Long-serving leader of Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce to retire

Eileen Curtis, the president and CEO of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce since 1994, will retire in mid-July after her successor is chosen.

The organization said her 23-year term is one of the longest among currently serving chamber of commerce presidents in the U.S.

“Eileen has meant so much more to this chamber than being its president. She has served the chamber and our community for 23 years with professionalism, grace and a deep desire to see the Dulles area grow into the vibrant community we have now. We are all better people for knowing her as both a colleague and a friend,” James Lawson, the chamber’s board chairman, said in a statement.

Curtis is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute of Organization Management and of Leadership Fairfax. She has been recognized as Woman of the Year by the Herndon Business & Professional Women and as Chamber Executive of the Year by the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Before joining the Dulles Chamber of Commerce, Curtis was director of music and cultural affairs for WGMS Radio, where she was awarded the Silver Medal for the Arts by the government of Austria. She helped produce the event on the Washington Mall that welcomed home the Iran hostages. She was awarded numerous national awards, including the Peabody Award for Broadcast Journalism.

She has a master’s degree from the Catholic University of America and recently received a lifetime achievement award from Caldwell University.