The Boards of Directors of An Achievable Dream have named Kathy Edwards as the permanent president and chief executive officer of the non-profit organization.

Edwards, who began with An Achievable Dream in 2000 as its director of development and communications and advanced to chief operating officer, has been the interim president and CEO since November.  She succeeds Aubrey Layne, who left to become secretary of transportation in the administration of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. Layne followed Walter Segaloff, who founded An Achievable Dream as a summer enrichment initiative in 1992 and led its growth into a K – 12 education program in Newport News. Alongside Segaloff, Edwards raised more than $2.5 million annually to fund expanded learning time, field trips, uniforms and other enhancements for An Achievable Dream students on the Peninsula.

Edwards has been heavily involved in the first expansion of An Achievable Dream. Starting with a summer intersession this July, Seatack Elementary in Virginia Beach will be an Achievable Dream Academy for students in kindergarten through second grade. Plans call for the addition of another grade level each subsequent year through high school, with all students participating in the program’s award-winning SAME® (social, academic and moral education) curriculum, which focuses on preparation for college and careers.

“We were so pleased to find our next president and CEO already in our administrative office,” says Gordon Gentry, co-chair of the Steering Committee for the organization.  “Kathy knows every facet of An Achievable Dream and is well respected by our boards, donors, the staff and community partners.  We expect great things from Kathy and her team as we move forward to serve even more children in Hampton Roads.”

Prior to joining An Achievable Dream, Edwards led the university relations and communications departments, first for Hampton University and then for Christopher Newport University.