DemBiz Welcomes Mayor Levar Stoney

DemBiz is proud to welcome Mayor Levar Stoney to Refraction on Friday, December 15th. Please join us for an engaging discussion with Mayor Stoney, as we will touch on topics such as the upcoming elections in Virginia, his tenure as Mayor of Richmond, and his own political future.

Levar M. Stoney is serving his second term as the 80th mayor of the City of Richmond and is the youngest person to hold the office. He serves as an Advisory Board member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he chairs the Children, Health, and Human Services committee. He also serves as President of the Democratic Mayors Association.

Mayor Stoney was raised in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region by his father, who was a custodian, and his grandmother. A product of Virginia public schools, he grew up on free and reduced lunch and was the first in his family to earn a high school diploma. He went on to graduate from James Madison University, earning a B.S. in Public Administration and Political Science.

Stoney began his career in public service serving in then-Governor Mark Warner’s office. He served as the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Virginia in 2008 and then as Deputy Campaign Manager for Governor Terry McAuliffe’s successful gubernatorial campaign in 2013. In 2014, Stoney became the first African American Secretary of the Commonwealth and the youngest member of Governor McAuliffe’s cabinet. As Secretary, he was the driving force behind the Governor’s efforts to restore the civil and voting rights of more than 150,000 returning citizens.