Danville’s River District Association CEO resigns

Diana Schwartz is resigning as CEO of Danville‘s River District Association, effective June 5.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to play an important role in moving the downtown and the community forward in the journey towards revitalization for the last seven, almost eight, years,” Schwartz said in a statement Wednesday. “I am excited to see what happens in Danville in the future with so much progress that has been made.”

Alyssa Turner, RDA‘s director of business services, will serve as interim executive director, according to a news release from the downtown revitalization organization. RDA’s board of directors has launched a search for Schwartz’s permanent successor.

Schwartz is taking a sabbatical to travel and spend time with her family and friends, according to Shane Brogden, RDA’s director of promotions and communications. She has not yet shared any professional plans that would follow her sabbatical.

Schwartz joined RDA as executive director in 2017, and her title changed to CEO in March 2023. According to her LinkedIn profile, Schwartz was a community development specialist at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development from April 2019 to October 2019, when she returned to RDA. During her tenure, in 2023, RDA received a Great American Main Street Award from Main Street America.

She oversaw the creation of the six-week RDA Dream Launch Bootcamp for entrepreneurs, which partnered with The Advancement Foundation’s The Gauntlet Business Program & Competition in November 2024. RDA still runs an annual pitch competition, RDA Ignite Business Pitch.

Schwartz also secured grant funding through programs like Main Street America’s Vote Your Main Street, including receiving $150,000 in 2018 to renovate two storefronts into a business incubator and a space to celebrate the area’s civil rights history.

Renamed in 2015, the River District Association was formed in 1999 as the Downtown Danville Association to coordinate downtown revitalization efforts. The RDA and the city of Danville achieved accreditation from the Main Street America and Virginia Main Street programs in 2016.