Jim Gallagher
Chief Human Resource Officer
[email protected]
434-946-9376
Mr. Jim Gallagher began serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Amherst County Public Schools on July 1, 2018. Prior to that he served in the division for thirteen years as the Supervisor of Students Services. Mr. Gallagher began his career in education in August 1995 at Crawford Day School in Portsmouth, Virginia where he served as a Lead Teacher. He moved to Central Virginia and served as a special education teacher at Heritage High School. He began his administrative experience in August 1998 when he accepted a position as the Principal of Rivermont School, a private school for students with disabilities. He remained in that position until June 2002. Following his position at Rivermont School, he accepted a leadership position with Roanoke City Public Schools as the Director of Special Education. In July 2003, Mr. Gallagher returned to the Lynchburg area to serve as an Assistant Principal with Lynchburg City Schools at E.C. Glass High School. He remained in that position until 2005 when he joined Amherst County Public Schools.
Mr. Gallagher served as president and executive committee member for the Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education (VCASE) from 2011 to 2017, where he advocated at the state and national level for supports, services, legislation, policies and funding for students with disabilities and their families. During that time, he served as an Executive Committee Member of the Virginia State Special Education Advisory Committee (SSEAC), served as the regional representative to the Special Education State Council, and led Region 5 special education state meetings for a two year period.
Mr. Gallagher earned his Bachelor's degree from Old Dominion University in 1994 where he had a major in History and a minor in Geography with certification in secondary education. He continued his education at Lynchburg College where he earned two Master's degrees: one in Special Education in 1999 and the other in Educational Leadership in 2002.
Mr. Gallagher grew up and attended high school in Northern Virginia and now resides in Lynchburg. He and his wife Cindy have been married for 29 years and have two sons, Takoda and Ryan.