Cleo Powell
The Brunswick County Public School division is proud to acknowledge Cleo Powell in the 2026 VSBA Products of Public Education publication. Chief Justice Powell is a 1975 graduate of Brunswick High School.
Cleo Powell is the Chief Justice of The Supreme Court of Virginia. She is the second woman and the first African-American woman to hold this office. Additionally, Chief Justice Powell has served on the Supreme Court of Virginia since 2011. She has been a judge at each level of the state’s judicial system. Prior to her career on the bench, Chief Justice Powell worked as an attorney in the private sector.
She has made multiple efforts to engage with our elementary and secondary students to share in her historic achievements during the 2025-2026 school year.
Chief Justice Powell led an assembly and talked to the students about her career and her experiences growing up in Brunswick County. She also invited a group of students from Russell Middle School and Brunswick High School to her investiture. Finally, she arranged for a group of sixth graders to observe a hearing at the Supreme Court and tour the capital.
Cleo Powell shared inspirational words of wisdom with the students as she told them, “Today you can see it, tomorrow you can be it.”