Oakton, Va., Aug. 17, 2005— Allan Ratner truly believes in the mission of Northern Virginia Family Service. That’s why the former Freddie Mac executive gladly took on the role of chair of the agency’s Board of Directors.
In June, Northern Virginia Family Service’s Board of Directors unanimously appointed Ratner as the new board chair, replacing outgoing chair Dorothy Moga. Ratner recently retired as vice president and deputy general counsel of Freddie Mac after 21 years at the company, which included recent experience supporting the Freddie Mac board. He has been a member of NVFS’ Board of Directors for more than six years and has served in a variety of capacities, including on the advocacy, strategic planning and executive committees. Most recently he served two years as vice chair of the board.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my experience on the board and intend to carry on the board leadership tradition of recent chairs Myron Maslowsky, George Lane and Dorothy Moga,” Ratner said.
Ratner was interested in serving as board chair because he is very supportive and proud of NVFS’ mission. “I’ve been very fortunate in my life and feel that it is very important to give back to the community,” he said. And with his recent retirement, he will have more time to support the agency.
As board chair, Ratner is looking forward to meeting more of NVFS’ stakeholders—the dedicated staff of the agency, the clients it serves and its funding sources, including governments, foundations, corporations and individuals. He wants to work with other members of the board and executive management of the agency to ensure that NVFS has the infrastructure (people, technology, policies and procedures) to support existing programs and any future growth.
A native of New York, Ratner has been a resident of Northern Virginia for 30 years. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo and New York University School of Law. He has been married for more than 34 years to his wife Barbara. They have two sons, ages 28 and 25. Barbara Ratner also has been involved with NVFS, working on the auction committee for NVFS’ Road to Independence Gala the last three years.
Ratner became involved with NVFS when his younger son was graduating from high school. He asked the head of Freddie Mac’s Foundation for ideas on community service. Ratner had been very active in youth sports but wanted to try something different. It was then that he learned about NVFS.
“It has been a match made in heaven,” Ratner said. “This is a great organization with a fabulous mission that does such good for families in our community.”