduate of the International City/ County Management Association (ICMA) Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and has attended senior executive leadership training programs at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education, Harvard Kennedy School’s Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, as well as, Georgetown University and the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. He has three teenage children – Christopher, Evan and Nadia – and lives in Prince William County, VA.
Dan Alexander, Deputy County Executive for Safe & Secure Community
Dan Alexander was appointed as Prince William County’s Deputy County Executive for the Safe and Secure Community quadrant of government on February 1, 2022. In his position, he provides day-to-day leadership and administrative oversight of Criminal Justice Services, Fire and Rescue, Police and Public Safety Communications departments, as well as the Office of Community Safety. He also acts as a liaison to various independent public safety agencies in the county, including the Adult Detention Center, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, Sheriff’s Office, Circuit Court, General District Court, Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court, Magistrate, Probation and Parole (District 35), and the Public Defender. He has more than 33 years of diverse public safety experience with six different local governments, including 18 years of service as an agency chief. He was most recently the Chief of Police for the School District of Palm Beach County. He previously led the Cape Coral Police Department for four years and served as the Chief of Police in Boca Raton for over 13 years. Dan earned a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from the University of Florida in 1995, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice in 1989. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Michelle Attreed, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Finance
Michelle L. Attreed was appointed by the Board as the County’s Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance in May 2014. Prior to this appointment, she served as the county’s Deputy Finance Director for two years and has worked in the county’s Finance Department since 1993 in other financial positions of increasing responsibility. Michelle has more than 30 years of diverse finance, accounting, budget, risk management, procurement, debt, investment, tax administration, property assessment, human resource, communications and information technology experience. She currently oversees staff for the areas of Financial Reporting and Control, Payroll and Disbursements Services, Real Estate Assessments, Tax Administration, Risk and Wellness Services, Financial Systems Services, Treasury Management and Procurement Services and is responsible for the financial leadership and internal controls of the county government. Her professional experience also includes working as a senior auditor with a regional accounting firm and as a staff auditor with the U.S. GAO. She received her undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Virginia Tech and a Master of Public Administration from George Mason, where she was selected as the sole recipient of the John D.R. Cole Award for Outstanding MPA Student in 2011. In 2019, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Women in Public Finance and in 2023 was selected to participate in the Virginia Women’s Municipal Leadership Institute. Michelle was also appointed by Governor Youngkin to serve on the Board of the Virginia Public Building Authority and serves on the Virginia Association of Counties' Finance Steering Committee. She is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, Government Finance Officers Association, Virginia Government Finance Officers Association, Treasurers Association of Virginia and the Commissioners of the Revenue Association of Virginia.
Nikki Brown, Communications and Engagement Director/Assistant to the County Executive
Nikki Brown is currently the Communications and Engagement Director where she works with a talented team that is responsible for public and employee communications and engagement, legislative affairs and the office of the Clerk to the Board of County Supervisors. Prior to her current position, Nikki served as the Deputy Director of Executive Management and Assistant to the County Executive, where she managed the county’s legislative affairs program, special projects for Executive Management and the county’s employee engagement and internal communications efforts. She also served as the communications and change management subject matter expert on project teams for organizational initiatives. Nikki also served the county as the Deputy Director of the Office of Communications for more than 11 years. Throughout her 24-year tenure with the county, Nikki has provided strategic communications counsel, recommendations and direction to elected officials, executive management and multiple county agencies on marketing opportunities, internal communications, as well as community and media relations, to help accomplish identified goals. Nikki earned a B.A. in English from the University of Mary Washington and a M.A. in Strategic Communications from American University. She is a Certified Public Manager through the Council of Government’s Regional Development Excellence Program and the George Washington University.
Maria Burgos, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Maria Burgos has served as the Equity and Inclusion (EI) Officer for Prince William County since March 2021. In this role, she leads the county's work in operationalizing the county's Equity and Inclusion Policy with strategic coherence. This includes the development and implementation of the Equity and Inclusion Impact Plan to continuously reduce systemic barriers that impact every function of the employee lifecycle and services to all community stakeholders.
