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Rotary District 7610 includes 58 clubs and over 1,960 members in North and Central Virginia

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Our Governors

Every successful Rotary district is comprised of strong people that are part of the district leadership team and it is no different in Rotary District 7610. This team includes the District Governor, Governor-Elect, and District Governor Nominee. These leaders along, with past and future leaders that include assistant governors, district committee chairs, and past governors help our district thrive.

Rene’ Laws picture
Create hope in the world

Rene’ Laws, District Governor 2023-2024

Rene’ Laws has a passion for service and has dedicated much of her life to causes that help her community, domestically and globally. Beginning as a young military spouse, she explored volunteering through the USMC Key Volunteer Program, providing much needed family support before, during, and post-deployments. She expanded her service reach in the 29 years that followed by working with organizations such as Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Marine Spouses’ Clubs, USMC Family Readiness Program (where she helped develop and execute the program for Marine Forces Reserve in 2008), The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, and various charitable organizations and churches, including educational and intramural school clubs.

Raising six children with her Marine husband, and moving many times over the years, has given Rene’ a unique perspective on her communities and those that reside within, helping her to see the gaps in assistance and provide support when available. In 2013, Rene’ was introduced to Rotary, and it broadened her horizons when she became a member of this international organization via the North Stafford Rotary Club. Since that time, she has expanded her level of responsibility within Rotary, becoming Club President in 2018 and District 7610 Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 2019, while also stepping into the job of Area Four Governor.

She is an RLI graduate, a Paul Harris Fellow, and member of the Paul Harris Society. She strongly believes in the ideals of Servant Leadership and is excited and ready to serve the Rotarians and communities here in Virginia as the District 7610 Governor in 2023-2024.

“Rotary changes us and those we serve. I believe we can change the world, one life at a time.” ~ Paul Harris (founder of Rotary)

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ~ Maya Angelou (first female inaugural poet in US presidential history)

 

Amelia J Stansell
RI Theme 2024-25 The Magic of Rotary

Amelia Stansell, District Governor Elect 2024-2025

Amelia joined the Gainesville-Haymarket Rotary Club in 2006 where she served as President in 2011-12 before transferring to the Warrenton Club in 2013, serving as club President in 2022-23. Amelia is a member of both the Polio Plus Society and Paul Harris Society, level PHF+8. She will serve as District Governor in 2024-25.

Amelia is passionate about ending human trafficking and modern slavery. She is the co-chair of the Fauquier Anti Sex Trafficking Alliance, a service project of the Rotary Club of Warrenton. FASTA’s mission is to safeguard their community though education and prevention by building strategic partnerships. Amelia was honored to represent her club and District at the 2019 Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, serving on a panel of speakers from the Netherlands, Nigeria, and the USA to share about how local clubs can tackle human trafficking prevention in their own communities through building partnerships, using her club and county as the model for Rotary’s local efforts worldwide. After attending she joined the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS) where she now serves as the RAGAS Virginia State Coordinator working with the three Rotary districts in Virginia and joined the RAGAS global board in 2022. Additionally, Amelia co-chairs the Zone 33/34 Human Trafficking Prevention Taskforce for Director Jeremy Hurst. In 2021 Amelia facilitated a focus group of subject matter experts from three continents over several months to create the RAGAS Community Awareness & Prevention Education (CAPE) strategic action plan and continues to present it to Rotarians and RAGAS members around the world to help everyone be a super-hero in their own community! She shared the CAPE plan and inspired Rotarians to unleash their superpowers to end slavery at the 2022 RI convention in Houston and 2023 in Melbourne.

Amelia is President of Unstoppable Futures, where she is a business consultant and strategic planner for businesses, agencies, municipalities and NGOs.

Outside of work and Rotary, Amelia is active in her community serving on the Fauquier County Chamber of Commerce Board, Mason Enterprise Center Advisory Board and the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s Virginia Leadership Council. Her hobbies include travel, cooking and gardening. Additionally, she is active in her church, which she attends with her husband, Troy, and daughters Amelia Grace and Bitsy. They live in Warrenton with their crazy orange tabby cat, Butchie.

Ravi Respeto

Ravi Respeto, District Governor Nominee 2025-2026

Ravi joined the United Way of Greater Charlottesville in July 2018 as the President and CEO, where she leads regional initiatives in poverty elevation focused on historically marginalized communities and provides programs that increase access and quality in early education for economically disadvantaged children. Her career in nonprofit leadership started as Campaign Manager for the Charlottesville Waldorf School to build an environmentally sustainable school. Her commitment to the environment and sustainability led her to AHIP- Home Repair Nonprofit as the Director of Development and Marketing in August 2010. Ravi led efforts to increase funding to ensure historically lower-income neighborhoods were stabilized through home revitalization efforts. In June 2015, Ravi joined the Piedmont Family YMCA as the Fundraising and Marketing consultant to help lead a $19-million campaign to build the first YMCA in Charlottesville. This project supports Ravi’s life-long passion for community health accessibility. Ravi started her career at Whole Foods Market, working across the Mid-Atlantic on the marketing and community engagement team. In this role, she led multi-store marketing campaigns and community funding initiatives that supported healthy living and investment in nonprofit and educational institutions.

Ravi is the past President of the Blue Ridge Mountains Rotary Club, where she has volunteered since 2011. Rotary aligns with her commitment to improving communities through programs and initiatives that result in positive action worldwide. Ravi also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Miller School of Albemarle and on the Board of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. Additional Board work has included serving with the Salvation Army as the strategic planning Chair and with the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association as Chair of the Marketing Committee. Ravi holds a degree in Communications with a focus in Public Relations as a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society from George Mason University, has completed a certificate in Business Marketing from UVA Darden School of Business, and is currently a Fellow of the Darden Executive Leadership Program.

Peter Anderson

Peter Anderson, District Governor Nominee Designate 2026-2027

Peter was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. He attended the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, graduating with a BS, in General Engineering, in 1975 He served 20 years as a U.S. Army officer in the Infantry, the Special Forces, and in Force Development /Integration (Change Management) in Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia including 18 months with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. During this period, he received an MBA in Management from Webster University, in St. Louis, MO, and was a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College, at Ft. Leavenworth, KS.

Upon retirement from the Army Peter first served 6 years as a Civilian Observer Unit and on the staff of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) the international peacekeeping organization for Egypt and Israel located in the Sinai, Egypt. He then spent 19 years as a U.S. Defense contractor supporting the Joint Staff J-5 Joint Operational War Plans Division and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology.

Peter joined the Crystal City Pentagon Rotary Club in 2003. Has been his club’s treasurer, Global Scholarship chair, Service Project Chair, and President twice in 2008-2009 and 2019-2020. He has served the District as an Area Foundation Advisor for 5 years and Annual Fund Giving Chair for 5 years and is currently serving as the District’s Chief of Staff for RY 2023-2024.

Additionally, Peter has 10 years on the Board of Directors of Volunteers for the Blind, a non-profit organization that assists the visually impaired located in Fredericksburg, VA.