Virginia Walden Ford
Key Player

President, Washington, DC Chapter, Black Alliance for Educational OptionsVirginia Walden Ford serves on the board of directors of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), and is the president of BAEO’s Washington, DC chapter. Ford is also executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice.

A single mother, Ford took up the cause of school choice after her son received a private scholarship to leave a failing DC public school. Ford helped mobilize thousands of parents in support of school choice, which culminated in Congressional passage of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program in 2004.

In 2009, Ford again mobilized DC residents to press Congress to re-authorize the District voucher program.

In 2008, the Alliance for School Choice honored Ford with the John T. Walton Champions for School Choice Award in recognition of her achievements.

Ford is the author of the 2005 book, Voices, Choices, and Second Chances, and runs an interactive website featuring video interviews with student scholarship recipients.

Virginia’s work inspired the 2019 film Miss Virginia starring Uzo Aduba, Matthew Modine, and Niles Fitch. After a successful theatrical run, the film is now available to view on over 1,000 platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix. Find a full list of available streaming options at www.missvirginiamovie.com/watch.