RADFORD – Governor Timothy Kaine has appointed three new members to the Board of Visitors at Radford University.

Todd E. Barrish, Matthew B. Crisp and Linda Whitley-Taylor have been selected for appointment to the board. Crisp is completing the remainder of a board position originally held by R.J. Kirk, who left his position on the RU board when he was appointed to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors in July.

Kaine also reappointed Nancy Artis, J. Brandon Bell and Darius A. Johnson to the Radford board.

All appointments are subject to confirmation by the Virginia General Assembly. During its annual meeting Thursday, the board re-elected Tommy Fraim, a businessman from Virginia Beach and Radford alumnus as rector of the board and re-elected Artis, a businesswoman from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and an alumna, as vice-rector of the Board of Visitors. Both individuals served in those leadership roles last year.

The board elected Stephen Owen, the president of the university’s Faculty Senate, to serve as the non-voting faculty member of the Board.

Crisp is the managing director of Third Security in its San Francisco office, and he previously worked at the company’s corporate headquarters in Radford. He currently serves as a director on four corporate boards, is a member of the Radford University Foundation Board of Directors, where he chairs the Investment Committee, and he is a member of the Executive Committee. Crisp also serves on the Radford University President’s Advisory Council and the College of Business and Economics Advisory Board. Crisp graduated magna cum laude from RU, where he received a degree in finance.

Barrish currently is pursuing several entrepreneurial opportunities. He is the former Executive Vice President and General Manager of Dukas Publics Relations in New York. Prior to that, Barrish served as director of Connors Communication and was an account executive with Cohn & Wolfe Public Relations, both in New York. In addition, Barrish worked as a public relations and marketing associate with the National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation in Springfield. The 1998 RU graduate is a member of the university’s President’s Advisory Council and serves on the Cozmo Media Board of Advisors. Barrish is also a founder and former board of director’s member of Foresight Research Solutions, LLC.

Whitley-Taylor is a human resources executive with more than 20 years of experience. She currently serves as executive vice president of associate services of AMERIGROUP Corporation in Virginia Beach. Previously she was the senior vice president of human resources operations at Genworth Financial/GE Financial in Richmond. Whitley-Taylor received her bachelor’s degree in psychology at RU, and currently serves on Radford’s President’s Advisory Council. She is also a member of the Radford University Foundation Board of Directors, where she serves as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee. She also serves on the board of the Genworth Foundation.

Bell is president and wealth consultant for Bell Wealth Management. He served two terms in the Virginia State Senate representing District 22, which includes Radford University. His wife, Debbie, is a 1996 RU alumna.

A graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in Business Administration, Bell served in the State Senate from 1992-1996 and 2004-2008. While in the State Senate, Bell championed legislation to remove secondhand smoke from all indoor public areas and workplaces, work which earned him the 2006 Excellence in Advocacy Award from the American Lung Association.

Johnson, who resides in Richmond, currently serves as the senior vice president and chief lending officer of Consolidated Bank & Trust Co. There his duties include managing the growth of the bank’s loan portfolio and developing and implementing the commercial banking division’s operational policies and procedures. Under his direction, the loan department expanded their commercial loan portfolio by 39 percent over the course of two years. Johnson previously served as vice president and commercial banking client manager for Bank of America and as a corporate finance analyst for First Union Securities. He currently serves as a board member for several organizations, including the Virginia Council on Economic Education, the University of Richmond Alumni Council and the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree from the University of Richmond.