WGL General Counsel Leslie T. Thornton Also Honored by Savoy

(Black PR Wire) WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WGL Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: WGL) today announced that three members of its board of directors – Debra L. Lee, James W. Dyke, Jr. and Linda R. Gooden – have been recognized by Savoy Magazine as being among the most influential black directors in corporate America. These WGL board members have collectively provided more than 32 years of service to the WGL board.

“We embrace diversity as a core company value and continuously strive to strengthen it on our board, among our employees and with our supplier base,” said Terry McCallister, chairman and CEO of WGL Holdings and Washington Gas. “We are proud to have Debi, James and Linda as directors and appreciate the diversity of thought and experience they have provided during their years of service to WGL.”

Savoy Magazine also named Leslie T. Thornton, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for WGL Holdings and Washington Gas, to its list of most influential black corporate directors. Ms. Thornton serves on the board of directors for Career Education Corporation which, through two universities, offers a quality education to a diverse student population in a variety of disciplines through online, campus-based and hybrid learning programs.

Debra L. Lee has been a director of WGL Holdings since November 2000. She is chairman and chief executive officer of BET Networks, a media and entertainment subsidiary of Viacom, Inc., and the leading provider of entertainment for the African-American audience and consumers of black culture globally. She was recently named to the board of Twitter, Inc., and serves on the board of directors of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Paley Center. Ms. Lee is also on the board of directors of Marriott International, Inc., and previously served on the board of directors of Revlon, Inc.

James W. Dyke, Jr. has been a director of WGL Holdings since September 2003. He previously served for 20 years as a partner in the Virginia law firm of McGuire Woods LLP, where he specialized in corporate, education, voting rights, government relations and municipal law. He served as secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Virginia and as domestic policy adviser to former Vice President Walter Mondale and has held leadership positions in several business and community organizations, including the Greater Washington Board of Trade and Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Dyke is a former member of the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB).

Linda R. Gooden has been a director of WGL Holdings since April 2013. She previously served as executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Information Systems & Global Solutions, a $9 billion business with 30,000 employees that provides integrated information technology solutions, systems and services globally for civil, defense, intelligence and other government customers. She led the development of cyber solutions for federal defense, intelligence, and commercial customers. Ms. Gooden was named one of Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business for three consecutive years and one of the 100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America by Black Enterprise magazine in 2009. Ms. Gooden sits on the boards of Automatic Data Processing, Inc., General Motors Co. and The Home Depot, Inc. In 2010, she was appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

About WGL

WGL (NYSE: WGL), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a leading source for clean, efficient and diverse energy solutions. With activities and assets across the U.S., WGL consists of Washington Gas, WGL Energy, WGL Midstream and Hampshire Gas. WGL provides natural gas, electricity, green power and energy services, including generation, storage, transportation, distribution, supply and efficiency. Our calling as a company is to make energy surprisingly easy for our employees, our community and all our customers. Whether you are a homeowner or renter, small business or multinational corporation, state and local or federal agency, WGL is here to provide Energy Answers. Ask Us. For more information, visit us at www.wgl.com.