Kristie Helmick Proctor 

Executive Director

Center for Rural Virginia & Council for Rural Virginia

 

Kristie Helmick Proctor is a rural Virginia native, farm owner and accomplished organizational leader who before joining the Center for Rural Virginia served at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s largest small business association, where she managed a staff that implements and oversees grassroots activities in 17 different states.

 

Proctor’s experience at NFIB afforded her an opportunity to gain a keen understanding of the issues facing those who live in rural Virginia. In addition, Proctor and her husband both grew up in rural Virginia and recently purchased a farm in Hanover County.

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Prior to her role at the NFIB, Proctor served as Public Affairs Specialist at Transurban, a leading international toll road developer and investor. Proctor was instrumental in leading the implementation of a comprehensive public affairs program surrounding the proposed multi-billion dollar I-95/395 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes project in Northern Virginia.

 

Earlier, Proctor was Public Affairs Specialist, at AAA Mid-Atlantic, the nation’s fifth largest auto club, working as a spokesperson and representing the club at various civic, professional and transportation organizations.

 

Proctor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Longwood University and Master of Arts degree in Government from Regent University. She holds a Law and Public Policy Graduate Certificate and a Homeland Defense and Terrorism Graduate Certificate from Oxford University. She is also a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.