Annie Warman traces her interest in helping military veterans to her grandfathers, who served in the Army and the Air Force. “They are both passed now,” says the Blacksburg, Virginia native. “Now that I’m older, I wish I had asked them about their military service. It’s something they never talked about.”
Since she began as director of development of the Virginia War Memorial Foundation in 2020, Warman has helped to raise more than $150,000 for its Mighty Pen project. Founded by author David Robbins, it provides a framework for veterans to tell their stories of military service and connect with peers who have shared experiences. The project has become so popular that it has branched off into a one-act play festival and a Mighty Pen podcast.
But that’s just one aspect of her role at the Foundation. “Annie has experience in nonprofit development, team management and board support,” says coworker Amanda Bruton, “She has overseen the Virginia War Memorial Foundation’s annual fund for four years and has developed several successful campaigns for some of its most important initiatives. She also helped to develop the Foundation’s strategic plan and actively manages the Foundation’s sponsorships, prospect research, and grant support.”
Warman graduated from Radford University with a degree in environmental biology — it was knowledge that came in handy when the War Memorial went through a million-dollar green space redevelopment last year. “I knew some Virginia native plants, so that was helpful,” she laughs. When she’s not working for veterans, Warman volunteers with the National PKU Alliance and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU to counsel parents about phenylketonuria, a metabolic disorder that affects her 2-year-old son, Rudy. “It can be managed with diet and medication but it’s lifelong, and there is no cure.”
With all of that, Warman, who lives in the museum district with Rudy and husband Neil, is also a self-described “hobby baker” who loves to make cakes, cookies and pastries in her spare time. Her most recent accomplishment was successfully baking all 100+ recipes contained in Claire Saffitz’s popular cookbook of treats, “Dessert Person.” “It took a couple of years, especially going through a pregnancy, but it was a fun challenge,” she says.
