Carla has served as Arlington County Treasurer since July of 2014. Prior to 2014, she served as Chief Deputy Treasurer for six years. Under her leadership, the Treasurer’s Office has:
- Decreased the tax delinquency rate by 51%, to a record low of 0.161% — the lowest in the Commonwealth.
- Reduced Arlington’s annual banking costs by $400,000.
- Improved transparency and reduced unintentional tax delinquencies through increased communication and better billing initiatives.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1981 with a degree in Economics, Carla entered corporate banking, working for the Continental Bank of Illinois in both Chicago and Atlanta. After four years in the banking industry, Carla returned to school in 1985 and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Following graduation, Carla worked for The Price Company, which owned and operated Price Club (now Costco).
In 1993, Carla had her first son and made the difficult choice to take time off from her career. Fifteen years and three wonderful grown boys later, Carla decided to re-enter the workforce full-time and joined the Arlington Treasurer’s Office as Chief Deputy.
CARLA'S BACKGROUND AND FAMILY
Carla grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, graduating from Groveton High School in 1977. In 1988, she married Mark Dola, a life-long Arlingtonian and graduate of Wakefield High School (1976). Mark, a retired Navy Pilot, earned his law degree from Georgetown Law School in 1993, and currently works as an attorney at Fannie Mae. Carla and Mark’s three sons, Christopher, Michael and Peter, attended Arlington Public Schools. Christopher and Michael both graduated from Middlebury College. Peter graduated from Kenyon College in May of 2018.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Community service has always been an important and rewarding part of Carla’s life. She graduated from the Leadership Center for Excellence (Leadership Arlington) in 2010. Carla previously served as a Board Member of the Warren G. Stambaugh Memorial Foundation, as the Vice President of the Arlington Civic Federation, a member of the Commissioning Committee for the USS Arlington, and as Vice President and Board Member of the Arlington Soccer Association.
In addition to serving the Arlington Community, Carla extends her service to the Commonwealth of Virginia by serving on the Board of Trustees for the VML/VACo's Virginia Investment Pool (VIP). She earned a Master Governmental Treasurer certification from the Weldon Cooper Center at University of Virginia. After serving as a Board Member representing the Northern Virginia District for the Treasurers’ Association of Virginia (TAV), Carla was elected President of TAV for 2019 - 2021.