Anne Holton
Anne Holton is an American lawyer and judge who has served in several important roles in Virginia. She is married to U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, the former Virginia governor, and they have three children.
Holton was the 17th Virginia Secretary of Education, serving from 2014 to 2016. She later became the interim president of George Mason University, a position she held from August 2019 to July 2020.
Earlier in her career, Holton was a judge on the Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court from 1998 to 2005, and she led the court as chief judge from 2000 to 2003. She also served as First Lady of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 during Kaine’s governorship.
Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Holton is the daughter of Linwood Holton and Jinks Rogers Holton. Her father was a Republican governor of Virginia in the early 1970s. She attended Open High School and Langley High School, then earned a BA from Princeton University and a JD from Harvard Law School. After clerking for a U.S. judge, she worked for the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society and helped create a volunteer lawyers’ program in Richmond.
As Education Secretary, Holton pushed back against excessive reliance on high-stakes testing, supported higher teacher pay, and promoted professional development. She backed changes to high school graduation requirements and early college opportunities. She resigned in 2016 to support Kaine’s vice presidential campaign. In 2017 she joined the Virginia State Board of Education and later joined George Mason University as a faculty member.
Holton remains active on multiple boards and in community organizations focused on children and education. She has received several awards for her work in law and education and is involved with the Catholic community in Richmond. She is known for her passion for foster care reform, notably launching the “For Keeps” initiative to find stable homes for Virginia teens in foster care. She also enjoys clog dancing as a longtime hobby.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:09 (CET).