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Economic Development 2025: RIZER, BUDDY

After a career as a radio DJ, Rizer reinvented himself as an economic developer. He has headed Loudoun County’s for 18 years and is best known for helping build the county’s Ashburn area into Data Center Alley, marketed as the world’s largest concentration of data centers.

Loudoun collects nearly $1 billion dollars in local tax revenue from the data center industry annually, amounting to a third of the county’s overall budget. And the county has landed about $30.5 billion in new commercial investment over the last five years, much of it from data centers.

Rizer serves on the Northern Virginia Technology Council board and the GO Virginia Region 7 Council.

A Towson University alum, he has a master’s in business and economics from Longwood University. This year, he received the National Eagle Scout Association Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA), recognizing his career and civic contributions.

BOOK I’D RECOMMEND: I just finished “The Thinking Machine,” by Stephen Witt. It’s the fascinating story of Jensen Huang and Nvidia. As a plus, Loudoun County and Data Center Alley got a mention in the book!

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Economic Development 2025: WINN, CHRISTINA

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

Under her leadership, Prince William last year reported 51 project wins (including new projects, expansions and redevelopments) representing more than $2.3 billion in intended capital investment supporting 1,411 new and retained jobs in the county.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin joined Winn last September for the groundbreaking for American Type Culture Collection’s $54.6 million biosafety laboratory, which is expected to create 75 jobs.

In a recent setback to the county’s growing data centers sector, however, a judge in August voided the county’s approval of the Prince William Digital Gateway, which would be the world’s largest data center project if built.

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.

She is a member of the George Mason University President’s Innovation Advisory Council.

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Banking | Finance 2025: WOODRIFF, JAFFRAY

Last year, the University of Virginia opened the School of Data Science building, which was funded with a portion of a $120 million gift made in 2019 from the Quantitative Foundation, the family foundation of Woodriff and his wife, Merrill, who are both alumni. It still marks the largest individual private grant in U.Va.’s history.

In December 2024, the university announced the Quantitative Foundation had committed another $20 million, this time ear- marked to expand the data science school’s research, scholarship and teaching capabilities, while “enhancing a budding entrepre- neurial ecosystem on Grounds.”

Before studying at U.Va., Woodriff became obsessed with baseball statistics. As he grew older, he decided to channel that fixation into something practical, landing on financial markets. In 2003, Woodriff and two partners co-founded QIM, a Charlottesville hedge fund that uses machine learning techniques to predict financial market shifts.

Woodriff also invests in startups through the Felton Group, his family office. In November 2024, the Felton Group led a $3 million seed round for RIIG Technology, a Charlottesville- based tech startup led by former U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman.

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Economic Development 2025: TUCKER, TELLY

Tucker spent six years as Danville’s director before leaving to serve the same role in Arlington County, where he helped land Boeing’s corporate headquarters relocation. But the pull of Southern Virginia is strong for Tucker, who left in 2022 to become president of Danville’s Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, a regional economic development and workforce development organization.

In fiscal 2024, over 6,000 middle school students participated in IALR’s Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers (GO TEC) program. The IALR is also home to the Navy’s Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program, which trains workers for defense industry manufacturing jobs.

A former middle school teacher, Tucker is a James Madison University alum and accomplished pianist who once performed for President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton. He serves on boards for the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, which he chairs, as well as Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities, Danville Industrial Development and Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.

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Economic Development 2025: EL KOUBI, JASON

Leader of the state’s arm since 2022, El Koubi oversees numerous initiatives designed to attract business expansions and relocations in the commonwealth.

El Koubi joined VEDP as executive vice president in 2017 under his predecessor, Stephen Moret. During his time at VEDP, El Koubi has played key roles in landing blockbuster deals like Amazon.com’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington County and Lego Group’s $1 billion manufacturing campus under construction in Chesterfield County.

A graduate of Louisiana State University and the London School of Economics and Political Science, El Koubi previously led the former Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce in Louisiana, and helped lead the Louisiana Economic Development organization to attract more than $28 billion in capital investment.

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Economic Development 2025: BELCHER, JONATHAN S.

Leader of the Virginia Coalfield Authority since 2006, Belcher has helped bring new jobs to Southwest Virginia through numerous economic development deals.

In April, VCEDA announced it closed a $1.3 million loan with Lawrence Brothers, a Tazewell County manufacturing company, for an expansion expected to create several dozen new jobs. Last year, VCEDA loaned $3.2 million to the Norton Industrial Development Authority to assist with construction of a new facility for Wrap Technologies at Norton’s Intersection Business and Industry Park anticipated to create 126 jobs.

