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When Paula I. Otto was appointed Executive Director of the Virginia Lottery by Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine in January of 2008, it was a sort of homecoming. Ms. Otto served as Director of Public Affairs for the Lottery when the first ticket was sold on September 20, 1988, and continued in that position until 1997. During that time, she was instrumental in shaping and protecting the Lottery’s public image.
As head of an organization that has a
unique place in Virginia’s infrastructure,
(“a government agency in a business suit,”
as she calls it), Ms. Otto believes strongly in maintaining the Lottery’s reputation for integrity,
innovation and fun.
An experienced leader and communicator, Ms. Otto was a television news anchor and reporter with WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia, before joining the Lottery. In 1997 she accepted a faculty position at Virginia Commonwealth University, eventually rising to the position of Associate Director of the School of Mass Communications.
Ms. Otto was raised in Arlington, Virginia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in public communication from American University in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Otto and her husband, Dan Timberlake, live in Hanover County, Virginia.
Since 1999, all Virginia Lottery profits have been designated solely to K-12 public school education in the Commonwealth. In that time, the Lottery has turned over more than $3.4 billion for Virginia’s public schools, currently representing about 7 percent of annual state funding for public education in Virginia. In 19 years, the Lottery has awarded more than $10 billion in prizes to players and more than $1 billion in retailer commissions.
Click here for a message written from Paula I. Otto. |
