2022 Alumni Awards

Michael J. White retired in June 2022 after a distinguished 41-year career in global logistics and maritime shipping. From 2017–2022, he served as CEO for GTD Solution, Inc., and head of TradeLens, where he led the joint collaboration between A.P. Moller Maersk and IBM to digitize global supply chains through the first blockchain-enabled open platform.

White built his career at Maersk and P&O Nedlloyd and DB Schenker. He was president of Maersk Line North America from 2009–2017 and served as chairman for Maersk Line Central Europe from 2007–2009, managing activities across 12 countries. He also served as president of Maersk Logistics North America and chairman for Damco USA, Maersk Customs Services, Inc., The Gilbert Company and Bridge Terminal Transport.

White graduated from Virginia Wesleyan in 1981 and studied at the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland and Harvard Business School (HBS). He has been a licensed Customhouse broker since 1987 and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for Virginia Wesleyan University.

Brandon L. Adair just completed his fourth season as an NBA official, having officiated 80 regular-season games in his first few seasons. He also has four years of officiating experience in both the NBA G League and the collegiate ranks, with stints in the Big South, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Old Dominion Athletic Conferences. He was also a high school referee in Virginia for seven years.

Prior to his officiating career, Adair was a standout basketball player at Virginia Wesleyan and went on to play professionally for two seasons in Germany. In 2013, Adair was inducted into the Virginia Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame both as an individual athlete and as a member of the 2006 Men's Basketball National Championship Team. He is No. 1 in VWU history in scoring with 2,100 points, field goals made with 871, and rebounds with 871.

Adair currently serves on the VWU Alumni Council and volunteers his time with the nonprofit organizations TAPS and It's From the Sole, as well as local foundations Walk MS and the Norfolk SPCA.

Jessie K. Dawe is a member of the Harvard Law School Class of 2022. Throughout law school, she commuted weekly between Chesapeake, Virginia, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, fitting a week's worth of coursework into two days so she could be with her partner, Stefan, and four children, Adelynn, Michael, and twins Isla and Esmé.

While completing her Juris Doctor, Dawe remained connected to the Hampton Roads legal community through internships with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and with the Office of the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney. She was also a summer associate at Willcox & Savage and McGuireWoods in Norfolk.

In 2008, Dawe graduated from Virginia Wesleyan University, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She attended VWU as a Wesleyan Scholar with a full tuition scholarship and was actively involved in campus life as a Resident Assistant, Freshman Peer Advisor and member of Tri Sigma.

After sitting for the Virginia bar exam, Dawe joined McGuireWoods' Norfolk office as an associate in the firm's Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation group. She then clerked for the Honorable S. Bernard Goodwyn, Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court.