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Government Contractors | Technology 2025: WINTER, LINDSAY BERRY

A Hampton Roads native, Winter oversees the e-commerce giant’s economic and community investments in Virginia, where has its East Coast HQ2 headquarters in Arlington County. Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $135 billion in Virginia through infrastructure and compensation for its 42,000 employees in the state.

Before joining Amazon in 2021, Winter worked for Anthem, Amerigroup and law firm Kaufman & Canoles. A James Madison University alumna, she serves on the boards of multiple influential organizations, including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority, and the Hampton Roads Alliance.

In recent months, Amazon announced a Goochland County robotics fulfillment center and launched new delivery stations in Virginia Beach, Hampton and . However, in July, Amazon canceled plans for a third data center in Louisa County, following local backlash.

MUST-LISTEN PODCASTS: I start every day listening to a whole host of podcasts, from Politico’s “The Playbook” and “NPR ” to “Politico Tech.” “The Virginia Press Room” and “Freakonomics Radio” remain two of my favorites.

PERSONAL MOTTO: Persistence paralyzes resistance.

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Education 2025: WILLIAMS, LT. GEN. DARRELL K. (U.S. ARMY, RET.)

Williams served more than 37 years in the U.S. military and in 2022 became president of Hampton University, a private, historically Black university founded in 1868 — and Williams’ alma mater.

A retired Army lieutenant general, Williams was the first Black director of the Department of ‘s Defense Logistics Agency, where he oversaw nine supply chains supporting the military and more than 25,000 military and civilian employees. After his retirement from the military in 2020, he served as vice president for contractor Leidos’ U.K. operations. In December, Leidos announced a $750,000 donation to Hampton.

In May, Hampton University launched a new degree in aviation management and was recognized as an “Opportunity College” by Carnegie Classifications for successfully enrolling students who reflect the communities they serve and whose alumni go on to earn competitive wages compared to their peers.

Williams received master’s degrees from Pennsylvania State University, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the National War College. The recipient of a Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit, Williams also led the Fort Lee Army post and the Army Combined Arms Support Command.

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Education 2025: HENRY, DONNA PRICE

Henry is the college’s first female chancellor since its founding in 1954 as a junior college with two buildings. She presides over a four-year liberal arts college encompassing 396 acres with 26 main buildings, attended by more than 1,900 students.

Chancellor since 2013, Henry previously spent 16 years in a variety of positions at Florida Gulf Coast University, including as dean of its College of Arts and Sciences.

Her accomplishments since joining U.Va. Wise include improving the college’s first-year retention rate and securing better salaries for faculty. The college’s enrollment is also growing, Henry reported in June, thanks to its “Year at Wise” program through which waitlisted University of Virginia students can be guaranteed admission if they first study at U.Va. Wise for a year, earning a minimum of 30 credits and maintaining at least a “B” average.

Henry is a trustee for the Southwest Virginia Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: Play with my goldendoodles, Shark and Honey. They are the U.Va. Wise pups and share their stories on Instagram.

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Nostalgia-fueled Colony House reopens

Thanks to $10 million in 21st-century improvements, ‘s Colony House Motor Lodge will once again welcome guests who are into time travel.

The iconic , which opened in 1959 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, closed in 2018 as it awaited an extensive makeover that includes redecorated rooms and modern-day enhancements.

With the updates nearly complete this summer, the Colony House remains unmistakably mid-century modern with its A-frame, folding-plate roofline and its original neon “No Vacancy” sign. The National Register application calls the motor lodge a “well-preserved and rare … example of Googie architecture in Roanoke.” Popular in the 1940s and ’50s, the futuristic architecture style was influenced by the Atomic Age and the Space Age.

“It’s Instagram-able,” says Kimberly Christner, founder, president and CEO of , the Williamsburg-based boutique firm that will operate Colony House. Christner’s company has been involved with several historic hotel projects in Virginia, including the Western Front Hotel in St. Paul and The Sessions Hotel in Bristol.

In its heyday, the Colony House welcomed pre-interstate highway vacationers and even celebrities such as singer Lou Rawls, 1960s British Invasion rockers Herman’s Hermits and “Hee Haw” star Lulu Roman.

“Nostalgia tourism” will be a big draw for the 67-room motel, says Brooke Farrell, whose family bought the property in 2018. “People want to see these restored to their original glory with modern amenities.”

The Farrells, long-time owners of Roanoke-based Berglund Automotive car dealerships, bought the Colony House from the heirs of the motel’s founders. The motel, which was open for 59 years, sits next door to a Berglund used-car center in South Roanoke.

When all’s said and done, the Farrell family expects to spend about $7 million on construction, with much of the work performed by Roanoke’s Lionberger Construction, and another $3 million on other improvements, including retro-style furniture made by Roanoke custom-furniture company Txtur.

Following a grand opening scheduled for late August, the Colony House expects to sponsor community events, such as outdoor movie nights. Local residents will also be able to purchase day passes to the swimming pool, which will feature a food and beverage bar housed in a Shasta camping trailer. Room rates will start at around $149 per night.

“We want to have a family-type atmosphere,” says Joy Barlow, the motel’s general manager.

Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: SUROVELL, SEN. SCOTT A.

Surovell is part of the new Democratic leadership in the Virginia General Assembly after the 2023 retirement of several longtime leaders, including former majority leader Sen. Dick Saslaw, whom Surovell succeeded in 2024. In his leadership post, Surovell often acts as the voice of Senate Democrats in criticizing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s priorities.

In 2025, he carried a bill to add Fairfax County to the list of localities allowed to host a casino, a measure that failed in the House but passed in the Senate. It’s likely to return in 2026, Democratic leaders have said.

