Reopening Loudoun County

Sheila C. Johnson is Founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts (SHR), which operates a collection of properties along the east coast and in the Caribbean. SHR includes the equestrian-inspired Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia, which has been awarded the distinguished Forbes Five Star rating. The collection also features Innisbrook in Tampa Bay, which is home of the annual PGA Valspar Championship; The Henderson, a luxury beach resort in Destin, Florida; the spectacular Hotel Bennett in Charleston, South Carolina; and Half Moon in Montego Bay, Jamaica, which is opening a new resort experience called Eclipse this fall, 2020. As Vice Chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Ms. Johnson is the only African-American woman to have ownership in three professional sports teams: the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals (2018 Stanley Cup Champions), and the WNBA’s 2019 World Champions Washington Mystics, for which she serves as President and Managing Partner. In 2017, Ms. Johnson was named on Forbes Magazine’s Top 50 America’s Richest Self-Made Women. WE Capital, a venture capital consortium to support and invest in female-led enterprises with a goal of promoting social impact and generating financial returns was spearheaded by her in 2016. She also serves on the board of the Greater Washington Partnership, which seeks to strengthen the region’s global position as a center for commerce and innovation. Ms. Johnson has long been a powerful influence in the entertainment industry, starting with her work as founding partner of Black Entertainment Television. She has served as executive producer of documentary and feature films, including The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels. Ms. Johnson is founder and chair of the Middleburg Film Festival, an annual celebration of independent films. The festival is dubbed by the Washington Post as “an itty-bitty Cannes…” and referred to by RogerEbert.com as “…the place to be during Oscar season”. It continues to attract Oscar worthy films such as Greenbook, La La Land and 2019’s Oscar winner Parasite. In 2006 Ms. Johnson was named global ambassador for CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty by empowering women because they have the unique power to help entire communities escape poverty. “Sheila’s I Am Powerful Challenge” was instrumental in helping raise funds for CARE’s important work. She served as a member of Accordia Global Health Foundation’s International Council, rallying support for the foundation’s efforts to overcome the burden of infectious diseases in Africa. A fervent supporter of education, the Sheila C. Johnson Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School supported a cohort of 50 fellows – emerging leaders dedicated to improving the lives of the underserved. As a board member of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, she created the Rachel Robinson International Fellowship program - providing the scholars the opportunity for international service and study abroad. Ms. Johnson endowed two chairs at her alma mater, the University of Illinois - School of Music. At the University of Virginia, the Sheila C. Johnson Center for Human Services was established to provide evaluation and treatment in various specialties of childhood development.

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.

Danny Davis was appointed as the Town Manager of Middleburg, Virginia, effective November 5, 2018. Mr. Davis has over 16 years of public and private sector leadership experience, serving most of that time in policy development and executive management for the Loudoun County Government. His last role at the County was serving as Chief of Staff to the County Administrator. Subsequent to that role, Mr. Davis served as the Assistant Town Manager of Purcellville, Virginia, for two years. Mr. Davis has broad experience in local government issues, including community and economic development, citizen engagement, fiscal management, organizational development, and public information and communications. Originally a native of suburban Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Davis moved to Northern Virginia in 2000 to attend Patrick Henry College. He received his Master of Public Administration from George Mason University in 2013. Mr. Davis is a member of the Virginia Local Government Management Association and the International City/County Management Association. He served on the Board of Directors of Visit Loudoun from 2007-2010 and on the Board of Directors of Leadership Loudoun from 2016-2017. He and his wife, Angela, have three beautiful daughters and live just north of Gilberts Corner. They are involved in many activities at Reston Bible Church, which is located in Sterling.

An Alexandria native and Falls Church resident, Andrew has cultivated a unique set of skills, knowledge, relationships, and expertise in the transactional aspects of real estate law. He has represented clients in 16 Virginia localities, from Arlington County to Winchester, and specializesin securing zoning approvals and providing counselto residential,commercial, and industrial developers and landowners, advises clients on all aspects of the land entitlement process and real estate matters, and frequently appears before planning commissions, town and city councils,county boards of supervisors, localcitizen groups, boards of architecturalreview, and civic and homeowners associations. Prior to joining The Land Lawyers in 2007, Andrew worked for two members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the County Administrator of Caroline County, Virginia, and former Virginia Governor (now U.S. Senator) Mark Warner. In 2004, Andrew worked for McGuireWoods Consulting, identifying business expansion opportunities and conducting comprehensive studies for public safety, education, and transportation construction companies across thecommonwealth. Andrew is an adjunct professor and teaches classes in political science, urban history, historic preservation, and city and regional planning at the University of Richmond and the University of Mary Washington. He also leads courses for public and private civil engineers on the land use entitlement process at the Engineers & Surveyors Institute to improve the quality of their plans and the process by which they are approved.Having studiedNorthern Virginia’s geography and chronicled itsland development history, Andrew’sextensive knowledge of the region has played a significant role in assisting clients and navigating issues related to development patterns, transportation concerns, and environmentalchallenges in multiplejurisdictions.