Reverend Dr. LaVerne J. Briggs is an educator, administrator, counselor and an ordained clergywoman with a passion for empowering, encouraging and assisting in the liberation of the disenfranchised of society. She is an Associate Minister and Chairman of the Adult Ministry at Riverview Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia.  She is employed at Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia, as the Director of Residence Life and a Substance Abuse Counselor for the Division of Addiction Services, Human Resources of Virginia.

The highly energetic Dr. Briggs was educated in the public schools of Richmond, Virginia. As a graduate of Norfolk State University, she received an A.B. degree in Sociology. Later, she received her Masters degrees in Guidance Counseling and Educational Media from Virginia State University. As an ordained clergywoman, she received her Masters of Divinity with honors from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University. She received her Doctoral degree from Howard University in 2000.

Because of her community involvement and volunteerism, she has received numerous awards, which include the Outstanding Young Woman of the Year Award, the Florence Duke Excellence in Media Award, Outstanding Contributions to the Virginia Association College and University Housing Officers, the Outstanding Contribution to the Big Buddy Program in Disputana and the Outstanding Contribution to the YWCA. In 1999, she was elected President of the Virginia Association College and University Housing Officers. In 2000, she served as Co-Chair of the Virginia Association of College and University Housing Officers and the Virginia Association of Student Personnel Professionals Conference in Wintergreen, Virginia.  Nominated as Woman of the Year at Virginia State University in 2001, she was also a recipient of the American Baptist Women's Ministries Award in 2003.  Most recently, she was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for Breaking the Chain Foundation.

Dr. Briggs holds membership in the following organizations: American Counseling Association, Southern Association of University Housing Officers, NAACP, Ministers' Union of Richmond, Virginia, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.