A trial lawyer, Surovell first won election to the House of Delegates in 2009 before winning his Senate seat in 2015, representing parts of Fairfax County, and before redistricting, parts of Prince William and Stafford counties.

Surovell is especially active in the areas of criminal justice reform and environmental issues and was a chief sponsor of 2021 legislation that abolished the death penalty in Virginia. He currently chairs the Senate Courts of Justice Committee and serves on the Commerce and Labor, Finance and Appropriations, Rehabilitation and Social Services, and Rules committees.

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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: WITTMAN, U.S. REP. ROB

Representing parts of the Richmond and Hampton Roads suburbs, as well as the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, Republican Wittman is serving his ninth term in Congress.

A former environmental health specialist and field director for the Virginia Department of Health’s shellfish sanitation division, Wittman has worked his way up the political ladder from the Montross Town Council to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors, the Virginia House of Delegates and Congress. He earned a doctorate in and administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

He was briefly a holdout on the Trump-driven “Big Beautiful Bill” budget reconciliation measure this spring, citing concerns about cuts to Medicaid, but he ultimately voted to support it, as did fellow Virginia Republican U.S. Rep. Jennifer Kiggans.

Wittman co-chairs both the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus and the House Rural Broadband Caucus, and last year helped launch a new Modernization Caucus. He also is vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and chairs the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.

 

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Government Contractors | Technology 2025: AHMED, MAHFUZ

In the mid-1990s, Ahmed founded what’s now Dexian as a side venture while working as a consultant for Northrop Grumman and a senior technical manager for Mobil Oil. Today, the McLean-based provider of staffing, IT and workforce solutions employs about 12,000 workers across 70 locations worldwide.

Originally known as Digital Intelligence Systems (DISYS), the company rebranded as Dexian in 2023 following its 2021 acquisition of Florida-based IT staffing firm Signature Consultants. The company topped the list of Washington Business Journal’s 60 largest companies owned by people of color in the Washington, D.C., region in April, with $1.15 billion in revenue in 2024.

Ahmed is a graduate of George Mason University and Harvard Business School. In 2023, after serving as president and chief operating officer,

Ahmed’s brother, Maruf, was promoted to CEO, the role Mahfuz Ahmed previously held.

The Ahmeds were honored by George Mason in 2023 after donating $250,000 to the school’s College of Engineering and Computing to fund the Dean’s Technology Innovation Fund. The Bangladesh-born brothers asked that a trash can near the library be dedicated in their honor to reflect their humble beginnings.

Government Contractors | Technology 2025: WAGONER, DOUG

Wagoner became CEO of the contracting and consulting firm in 2020. In 2021, LMI acquired Suntiva, expanding its digital and workforce solution offerings, and sponsored the establishment of the Space Force Association Space Center of Excellence, an effort that aims to foster collaboration in the space domain.

In 2022, LMI further expanded its presence in the space industry with the purchase of Colorado-based Synaptech and sold its for-profit subsidiary LMI to a consortium of investors, which rebranded the remaining nonprofit entity as NobleReach Foundation. In 2024, the company acquired Ohio-based JJR Solutions, and last fall, it announced a new generative AI tool for federal agencies known as LIGER, which LMI has delivered to the U.S. Army.

Before joining LMI, Wagoner was sector president at Reston-based Fortune 500 company Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC). He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from William & Mary and an MBA from Virginia Tech. He serves on the USO’s global advisory council and the Northern

Virginia Technology Council’s board. Earlier this year, Wagoner received his sixth Wash100 Award from Executive Mosaic, recognizing the most impactful government contracting .

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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: YOUNGKIN, GOV. GLENN

Youngkin’s victory in the 2021 gubernatorial race catapulted the former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group into the national spotlight as a possible Republican presidential nominee in 2024. However, in his last year in office, it’s unclear what the governor’s next act will be.

Previously rumored to be considering a 2026 Senate bid, Youngkin conspicuously visited Iowa and South Carolina this year, indicating he may instead be testing the waters for 2028.

Democrats, who held the state Senate and regained the House of Delegates during Youngkin’s term, have quashed many of his major goals, most publicly a $2 billion pro sports arena in Alexandria. In response, Youngkin set a record for the most vetoes by a Virginia governor in a single term.

While Youngkin has been successful garnering support for site development, Virginia lost its No. 1 ranking in CNBC’s Top States for Business this year, sinking to No. 4 amid heavy federal layoffs and spending cuts, which critics say he has downplayed. Economic wins during his term have included the $1 billion Lego Group factory in Chesterfield County and the $1.3 billion Microporous project in Pittsylvania County.

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2025 Living Legends: STRAVITZ, DR. R. TODD

A former liver surgeon who led VCU Health’s liver transplant program, Stravitz is now a prominent philanthropist who has made record-setting donations to William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University.

A graduate of W&M and New York University’s medical school, Stravitz donated $104 million in 2022 to establish the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health at VCU, and in February, he gave $50 million to create a full-tuition scholarship for W&M’s Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Now retired, Stravitz keeps busy running the Brunckhorst Foundation, which his late mother, Barbara Brunckhorst, managed in recent decades. His late grandfather, Frank Brunckhorst, founded Boar’s Head Provision Co., the deli products giant. The family foundation contributes to more than 60 organizations nationwide, typically in the areas of medical and environmental research.

In the 1980s as a medical intern at NYU, Stravitz encountered AIDS patients suffering from liver disease, and he decided to specialize in the discipline. That drew him to VCU, then a trailblazer in liver research.

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