Economic Development 2024: CHRISTINA WINN

Before taking the reins in Prince William County in 2019, Winn was the director of Arlington Economic Development’s Business Investment Group, where she played a major role in recruiting Amazon.com’s $2.5 billion-plus HQ2 East Coast headquarters.

Prince William reported it had won 31 projects, representing more than $1.9 billion in intended capital investment, 641 new jobs and 777 retained jobs, in 2023. That momentum looks to carry into the current year; Belmont Logistics broke ground in March on a $110 million warehouse campus.

The county has seen enormous growth, particularly with data centers. If completed as planned, the Prince William Digital Gateway, a potentially $40 billion project, would be the largest data center complex in the world, although it faces lawsuits from county residents.

Winn graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned a master’s degree in real estate development from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

Winn is immediate past president and nominating committee chair of the Virginia Economic Developers Association’s board of directors. She’s also a member of the George Mason University President’s Innovation Advisory Council.