Today, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors announced the hiring of Maria Burgos as the new Equity and Inclusion Officer for Prince William County. Ms. Burgos was the Supervisor of Global Learning and Culturally Responsive Instruction with Prince William County Public Schools Office of Professional Development and will join the Prince William County Government effective Monday, March 1, 2021.

Ms. Burgos has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood K/6 from Fayetteville State University.

Ms. Burgos is a County resident and has deep ties in the community. She received a 2017 Human Rights Award from the Prince William Human Rights Commission for her contributions to human and civil rights. She was appointed by the Virginia Department of Education to serve on the 2021 Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee. Ms. Burgos was named to Governor Northam’s Commission on African American History Education in 2019 to make recommendations for improving student experience and instructional support for teachers. She created the Division’s Educational Equity Framework to yield greater Inclusivity and responsiveness to claims of racism, and the diversity of students, staff, and community.

Ms. Burgos was selected as the top-ranked candidate after a national recruitment process. Forty-three applications were received from 14 states as part of the recruitment effort for the Equity and Inclusion Officer position. The applications were pared down to the top 14 from which five candidates were invited to participate in a first round of WebEx interviews on Jan. 20, 2021. The interview panel included Michelle Casciato, deputy county executive, Raul Torres, Human Rights director, Bernadette Peele, County Attorney’s Office, and Captain Joe Robinson, Police Department.