Bill Leighty, Governor's Chief of Staff

Served as chief of Staff to Governor Mark Warner. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and Mary Washington College. Director of the Virginia Retirement System under governors Allen and Gilmore.

Viola O. Baskerville, 54, Secretary of Administration

East Richmond native, served as a member of the House of Delegates, representing the 71st District, for eight years.

Agencies/departments overseen: Compensation Board, General Services, Board of Elections, state employee services

Secretariat budget: $858 million

Robert S. Bloxom, 68 , Secretary of Agriculture

Appointed first secretary of agriculture and forestry by Gov. Warner. Served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1978 until his retirement at the end of 2003. Graduated University of Richmond.

Agencies/departments overseen: Agriculture and Consumer Services, Forestry, food regulation

Secretariat budget: $81 million

Patrick O. Gottschalk, 52, Secretary of Commerce and Trade

Partner in Cantor, Arkema, P.C. U.S. Navy officer, graduated U.S. Naval Academy and UVa law school. Agencies/departments overseen: Housing and Community Development, Mines, Minerals and Energy; professional and occupational regulation; Economic Development

Secretariat budget: $836.1 million

Daniel G. Leblanc, 61, Secretary of the Commonwealth

President of the Virginia AFL-CIO since 1990. Worked 14 years as a journeyman machinist at Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp. in Petersburg.

Secretariat budget: $1.8 million

Thomas R. Morris, 61, Secretary of Education

Galax native, president of Emory & Henry College since 1992, where he also serves as professor of political science. Constitutional scholar and political scientist, VMI undergraduate; master and doctoral degrees from UVA.

Agencies/departments overseen: Education, Council of Higher Education; funding for public schools, colleges and universities; Community College System

Secretariat budget: $13.7 billion

Jody M. Wagner, 50, Secretary of Finance

Virginia Treasurer since 2002. Attorney with Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., in Norfolk. Vanderbilt law school graduate, bachelor's in economics, Northwestern University.

Agencies/departments overseen: Accounts, Planning and Budget, Taxation

Secretariat budget: $564.4 million

Marilyn Tavenner, 54, Secretary of Health and Human Resources

Group President of Outpatient Services for HCA, Southside Virginia native; spent more than 20 years in nursing before CEO of Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond; also held positions as the Richmond Market President for HCA and as the President of HCA's Central Atlantic Division.

Agencies/departments overseen: Health, Aging, Health Professions, Medicaid, Mental Health, Social Services

Secretariat budget: $9 billion

Robert Crouch, 57, Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness

Served as Chief Deputy Secretary of Public Safety. Appointed by President Clinton to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. UVA law school, master's of public affairs, University of North Carolina, bachelor's in government from University of Maryland.

Preston Bryant, 41, Secretary of Natural Resources

Lyncbburg native; represented 23rd district in the Virginia House of Delegates since 1996. Lynchburg City Council. Partner at Hurt & Proffitt, Inc. Agencies/departments overseen: Environmental Quality, Game and Inland Fisheries, Marine Resources Commission, Conservation and Recreation

Secretariat budget: $539 million

John Marshall, 47, Secretary of Public Safety

Current secretary since 2002. Virginia State Police trooper for 14 years; U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia. Appointed by President Clinton as head of the U.S. Marshals Service. Graduate of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, post baccalaureate certificate in administration of justice from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor's degree in government from Georgetown University.

Agencies/departments overseen: State police, Parole Board, Alcoholic Beverage Control, Criminal Justice Services, Corrections

Secretariat budget: $2.4 billion

Aneesh Chopra, 33, Secretary of Technology

Managing director of the Advisory Board Company, where he helped launch the firm’s first software-based business. Co-president of the D.C. chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs, which promotes entreprenuership in the D.C. region. B.A. in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Agencies/departments overseen: Virginia Information Technologies Agency

Secretariat budget: $64.2 million.

Pierce R. Homer, 49, Secretary of Transportation

Haverford College, bachelor's degree 1978; University of Texas at Austin, master's in public affairs, 1988. Served as secretary and deputy secretary of transportation, spent 15 years with the Prince William County government in several senior management positions.

Agencies/departments overseen: VDOT, Motor Vehicles, Rail and Public Transportation, Port Authority

Secretariat budget: $4.8 billion