Future of Loudoun County

Chris Clemente founded the Comstock organization in 1985 and has guided its growth and diversification since its inception. Mr. Clemente managed the growth of Comstock as a private enterprise until the 2004 initial public offering of Comstock Homebuilding Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHCI), now known as Comstock Holding Companies®, Inc. (“Comstock” or “Company”). Since the IPO, Mr. Clemente has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Comstock and is the largest individual stockholder of the Company. Mr. Clemente chairs Comstock’s Executive Committee, which charts strategic direction, evaluates acquisition opportunities, and oversees strategic partnerships, including multiple public-private partnerships. Mr. Clemente is also Managing Member of Comstock Partners, LC (“Partners”), a family-owned, private company founded by Mr. Clemente in 1999 to focus on commercial real estate development and investment. Following its IPO, Comstock expanded its for-sale homebuilding operation into multiple key markets in the southeastern United States, while the commercial development operation of Partners remained focused on the Washington, DC market. Following the Great Recession, Comstock scaled back its for-sale homebuilding operation to focus solely on the Washington, DC market. Mr. Clemente managed the two companies as separate firms with distinct management teams and investment objectives until early 2018, when Comstock announced its plan to wind-down its for-sale homebuilding operation and refocus on commercial development, real estate asset management, and real estate related services. To execute this strategic plan, the operating platforms of Comstock and Partners were combined, and changes were made to the management team. To anchor the transition, Partners entered a long-term, cost-plus asset management agreement covering its portfolio of commercial properties, which had grown to include millions of square feet of stabilized buildings and development assets strategically located at key transit stations on Metro’s new Silver Line in the Dulles Corridor of Northern Virginia that have an estimated value at full build out of approximately $3 billion. Key assets included in the portfolio of managed assets, include; Reston Station, a 4.5 million square foot transit-oriented and mixed-use development covering nearly 40 acres surrounding the terminus station of Phase I of the Silver Line in Reston, Virginia, and Loudoun Station, a 2+ million square foot transit-oriented and mixed-use development located adjacent to the terminus station of Phase II of the Silver Line in Ashburn, Virginia. Mr. Clemente attended the University of Wisconsin and George Mason University where he studied Business and Psychology. Mr. Clemente and his wife, Tracy Schar, have been long-time supporters of numerous charitable organizations in the Washington, DC region that support international adoptions, foster care programs, and that provide educational, housing and other assistance to families and children in-need.

Charles “Chuck” Kuhn is a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist who has built several companies that have been recognized for excellence by multiple organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, Ernst & Young, SmartCEO, HRO Today, and the American Trucking Association. He and his companies have also received numerous accolades for civic leadership, including the Loudoun Laurels award, Washington Business Journal’s Corporate Citizen of the Year, Loudoun Chamber’s Executive and Company of the Year, and Old Dominion Land Conservancy’s preservation award. For Kuhn, it began with JK Moving Services, which he founded 40 years ago. Even back then, at the young age of 16, Kuhn saw that the moving industry needed change. With few regulations or industry standards, the burgeoning entrepreneur set out to create a company that was committed to providing superior customer service. As CEO, his vision for JK has included an ongoing investment in technology, facilities, and talent. Having remained true to that vision, JK is now the largest independent moving company in North America serving residential and commercial customers with a focus on care and respect. This care extends to the environment as JK Moving embraces new technologies that further its aggressive carbon emissions-reduction goals and focuses on box-less moves and major recycling efforts, keeping more than five million pounds of materials out of area landfills. It also purchased 10 Tesla moving trucks. In addition to JK Moving, Kuhn identified a need for full mobility solutions for clients, and in 1997, launched CapRelo, a relocation management company, for which he serves as chairman. Kuhn’s drive to make relocation a low-stress and easy process was pivotal in building CapRelo into one of the premier global mobility management companies today. Kuhn also founded and leads JKLH to manage strategic land investments. Through JKLH he has forged a relationship with developer Yondr and together are building data centers in Northern Virginia. As he buys land, Kuhn’s passion and focus is also on conserving land and the environment for future generations and has protected more than 22,000 acres of land from development to date—equal to half the land in Washington, DC. Among the properties he has placed into conservation easement include several thousand acres near Loudoun’s historic villages; land along the Potomac that was donated to NoVA Parks; an 87-acre parcel in Loudoun that has an array of native plants and wildlife; and 42 acres in Saint Louis, Virginia, one of Loudoun county’s first African American townships. In addition, he conserved 150 acres to launch the JK Community Farm in 2018, which grows more than 245,000 pounds of chemical-free produce and protein annually and donates 100% of its yield to local food banks. Today the farm is the nation’s largest nonprofit community farm. JK Moving Services, CapRelo, JKLH, and his other enterprises are extraordinarily successful with Kuhn at the helm. His leadership has shaped his companies, their industries, and the region. Beyond work and philanthropy, he is a proud father and grandfather, a professional pilot and avid outdoorsman.

