The Virginia Rural Center Celebrates Fifth Graduating Class of the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute
Twenty-five rural leaders complete six months of immersive learning across the Commonwealth and continue advancing Community Impact Projects in their home communities.
October 5, 2026 (Luray, VA): The Virginia Rural Center celebrated the graduation of the fifth cohort of the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute (VRLI), the Commonwealth's flagship program dedicated to developing and empowering existing and emerging rural leaders.
Throughout the year, the cohort traveled across five of Virginia's rural regions. Sessions began in Southside (Danville and South Boston), moved to the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck (Tappahannock and Warsaw) and then to Southwest Virginia (Wytheville, St. Paul, and Abingdon), and concluded with graduation in the Shenandoah Valley (Sperryville, Broadway, and Luray). Along the way, participants took part in expert-led discussions on economic development, housing, education, health care, broadband, and agriculture. They also learned directly from local leaders and community innovators who are developing solutions to the challenges their communities face.
"Rural Virginia has always been rich in talent. What VRLI provides is a way to develop it and keep it working for the communities that raised it," said Senator R. Creigh Deeds, Chair of the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. "This class has seen firsthand how communities across the Commonwealth are tackling hard problems, and I'm confident their work will deliver real results back home."
"The communities that hosted us this year showed our cohort that rural Virginia is not one place, and that a good idea in one community can take root in another," said Kristie Proctor, Executive Director of the Virginia Rural Center. "This class is bringing those lessons home, and their Community Impact Projects show what's possible when rural leaders put them into practice."
The graduation ceremony, held at the Mimslyn Inn in Luray on Friday, brought together graduates, alumni, mentors, and partners from across the Commonwealth.
"Strong rural communities start with strong local leaders," said Bryan David, Chair of the Council for Rural Virginia. "This cohort has shown the commitment, creativity, and follow-through our communities need. I look forward to seeing them carry this work forward."
The capstone of the program is the Community Impact Project. Each participant identifies a need or opportunity in their home community and develops an initiative to address it. Projects are shaped with support from mentors, Virginia Rural Center staff, and the VRLI Advisory Committee.
"Collaboration is what makes this program thrive," said Senator Jordan, Vice Chair of the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. "Each class adds to a growing network of leaders who will shape rural Virginia's future."
As the Commonwealth's first and only statewide rural leadership program, VRLI was created to retain, equip, and elevate leaders committed to rural Virginia. Five cohorts in, that vision is taking hold as alumni projects generate a lasting return on investment in rural communities. Every participant is paired with a mentor who helps guide their project from concept to completion. Many of those mentors are program alumni or members of the Virginia Rural Center Board who are giving back to the next class of leaders.
"Serving as a mentor this year has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had with this program," said Beth Green, Vice Chair of the Council for Rural Virginia. "I was on the Board when VRLI was just getting started five years ago. To see it come full circle, with alumni now mentoring new leaders and projects making a difference in communities across the Commonwealth, has been incredible."
VRLI is made possible by partners who invest in rural leadership development through funding, recruitment, and program design. The program's annual sponsors are: Commonwealth Fiber Services, Dominion Energy, The RiverLink Group LLC, Microsoft, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Corporation, Virginia Housing, the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, and the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative. Their support makes the program accessible to leaders across rural Virginia.
Local sponsors in each region opened their doors to the cohort, providing lodging, meals, meeting space, and experiences. This year's local sponsors included:
Southside: The Bee Hotel, Links Coffee House Café, Caesars Virginia, and SOVA Innovation Hub
Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck: June Parker Marina, Old Rappahannock Taphouse, 1710 Tavern, the Essex Inn, and Wind Vineyards
Southwest: UVA Wise Oxbow Center, Clinch River Adventures, the Coffee Station, The Western Front Hotel, Southwest Regional Recreation Authority (Spearhead Trails), the Lyric Theater, and EO
Shenandoah Valley: The Mimslyn Inn, Lohr Leadership, Broad Porch Coffee Company, Zora Jane Downtown Events, Rappahannock Pizza Kitchen, and Luray Caverns
The application window for the 2027 VRLI Cohort will open soon. Please contact admin@cfrv.org to learn more.
Graduates of the 2026 VRLI Cohort
(Listed in Alphabetical Order by Last Name)
Daniel Black
Winchester
Owner, Upward Tree Service
Philippe Bone
Staunton
Regional Planner, Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission
Dr. Aariyana Britton
Sussex County
Community Health Practitioner
Marilynn Cabiness
Mecklenburg County
Owner/CEO, Cabiness Coaching & Consulting Group, LLC
Carl Caudill
Carroll County
Broadband Project Manager, VA Department of Housing and Community Development
Lane Chambers
Wakefield
General Manager, Commonwealth Fiber Services
Royce Coleman
Amelia County
Environmental Manager, Amelia County
Grace Cooper
Patrick County
Marketing Manager, Patrick County Tourism
Catherine Fox
Abingdon
Director of Regional Destination Development, Friends of Southwest VA
Rachel Gardner
Richmond City
Senior Policy Analyst, VA Department of Housing and Community Development
Alexandria Gearin
Frederick County
Community Development Program Coordinator, Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission
Shannon Goad
Hillsville
Chief of Police, Town of Hillsville
Amanda Gray
Martinsville
Tourism & Marketing Specialist, West Piedmont Planning District Commission
Ryan Hall
Winchester
Assistant Town Manager, Town of New Market
Amanda Hudgins
Radford
Director of Research and Innovation, College of Nursing, Radford University
Jeff Mutter
Lebanon
Conservation Specialist, Clinch Valley Soil & Water Conservation District (CVSWCD)
Amy Novak
Smithfield
Parks Director, Town of Smithfield
Eric W. Payne, Esq.
Martinsville
Executive Director, Economic Development Authority of the City of Martinsville, VA
Leo Priddy
Montgomery County
Economic Development Planning Specialist, New River Valley Regional Commission
Maria Saxton
Clifton Forge
Director of Planning & Community Development, Town of Clifton Forge
Jake Stewart
Christiansburg
Instructor, Radford University
Evan Stone
Franklin County
General Manager, Minute Markets
Ingrid Thompson
Quicksburg
Outreach Coordinator, Shen-Paco Industries, Inc.
Candice Turner
Richmond City
Strategic Housing Officer, Virginia Housing
Kelli Weaver
Rockingham County
Destination Development Manager, Virginia Tourism Corporation
About the Virginia Rural Center:
The Virginia Rural Center is a collaborative partnership of the Senator Frank M. Ruff Jr. Center for Rural Virginia and the Council for Rural Virginia. These two organizations established a collective services agreement to work jointly toward the mission of economic prosperity for rural communities throughout Virginia. Together, the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia and the Council for Rural Virginia work with federal, state, and local policymakers and regulators as well private sector stakeholders to improve economic opportunities and preserve the quality of life throughout rural Virginia.
Learn more about the Virginia Rural Center or the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute online at www.cfrv.org or on Facebook at @VirginiaRuralCenter, X at @VARuralCenter, and Instagram at @varuralcenter or using the hashtag #VRLI & #GrowRuralVA.
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