For the second year running, two senior leaders from among Virginia’s diverse nonprofit community have been selected by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation as recipients of the Commonwealth Fellowships, an exclusive scholarship to The Executive Program (TEP) at the Darden School of Business.
Sean Lanier, founder and executive director of Alexandria-based Resolve Solutions Incorporated (RSI), and Ethan Long, Ph.D., president and CEO at the VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment in Charlottesville, will be among the 2024-2025 TEP cohort whose session begins this October.
“We are proud to announce the selection of these two outstanding nonprofit leaders as recipients of the Commonwealth Fellowships,” said Ashley Williams, CEO and CLO, Executive Education & Lifelong Learning at Darden. “As senior leaders at two highly respected organizations, they have demonstrated not only a commitment to serving the community but also an entrepreneurial spirit that lies at the foundation of their success.”
A retired Major and 24-year veteran of the U.S. Army, where he specialized in support operations, transportation, and logistics, Lanier founded RSI in 2018. Based in Alexandria, Va., the 501(c)3 organization provides educational and financial support and early college preparation to under-represented and underserved students nationwide while providing some early global exposure through language immersion.
“Darden’s Executive Program offers a unique opportunity to be immersed with people who embrace innovation and disruption, and I’m excited about this opportunity to learn not only from Darden’s professors but also to get down in the trenches as it were with a cohort of smart and successful students,” Lanier said. “This is a chance to learn and grow within a supportive, highly educated environment, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Trained as a child clinical psychologist and currently licensed as a behavior analyst, Long has served as the president and CEO of the VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment (formerly the Virginia Institute of Autism) since 2010, overseeing exponential growth over the past 14 years. He was previously the executive director for The Bay School in Santa Cruz and Vice President of the May Institute’s West Coast Region in California.
“I believe that my participation in The Executive Program will enhance my development as a strategic leader, especially as the VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment continues our growth trajectory – with respect to our geographic footprint, our operating revenue and staff, and our array of client-based services,” Long said. “To that end, I am excited to learn from the TEP faculty and my fellow classmates’ novel ways to approach business growth, innovation and prioritization, all with the goal of better serving our community.”
The Executive Program is a six-month program that consists of two in-person modules – one two-week session in the fall on the Darden Grounds in Charlottesville and a second in the spring on the School’s Grounds in both Charlottesville and the Washington, D.C. area, UVA Darden DC Metro. In a virtual intersession, participants receive coaching and support on their business challenge project.
This is a condensed version of the article that originally appeared in The Darden Report. As of the date of this publication, this organization is a client of The Hodges Partnership.
