City of Fairfax Mayor and Alumna Catherine Read Meets Schar School Students, Leaders

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Twenty-four students pose in front of a green Schar School sign with a woman in the center as she wears a green boa and holds a yellow flower.
City of Fairfax Mayor Catherine S. Read, a 1984 Schar School grad, is flanked by students during her September 29 meet-and-greet. Photo by Natalia Paolini-Medina/Schar School of Policy and Government

Catherine S. Read is the new mayor of the City of Fairfax, the home of George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus, and is the first woman to hold that office. She’s also a 1984 government and politics graduate of Mason. On September 29, the alumna met with Schar School of Policy and Government leaders and students at the invitation of Bonnie Stabile, associate professor and associate dean of student and academic affairs and director of the Gender and Policy Center (GAP), which studies the underrepresentation of women in politics and positions of power. The lively meet-and-greet at Mason’s Fairfax Campus was highlighted by a presentation to the mayor of a festive Mason-green feathered boa, which the former theater major was happy to wear during the event. Read the story about the mayor’s career and how she hopes to bring the city and the university even closer together.