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From campus to the State Capitol
Late one night in the mid-1970s, Barbara Favola ’77 and three friends slipped quietly out of their rooms at then-Saint Joseph College and entered the cafeteria in McGovern Hall under the cloak of darkness. They were on a mission.
By morning, their handiwork was on display for all to see. A banner stretched across the wall of the dining hall, greeting students at breakfast with the message: “Elect Favola for SGA President!”
Favola still laughs at the memory of the rather tame prank, calling it a moment of innocent, youthful fun.
But it worked. Favola won the election and served two consecutive terms as president of the student government at what is now the University of Saint Joseph.
One of the main reasons I chose Saint Joseph’s was its Core Values.
Barbara Favola
That early campaign was equal parts creativity and determination, and it marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment to leadership and public service.
Today, Senator Barbara Favola is a seasoned leader and champion of progressive values serving in the Virginia State Legislature. In her 15 years as a Virginia State Senator, Favola has helped pass more than 130 bills that have been signed into law, including important legislation supporting foster youth, strengthening child welfare systems, and reforming Virginia’s prisons to ensure more humane, rehabilitation-focused treatment of incarcerated individuals.
Today, her political campaigns are far more sophisticated than that midnight effort on campus, but USJ is where her commitment to community advocacy first took root.
“One of the main reasons I chose Saint Joseph’s was its Core Values,” she said.
Community advocacy takes root
Raised in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Favola says she was also drawn to USJ for its close-knit community and supportive environment.
graduation portrait, 1977
A double major in Political Science and Economics, she valued both the University’s academic rigor and its identity at the time as an all-women’s school.
“I thought I would have more opportunities to take on leadership roles, and that was important to me,” she said.
Favola’s commitment to community advocacy began to take root as an undergraduate when a faculty mentor connected her with a position at a legal services office in Hartford, Connecticut’s South End. There, working closely with clients facing housing insecurity, landlord disputes, and redlining by banks, she gained a firsthand understanding of the systemic challenges impacting underserved communities
“That experience really opened my eyes,” she said. “I decided to continue my education and gather tools needed to affect social change.”
Rising through the ranks
After graduation, Favola set her sights on public service and enrolled at New York University to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree. After completing her degree, she was selected for the highly competitive Presidential Management Intern Program, a prestigious initiative launched under President Jimmy Carter to cultivate the next generation of public servants.
Favola interned with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), working within the Office of Management and Budget, where she gained a deeper understanding of how health programs are shaped, funded, and implemented. She was offered a full-time position after completing the internship, a testament to her dedication and hard work. Over the next 15 years, she rose through the agency’s ranks to serve as a senior advisor.
I decided to continue my education and gather tools needed to affect social change.
Barbara Favola
As her professional responsibilities grew, so did her personal life. Favola married EPA analyst Douglas Weik, and the couple settled in Arlington, Virginia. When their son Donald was born, her advocacy work took on a new dimension.
“I was a very doting mother, as we all are sometimes, and I could tell he had a learning disability. As a mother, I just knew,” she said.
Favola began advocating for her son within their local school district. Soon, she was helping other families and educators navigate the implementation of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students with learning differences.
Her work quickly expanded beyond her own family. In 1997 she was elected to the Arlington County Board where she served as chair for three terms.
Wanting to broaden her impact, Favola ran for the Virginia State Senate. She was elected in 2011. As a senator, she has remained a strong advocate of her state’s most vulnerable populations. Recent legislation she has championed includes the expansion of Virginia’s hate crime statute to cover gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability, as well as measures to restrict the use of restraint and seclusion in public schools. She continues to be a strong advocate for public education and gun violence prevention.
A personal perspective
Favola’s own health journey has further deepened her understanding of the systems she has worked to improve for so many years.
Diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer in 2008, she received a second diagnosis last May — uterine cancer. Following surgery and treatment, she is now cancer-free. That experience reinforced her commitment to ensuring access to care for all.
“I’m more determined to promote preventive care and to make sure that every Virginian has access to preventive care regardless of their insurance status,” she said. “I’m sympathetic to the fact that if you can catch a disease early, the outcome is much better. So, public dollars spent on preventive tests are well worth it.”
In January, just two months after her final chemotherapy treatment, Favola was back in the Senate Chamber at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond in her new role as chair of the Senate’s Health and Education committee. The position places her at the center of policy decisions shaping two of the state’s most critical areas.
“It is one of the busiest committees in the Senate, if not the busiest,” Favola said. “We get a lot of bills because of its broad scope. It’s a lot to manage, but it’s important work.”