Mark Herring, Va. attorney general, opens satellite office in Northern Virginia

Attorney General Mark R. Herring March 11 has expanded his Community Outreach program that, for the first time ever, will put a community outreach coordinator from the Office of Attorney General in every region of the state, including Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg, and the upper Shenandoah Valley.

Herring’s idea is that the coordinators will help connect citizens, civic groups, faith-based organizations, small businesses, and law enforcement with the services offered by Attorney General Herring, including crime prevention programs for seniors, teen education, consumer protection services, and resources for survivors of domestic violence.

The Northern Virginia Community Outreach Coordinator is Michele Leith, a Northern Virginia native, who will work out of the Attorney General’s Fairfax office and the Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid’s office. Her service area includes localities inside and outside the Beltway, from Winchester to Page County, and areas around Fredericksburg including Caroline, Spotsylvania, and Culpeper counties.

Herring was quoted as saying, “The Attorney General’s Office provides great resources for citizens, businesses and law enforcement, but too often these initiatives are underutilized or stuck in Richmond when they should be out in the field Big cities and small towns across the Commonwealth will now have a Community Outreach Coordinator focused on delivering our services and supporting communities with their crime prevention and public safety efforts.”

Leith has been chair of the Greater Prince William Human Trafficking Task Force, according to Richard H. Buchholz, Gang Response Intervention Team (GRIT) Coordinator.

Community outreach coordinators will serve as a key source of two-way communication within the Office of Attorney General. They will help spread important public safety and consumer protection information throughout the Commonwealth while also providing OAG senior leadership with information on local and regional concerns or emerging public safety threats.
Leith may be reached via phone at 703-246-3675 or email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

In addition to Northern Virginia, Attorney General Herring has community outreach coordinators in every region of the state, including:

Debbie H. Bell, Roanoke: Phone: 540-562-3571; Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Rae Pearson Benn, Tidewater: Phone: 757-382-6113; Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Amy Duncan, Southwest Virginia: Phone: 276-628-1799: Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Johnetta Guishard, Central Virginia: Phone: 804.786.6835; Email:jguishard@oag.state.va.us.