Our Next Speaker
City of Richmond Mayor, Levar Stoney; “Building to the Future. What’s Going Right in RVA”
Levar M. Stoney was sworn in as Richmond's 80th Mayor on Dec. 31, 2016. He is the youngest mayor ever elected to serve the city. Mayor Stoney was raised in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region by his father, who was a custodian, and his grandmother. He was the first in his family to earn a high school diploma then went on to graduate from James Madison University, earning a B.S. in Public Administration and Political Science.
After serving as a Governor's Fellow in then-Governor Mark Warner's office, he became the first African American Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the youngest member of Governor Terry McAuliffe's cabinet.
Mayor Stoney served as Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Virginia during a transformative time for the state, leading to President Obama's historic Virginia victory in 2008. At the time, he was the youngest leader of a state Democratic Party in the country. In 2013, he served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for Governor McAuliffe's successful gubernatorial campaign.
He serves on a number of civic and community boards including the VCU Massey Cancer Center Advisory Board; Great Aspirations Scholarship Program (GRASP), a college- access organization; NextUp, an after-school program network; and the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation 2019 Commemoration. A proud member of Richmond Crusade for Voters and the NAACP, he also serves as co-chairman of the Capital Region Collaborative and sits on the board of Venture Richmond.
He is married to Brandy W. Stoney, a former scientist and local entrepreneur. They reside in Richmond’s East End and share a love of service and the city they call home.