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
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.”
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.”
Meals Tax: Tasty or Revolting?
Supervisors digest task force’s final report on hot-button issue.
After hours of simmering debate, the Meals Tax Referendum Task Force’s presentation to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Tuesday was a mere amuse-bouche, whetting the appetite of board the for the group’s 170-page multi-course written report.
Eat. Drink. Pay?
Fairfax County task force debates voters’ appetite for another meals tax referendum.
It has been 22 years since Fairfax County asked voters to approve a tax on restaurant meals, an issue that ignited protests, caused deep divisions among community leaders and threatened to melt down several political careers. The reverberations of that epic failure — what many consider the third rail of county politics — continue to echo in the ears of county politicians.
Mr. Horejsi Goes to Richmond
In the fight for social justice with patience and persistence.
Every year, dozens of high-priced lobbyists descend on Virginia’s state capitol.
Preventing Teen Suicides
Recent deaths shine light on FCPS suicide prevention programs.
Every 15 seconds, a teen in the United States tries to commit suicide. Every 90 minutes, one succeeds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reports that the number of attempted suicides among teenagers increased from 6.3 percent in 2009 to 7.8 percent in 2011.
Bulova: ‘This Will Be a Challenging Budget’
Fairfax County average homeowner will see tax bill increase $330 under County Executive’s proposed $7 billion budget.
Fairfax County Executive Edward Long, Jr. unveiled a $7 billion budget proposal Tuesday that reflects his "cautious and deliberative approach to budgeting," a result, Long said, of continuing uncertainty over federal spending and sluggish commercial tax revenues.
How Red Is the 10th District?
Wolf’s retirement sparks crowded political stage as both parties vie for coveted Congressional seat.
U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf’s announcement in December that he would not seek reelection to an 18th term in Congress came as a surprise to both Republicans and Democrats. Wolf’s retirement notice instantly set off a feeding frenzy among politicians maneuvering to gain the Northern Virginia Congressional seat.
Into the Budget Fray
Bulova highlights accomplishments, challenges in annual address.
Despite the lingering impact of an anemic economy, and the regional ripple effects of federal sequestration, Fairfax County residents will see some concrete signs of progress this year.
Let Sun Shine on Virginia’s Financial Disclosure Laws
State legislators turn attention to ethics in wake of McDonnell gift scandal.
As members of the Virginia General Assembly convene for the first time since last February, legislators are stampeding to introduce ethics legislation in response to the gift scandal which engulfed then Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R). The revelations last spring about numerous undisclosed gifts and purported loans from businessman Jonnie Williams to McDonnell — including a $6,500 Rolex watch engraved to the "71st Governor of Virginia" and $35,000 in gifts and catering for his daughters’ weddings — shined a spotlight on Virginia’s porous financial disclosure laws.