VCU Board of Visitors

As a senior staff member for Governors Charles S. Robb and Gerald L. Baliles, H. Benson Dendy III has held positions as diverse as secretary of the commonwealth, secretary to the governor’s cabinet and special assistant to the governor. He began his career in state government in 1978 as a legislative assistant to the lieutenant governor. Over the course of seven legislative sessions, he advocated for two governors’ agendas in the General Assembly. He served on transition committees for Governors Mark Warner and Terry McAuliffe.

Mr. Dendy has been appointed and reappointed to the board of trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a state agency, by six Virginia governors of both parties. He served as chairman of the board of trustees for over eight years. In 2003, he was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to the federal Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission and served as the federal commission’s vice chairman. He served as a Vice Chair of the 2019 Commemoration Steering Committee. He currently serves on the American Revolution 250 Commission.

Mr. Dendy served on the board of directors of the Containerization & Intermodal Institute. In 2002, he was appointed by Governor Mark Warner to the Council on the Southern Community of the Southern Growth Policies Board. He served on the board of trustees of the Valentine Richmond History Center for 14 years and has been a director of the Virginia YMCA. He served on the board of directors of the Maymont Foundation. He is a former member of the board of trustees of the American Council of Young Political Leaders, a core grantee of the U.S. Department of State that conducts international exchange programs for young governmental leaders. He has been a member of the honorary council to the St. George’s Foundation in Bermuda. Mr. Dendy also has extensive experience in helping international corporations develop business in the United States.

In addition to serving as president of The Vectre Corporation, Mr. Dendy is also a member of its board of directors. He has served as chairman of The Advocacy Group, the premier municipal, state, federal and international government and public affairs organization in the world, and currently serves on its board of directors. Mr. Dendy was one of the first 24 government relations professionals nationwide to complete the State Government Affairs Council’s professional certificate program in 2012.

Mr. Dendy graduated from the University of Richmond, magna cum laude, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. A member of Second Presbyterian Church,  Mr. Dendy has served as an elder. He and his late wife, Stacey, have three children. The family enjoys skiing at Wintergreen and spending time in the summer at Virginia Beach.