Governor Gregoire was elected to chair the National Governor Association, a bipartisan organization, through July 2011.

Gregoire is only the second woman to chair the association, and replaces W.V. Gov. Joe Manchin, who was elected to the U.S. Senate, according to an NGA press release.

The governor announced she will continue Manchin’s “Complete to Compete” initiative, which seeks to increase the number of American students who complete college degrees and improve the productivity of U.S. high education institutions.