Mr. Holbrook joined St. John Properties in 2009. As Regional Partner, he directs the comprehensive acquisition, development, construction, leasing, and asset/property management activities for the firm’s portfolio in Virginia and in Central Maryland including Frederick, Montgomery, and Washington counties. Mr. Holbrook has nearly three decades of diverse experience in the commercial real estate industry and holds a Bachelor of Science from East Carolina University and a Masters in Business Administration in Real Estate and Finance from American University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Holbrook is active in numerous professional and civic organizations including NAIOP Virginia and he has served as adjunct faculty/lecturer at the graduate real estate programs of Georgetown University and John Hopkins University.

Erin L. Swisshelm joined the firm in 2021 as an associate for the Land Use & Zoning practice group in the Loudoun office. Prior to joining the firm, Erin was an Assistant County Attorney at the Frederick County Attorney’s office in Winchester, Virginia. Prior to working at the Frederick County Attorney’s office, Erin worked as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Erin attended law school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

As Chief Operating Officer, Beth leads and shapes organizational strategy and operational systems that position the organization for success meeting business goals. Beth, along with the CEO, is steering the organization’s goal to bring a USTA Mid-Atlantic tennis campus to fruition leading all strategic implementations for this project. She will lead the capital campaign and the project’s revenue and operating strategy. Beth conceptualized and led the creation of USTA Mid-Atlantic’s philanthropic vision and identity, establishing the organization's first ever development department in alignment with the Section becoming a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Philanthropic strategies for the organization’s programs as well as fundraising, grant giving, sponsorships, and capacity building to support the entire tennis ecosystem in the region are under Beth’s purview. Beth’s skill in relationship building coupled with her visionary strategy led to immediate fundraising success across multiple platforms and audiences. Beth has a Master of Arts in Organizational Development from Marymount University and is a member of the national scholastic honor society, Delta Epsilon Sigma. She is a SHRM-SCP and holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) certification from ASAE and certification from the Institute for Organization Management (IOM). She was a collegiate level athlete and youth coach.

Susan Mitchell has a 20+-year track record of success delivering grants management, research and evaluation, logistics, and technical assistance solutions to government, industry, and the community. Susan is committed to improving access to and success in education, healthcare, workforce, and economic development. Ms. Mitchell serves on the board of directors for Virginia Career Works and STEM for Her, is a Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce GovCon Committee Chair, and was tapped to serve on the Loudoun County Economic Development Advisory Commission (Life Sciences Sector), appointed by the Board of Supervisors and supports DEIA efforts as the Chair of the Loudoun Chamber Toolkit subcommittee. With innovation, education and empowerment as cornerstones, she leads a team of doctors and scientists dedicated to using their Sterling, Virginia CLIA diagnostic testing lab as an asset for the progression of therapeutic developments. She and her team are a driving force behind social and health equity endeavors that positively impact population health, product commercialization, and pipeline development.

Adalene “Nene” Spivy has been leading the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation (DBA Children’s Science Center) since 2010 and is among its earliest founders. Under Nene’s leadership, the Center experienced exponential growth and served hundreds of thousands of children, families and educators and at the Children’s Science Center Lab, which opened in 2015, and through mobile community STEM programming serving the greater region. Nene oversees current operations and leads the effort to build the new Northern Virginia Science Center. This world-class interactive science center is being developed via a public private partnership with Loudoun County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Science Museum of Virginia. As an engineer, MBA, and non-profit leader, Nene has an extensive and diverse range of management experience in both technology businesses and non-profits including new product development, systems and process engineering, fundraising, finance, marketing, advocacy, strategic planning, volunteer management, and board development. Nene serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Science and Technology Centers, the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, and the Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation. Nene is a sustaining member and past President of the Junior League of Northern Virginia, a graduate of Leadership Fairfax, past Chair of Fairfax County’s Community Action Advisory Board, and served in multiple board leadership roles with Discovery Creek Children’s Museum. Nene holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech and MBA from University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Buddy Rizer is the Executive Director of the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, the 2021 Economic Development Organization of the Year. During his tenure, Rizer and his team have attracted more than $50 billion in new commercial investment and more than 50 thousand new jobs. During this time, the growth in the commercial based has help lower the tax rate in Loudoun by more than 41 cents on the dollar, saving residents thousands of dollars annually on their tax bill. Mr. Rizer has been named a Tech Titan 7 times by Washingtonian Magazine, has been named one of the 50 most influential Virginians 6 times by Virginia Business Magazine, is a 4-time member of Virginia’s Power 500, and was three times named to the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100 as one of the most influential businesspeople in Washington, DC. Mr. Rizer is a Certified Economic Developer, a certified Entrepreneurship Development Professional, and a graduate of Virginia Tech's Local Government Management Graduate Certificate Program.