Home » Blog » Virginia Business Ranks The State’s Most Powerful, Influential Leaders

Virginia Business Ranks The State’s Most Powerful, Influential Leaders

President Tracy Fitzsimmons Earns Spot on the list for the Second Year in a row

Shenandoah President Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., is among eight local leaders who have earned a spot in Virginia Business Magazine’s Virginia 500 List.

The Virginia 500, which is in its second year, is a list of the state’s most powerful and influential leaders in business, government, politics and education, as determined by the editorial team for Virginia Business.

This recognition really belongs to all of the amazing people with whom I work, interact and learn from every day at Shenandoah. I’m humbled and honored to be in great company, as several of the Northern Shenandoah Valley’s local leaders have also made the list, as have the CEOs of our two major health care partners. These fellow community leaders make Virginia a wonderful place to live, work, learn and thrive.”

Dr. Tracy Fitzsimmons

This is Dr. Fitzsimmons’ second year on the list.

To determine who makes the cut, the editorial team factored in a person’s newsworthiness, community involvement, diversity, number of employees (in Virginia and worldwide) and how large a presence the organization has in the commonwealth.

According to the publication, “During the pandemic, SU saw its highest enrollment ever, continued in-person instruction uninterrupted and experienced no layoffs, furloughs or salary cuts. The university’s pharmacy school developed a COVID-19 saliva test to randomly sample asymptomatic students, and the pharmacy faculty sequenced samples to identify variants. The school also hosted a mass vaccination site, providing more than 70,000 shots.”

Other Winchester-area individuals included on the list are:

  • Winsome Sears, Republican nominee for lieutenant governor
  • Mark Nantz, president and CEO of Valley Health System
  • M. Scott Culbreth, president and CEO of American Woodmark
  • Bryan H. Fairbanks, president and CEO of Trex Co. Inc.
  • Scott Moulden, managing partner, YHB CPAs & Consultants
  • David Gum, CEO of White House Foods
  • Dr. J. Stephen Jones, president and CEO of Inova Health System

Virginia Business covers economic activity in all industry sectors in every region of the state.

Categories: ,

Recent News

Group photo at the Veteran Appreciation BBQ event.

Shenandoah University Hosts Veteran Appreciation Cookout

Event was hosted by SU's Hub for Innovators, Veterans and Entrepreneurs and the Northern Shenandoah Valley Community Veteran Engagement Board

A student presents her research poster at a conference.

Shenandoah University Biology Student Presents Research At Pittcon

Sophia Menyhart ’26 also earned a research award from the Virginia Section of the American Chemical Society

Students pose at a booth for the Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning.

Shenandoah University Advanced Technology Students Thrive At Prestigious Conference

Three students were awarded scholarships, two presented VR projects at I/ITSEC in Orlando, Florida

Shenandoah University's president shares a hug with a graduate on the commencement stage.

Shenandoah University Alum Lives Out Dream Of Earning A Pharm.D.

Megan Calhoun ’26 played key role in mass-vaccination clinic at SU in 2021 before enrolling at Shenandoah

Student in Shenandoah University's Art & Design program smiles and looks away from the camera as works on a small sculpture of a seated human figure.

Art & Design Goes Global, Sparks Growth

New program engages students in international online collaboration, inspires unique thinking

Staged photo of a client being worked with as part of Shenandoah University's free Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic in Loudoun.

Shenandoah Clinic Offers Services for Free

The Speech, Language & Hearing Clinic at Shenandoah University Loudoun educates as it provides no-cost assistance both in person and through telehealth

Monthly Archives