Background
Baskerville, Viola Osborne was born on October 29, 1951 in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Daughter of Clifton Cleveland and Josephine Osborne.
Baskerville, Viola Osborne was born on October 29, 1951 in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Daughter of Clifton Cleveland and Josephine Osborne.
Furthermore she also studied abroad on a Fulbright Fellowship in Bonn, Germany.
Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts from the College of William and Mary earned in 1973, and a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law earned in 1979. Prior to her appointment as Secretary of Administration, she served on the Richmond, Virginia City Council from 1994 to 1997, including a stint as the city"s Vice Mayor under then-Mayor Tim Kaine. Following her tenure as Vice Mayor, she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, serving from 1998 to 2005.
In 2005, she became the first African-American woman to seek the Democratic Party nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, coming in second place in the four-way primary behind State Senator Leslie L. Byrne, but ahead of State Delegate Chap Petersen, and State Senator Phillip Puckett.
Following the 2005 general election, she served as Company-chair of Governor Kaine"s Transition Team, and was succeeded in the State House by Democrat Jennifer McClellan. As Secretary of Administration in the Virginia Governor"s Cabinet, she was responsible for overseeing several state government agencies including the Virginia State Board of Elections, the Department of General Services, the Department of Human Resources Management, and the Department of Minority Business Enterprise.
She was the only African-American woman to serve in Governor Kaine"s Cabinet. She was succeeded as Virginia Secretary of Administration by Lisa Hicks-Thomas in January, 2010, and was subsequently appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of Virginia.
Board visitors Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, 1989-1997. Member Ginter Park Resident's Association. Member Richmond Renaissance (board directors).
Married Archer Lewis Baskerville, January 24, 1975. Children: Timothy Ryan, Sean Alexandre.