Victoria Ross, Fairfax County Reporter for The Connection Newspapers, has a diverse media background as a journalist, editor, freelance writer and media spokesperson for county government.
Victoria covers Fairfax County government as well as county-related matters in the Virginia legislature, including politics, transportation, housing, education and county services. She has developed and written several special editions and series, including award-winning in-depth coverage of homelessness in Fairfax County and the impact of immigration and diversity in the county. During the 2012 elections, she covered President Barack Obama’s rallies in Fairfax County, as well as the president’s second inauguration. She also covered several other high-profile races, including U.S. Senator Tim Kaine’s race against former Virginia governor and U.S. Senator George Allen.
Her extensive coverage of homelessness in Fairfax County helped earn The Connection the prestigious 2011 Virginia Press Association Award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service. Other awards given for Victoria’s work include the Fairfax County Media Partnership Award in May, 2012, and Virginia Press Awards for In-Depth Or Investigative Reporting for 2011 (2nd and 3rd place) and 2012 (1st place) and for Multimedia Feature Report (2011, 1st place).
A magna cum laude graduate of James Madison University and The University of Virginia, she started her journalism career in Dayton, Ohio where she was named the youngest-ever editor-in-chief of Times Publications, a chain of community and daily newspapers. As a reporter and editor of The Kettering-Oakwood Times and The Centreville-Bellbrook Times, she won several first-place Ohio Newspaper Association Awards for investigative reporting, business reporting and feature writing.
In 1994, she and her husband moved to Charlotte, where she became the media spokesperson for The Fighting Back Project, a nationally-recognized anti-drug program, co-funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Mecklenburg County.
She worked closely with the board’s co-chairs — Franklin McCain, one of the Greensboro Four who participated in the Woolworth sit-ins during the Civil Rights movement, and Cullie Tarleton, broadcasting executive and North Carolina State Representative — to raise the community profile of the program. That same year, she was appointed by the Board of County Commissioners to serve on Charlotte’s Diversity Task Force. In 1997, she became communications director for Mecklenburg County government, where she worked until moving to Montgomery County, Maryland, in 2003.
While freelancing for several local publications, she started a Diversity Book & Film Club that was the subject of a 2006 feature story The Washington Post. Victoria was born in Baltimore and raised in Fairfax County. She currently lives in Vienna with her husband, two children and two amazing dogs.
Recent Stories
Senator Kaine Hosts Interfaith Forum
Senator Tim Kaine spends last day before VP pick showing why Virginia matters.
No one knew it at the time, but Sen. Timothy M. Kaine’s (D-Va.) public appearances moderating roundtables in Northern Virginia last Thursday, July 21 would be his last day of relative political anonymity before being catapulted to political prominence 24 hours later as Hillary Clinton’s pick for her Vice-Presidential running mate.
Fairfax County: Meet the Candidates for County Board
All politics is local, in Fairfax County, too: Who runs for Board of Supervisors in November?
You may be surprised – or dismayed – to learn that the 10 men and women who occupy Fairfax County Board of Supervisors wield enormous power and influence over your everyday lives.
Make a Call; Save a Life
Petersen’s “Good Samaritan Overdose Protection” law goes into effect July 1.
Accidental overdose deaths are now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, exceeding even motor vehicle accidents among people ages 25 to 64, according to a recently released study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Last year, an estimated 210 heroin overdoses fatalities occurred in Virginia, with the highest number in Fairfax and Prince William counties.
Comstock Wins 10th District Race
Comstock scores resounding 17-point victory over Democratic opponent John Foust.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday night, Republican Del. Barbara Comstock entered the Hilton ballroom in Ashburn to the tune of her favorite song - “This One’s for the Girls” sung by Martina McBride. The sassy, defiant country anthem – which tells girls to “stand your ground when everyone’s giving in” – struck the right chord with Comstock’s supporters, who chanted and clapped along with the music as Comstock took the stage to deliver her victory speech.
Sarvis: Warner-Gillespie Debate ‘Disappointing’
Libertarian candidate says chamber’s decision to include only major-party candidates in U.S. Senate debate a “disservice” to voters.
After a full day of campaigning at Fort Belvoir on Friday, Oct. 11, Robert Sarvis talked about his campaign for U.S. Senate, and his disappointment in not being invited to participate in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate Debate — a major televised debate hosted by The Fairfax Chamber at Capitol One’s convention center in McLean. “The Fairfax Chamber informed us that it was nothing other than ‘tradition’ to only invite major party candidates,” Sarvis said. “But this was after we formally requested an invitation, noted that over 145,000 Virginians voted for Robert Sarvis for governor in 2013, and sent them a petition signed by over 1,000 Virginians in support of a three-candidate debate.”
Warner, Gillespie Clash in U.S. Senate Debate
Stark distinctions on same-sex marriage, immigration, abortion and healthcare.
In front of an audience of Northern Virginia business leaders, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Republican challenger Ed Gillespie honed their attacks on each other during a sharp, wide-ranging debate Tuesday evening, Oct. 7.
Foust Bridging Political Divide
Democrats hope Foust’s reputation as a “bridge-builder” connects with voters.
Straightening his tie, John Foust is preparing for yet another “meet-and-greet” event at the Clifton home of Democratic supporters Terry Matlaga and Kevin Bell.
Extreme Politics
Foust, Comstock stake out opposing positions during first debate in hyper-partisan 10th district Congressional race.
Forget first-debate politeness. Republican Barbara Comstock and Democrat John Foust — the candidates vying to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf in Virginia’s 10th Congressional district — sustained the hyper-partisan tenor of their campaigns during a debate-style forum hosted by the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce in Herndon last week.
Heads Up Football Flourishing in Fairfax County
Program reduces concussion risk by teaching players to take the “head” out of tackling.
It wasn’t that long ago when youth football coaches believed a player’s toughness was measured by his ability to play through the pain. Concussions and other serious injuries were just “part of the game.”