[6][7][8] Northam maintained an office in the Patrick Henry Building along the Governor and his cabinet secretaries, and also chaired the Virginia STEM Education Commission during her tenure as First Lady.

[23] Upon the completion of her husband's term in office, the Virginia General Assembly passed a bipartisan joint resolution commending Northam for being an "advocate for expanded access to quality early childhood education," "expanding and unifying Virginia’s early childhood system to reach more than 50,000 students," and "always encouraging bipartisanship throughout her work.

"[24] After serving as First Lady, Northam was appointed as a senior advisor at the Hunt Institute and a member of the board of Wetlands Watch.

[13][25] In 2023, Northam became the honorary chairwoman of the "Roe Your Vote Virginia" reproductive freedom PAC, which focuses on electing abortion-rights candidates to the General Assembly.

[1][26] In 2019, Northam received widespread criticism after an incident where she handed cotton to some African American students and asked them to imagine what it was liked to be enslaved.

[27][28][29] In response, Northam apologized and stated that she had "provided the same educational tour to Executive Mansion visitors over the last few months and used a variety of artifacts and agricultural crops with the intention of illustrating a painful period of Virginia history.