Before joining the County, Maria was the Supervisor of Global Learning and Culturally Responsive Instruction. In this role, she collaborated with the Division's departments to review instructional programs, analyze school climate, review student performance (Title VI, Title IX) for improvement in school climate and standards-based curriculum planning, developed the Division's Culturally Responsive Instructional Framework, and advised the Division on inclusive learning methodologies and human resource practices. Maria facilitated professional learning for the Virginia Department of Education, History, and Social Science, on Equity Literacy for Virginia History and Social Science Department Chairs and was commissioned by Governor Northam to make recommendations for improving the students' experience related to African American history and instructional support for all teachers to ensure culturally proficient instruction. In addition, she established systematic implementation of cultural proficiency and culturally responsive pedagogy in partnership with the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia. She provided recommendations to the Virginia Work Group on Student Safety.
Maria has lived in Prince William County for 27 years, earned a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from George Mason University with licensures in early education K-6 and educational leadership, and holds several certifications, including Anti-bias facilitator training from the Anti-Defamation League, International Baccalaureate IB Leadership Certification, and Strategic Management from the Baldrige Foundation Institute for Performance Excellence and has received numerous awards for her contributions to the educational community, and was a Human Rights Awardee.
Quintin Haynes, Deputy County Executive for Government Operations, Performance and Innovation
Quintin Haynes was appointed Deputy County Executive for Government Operations, Performance and Innovation in June 2023. Quintin has an extensive background and experience in public administration, most recently with the City of New York as the Acting Commissioner and Executive Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. Before that, he served as the Director of Human Resources and Diversity/EEO Officer, as well as the Strategic Projects Manager in the Mayor’s Office for the City of New York. He also previously worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce as Special Assistant to the Secretary and the White House as Director for Finance. In his current role, Quintin oversees the county’s departments of Facilities and Fleet Management, Human Resources, Human Rights, Information Technology, and Management and Budget, as well as the Office of Procurement. He also serves as the liaison to the Office of Elections, the Prince William County Schools, and cities and towns. Quintin received his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Public Administration from Florida A&M University, a Master of Public Administration from New York University, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He is also a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program from Harvard Kennedy School.
Wade Hugh, Deputy County Executive for Mobility, Economic Growth & Resiliency
Wade Hugh joined Prince William County more than 27 years ago. He is currently the Deputy County Executive for Mobility, Economic Growth and Resiliency. In this role, he leads and supports the Department of Development Services, Planning Office, Department of Public Works, Department of Transportation and Department of Economic Development and Tourism. During his career, Wade has held a variety of increasingly senior positions across a wide array of Prince William County divisions and programs. Most recently, Wade served as Director of Development Services from 2008 – 2023. He served as the Assistant Director of Public Works from 2006 – 2008; and from 2003-2006, he served as Watershed Management Branch Chief, starting out as the Acting Chief, from his prior role of Management Analyst, where he served for seven years. Wade holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from West Virginia University. He is a Certified Zoning Administrator. Wade currently resides in Nokesville with his wife.
Elijah Johnson, Deputy County Executive for Health, Wellbeing & Environmental Sustainability
Elijah Johnson was appointed Deputy County Executive in October 2014. In this position, he is responsible for providing administrative oversight of the human services functions of the county, which includes Community Services, Area Agency on Aging, Department of Social Services, the Office of Housing and Community Development, Department of Parks and Recreation, Libraries, and the Office of Sustainability. He is also the liaison with the following state-supported human services agencies: Prince William Area Public Health District, Juvenile Court Service Unit and Virginia Cooperative Extension. He also works with the many community human service partners who provide invaluable service for Prince William County residents. Prior to accepting his current position, Elijah served as Prince William County’s Director for the Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) for seven years. Before joining Prince William County, Elijah worked for the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Arlington County’s Department of Human Services Housing Office and the New York City Housing Authority. He is a graduate of Hampton University with a B.A. in Mathematics.