Belcher also heads up the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority, a political subdivision that advocates for the proposed, long-delayed four-lane highway connecting Southwest Virginia with southern West Virginia.

Belcher has a law degree from William & Mary and a bachelor’s degree in real estate from Morehead State University.

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: Maintaining, restoring and driving classic cars

STREAMING SHOW I’VE ENJOYED: “Jay Leno’s Garage”

WHAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ME: When I graduated from William & Mary Law School in 1993 at age 21, I was the youngest graduate anyone there could remember.

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Banking | Finance 2025: SCHAUFELD, FREDRICK D.

After graduating from Lehigh University in 1981, Schaufeld sold extended warranties to auto dealers while going through law school. When he learned his employer hadn’t actually taken out policies on all his clients, Schaufeld quit his classes and went into business for himself, creating National Electronics Warranty. In 2008, the company was acquired by Asurion.

In 2006, Schaufeld partnered with Cliff White and Tony Nader to form a company initially known as SWaN Investors. The venture capital firm’s investments have included Cava, Custom Ink and Kind Healthy Snacks.

Schaufeld is also a partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards. Additionally, Schaufeld is a partner in the long-delayed Hill Top House Hotel project in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Schaufeld sits on numerous company boards, including DuraStat and Telos. He also serves on the Wolf Trap Foundation’s board and is an emeritus member of the Inova Health Foundation Board of Trustees.

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Economic Development 2025: LANGSTON, JAY A.

Langston has led the Shenandoah Valley’s regional organization since 2018, after previously serving in multiple roles at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership for more than 13 years.

For fiscal year 2024, the Shenandoah Valley Partnership notes, the region saw $297 million in investment and 667 jobs created. Since 2019, the organization has helped create more than 3,300 jobs.

In February, Serioplast, an Italian plastic packaging manufacturer, announced plans to open an industrial plant in Shenandoah County, investing $25.7 million and generating 45 jobs. The Shenandoah Valley Partnership worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Shenandoah County to secure the project.

A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Langston holds master’s and doctoral degrees in public policy from Virginia Commonwealth University. He serves on several boards, including the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce and Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.

MOST VALUED POSSESSION: My dad’s tools

BOOK I’D RECOMMEND: “Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work,” by Matthew B. Crawford

STREAMING SHOW I’D RECOMMEND: JustinGuitar. (I’m learning to play, and it’s a blast!)

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Banking | Finance 2025: HUGHES, THOMAS ‘T.J.’

Hughes became regional president for greater Washington and Maryland in October, succeeding Evelyn Lee, who took a role at Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Maryland.

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Hughes launched his career at Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank, holding roles in Ohio and Florida. In 2011, Hughes joined SunTrust Banks in Naples, Florida, as a commercial banking relationship manager.

Following the 2019 merger of BB&T and SunTrust that created Truist, Hughes became an executive vice president at Truist, overseeing specialty products and lending. He then served briefly as head of structured credit delivery and later as head of structured credit and wealth credit delivery before taking on his current regional leadership position.

In November 2024, the bank announced the Truist Cares for Western North Carolina effort, pledging $725 million over three years to support small business, housing and infrastructure recovery efforts in communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Truist reported $544 billion in total assets as of June 30. The bank has more than 1,900 branches across 17 states and Washington, D.C.

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Economic Development 2025: HART III, H. GARRETT

Hart has more than four decades of experience in and currently serves as vice president for the Virginia Economic Developers Association’s board of directors. Under his leadership, Chesterfield has landed big deals such as the $1 billion Lego Group manufacturing facility under construction in the county’s Meadowville Technology Park. In 2024, his department assisted with and announced nine projects with a combined capital investment of $5.75 billion that are anticipated to generate 1,090 jobs.

A science lover, Hart was especially psyched about the December 2024 announcement that Commonwealth Fusion Systems plans to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield, a $3.18 billion project expected to create 350 jobs. Hart always thought fusion sounded like “the solution” to the world’s energy needs but didn’t think he’d ever see it happen. “To have it come in my lifetime and to be part of it is just incredible,” Hart said.

A graduate of Virginia Tech, Hart is also an alum of Lead Virginia.

ON INTEGRATING AI: It is the next great business revolution. You will integrate it into your business or you will be left behind.

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