Pam Northam

Meet Pam Northam, Virginia First Lady! Mrs. Northam is an educator and the wife of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, the embattled politician in the middle of a racist scandal following the finding of blackface photo on his 1984 yearbook page.

• Now, Pam Northam got herself in a mess, when a student complained that she gave cotton to black children during a tour of the governor’s mansion and told them to imagine picking the crop as enslaved Africans. She later apologized.

“I regret that I have upset anyone,” Northam said. “I am still committed to chronicling the important history of the Historic Kitchen, and will continue to engage historians and experts on the best way to do so in the future.”

• Pamela T. Northam was born on June 18, 1962, in Virginia. She studied pediatric occupational therapy at the University of Texas and Baylor University.

• She serves on the board of trustees of the Science Museum of Virginia, with the community outreach coordinator for Lynnhaven River NOW (LRN), a nonprofit environmental group, and she also is a board member of the innovative E3 School in Norfolk.
• Described as an advocate, educator, and an environmentalist, Mrs. Northam previously taught biology in high school.

• She met her husband on a blind date at a pool party; they eventually tied the knot in 1987 and have since welcomed two children, Wes (b. 1988) and Aubrey (b. 1991). Wes is a neurosurgeon while Aubrey is a web developer.