On December 14 at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) held its Annual Membership Meeting and Awards Luncheon, where elected officials gathered with area business and non-profit leaders to celebrate achievements made as a region in 2022, including new initiatives to add affordable housing near transit, the achievement of a major climate goal, and the opening of the Silver Line Metrorail extension.
COG’s Corporate Vice President and Prince William County Board Chair, Ann Wheeler, welcomed attendees to the meeting and commended regional leaders for finding new ways to strengthen existing partnerships and grow more unified in planning priorities.
2022 Year-In-Review
In his remarks, Arlington County Board Member and 2022 COG Board Chair Christian Dorsey reflected upon a year of building momentum around strategies to overcome the region’s largest challenges, such as housing affordability, climate change, and long-persisting racial inequities.
“For my year as Chair, I wanted to focus on how we can pull these priorities together and put them in action so that these important advancements wouldn’t stand as solely point in time accomplishments, but would also move us toward our vision of a more prosperous, accessible, livable, equitable and sustainable metropolitan Washington,” Dorsey said.
The COG Board solidified this vision in 2022 within the Region United planning framework, which focuses on advancing COG’s regional housing targets and 2030 climate goal and promoting two COG planning concepts, Equity Emphasis Areas and High-Capacity Transit Station Areas.
Dorsey highlighted additional achievements, including the Transportation Planning Board’s major update to its Visualize 2045 long-range plan and a recent COG analysis showing the region met and surpassed its 2020 climate goal.
He also announced that the Amazon Housing Equity Fund had committed to a second funding round for COG’s Housing Affordability Planning Program (HAPP), which provided more than $650,000 in grants this summer to 10 local planning projects and initiatives to build affordably priced housing near transit.
Clockwise from top left: U.S. Representative-elect Glenn Ivey; City of Fairfax Councilmember Jon Stehle, Arlington County Board Member Libby Garvey, Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Ann Sayles--all former COG Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee Chairs; Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater; a standing ovation for COG Executive Director Chuck Bean.
Regional Leadership Awards
COG also presented its three highest honors to individuals and organizations for significant contributions and service to the region.
Arlington Board Member Libby Garvey was presented with COG’s Elizabeth and David Scull Metropolitan Public Service Award for her leadership and contributions across numerous regional committees, including COG’s Region Forward Coalition, where as chair she held in-depth discussions on inclusive growth and advancing racial equity. Garvey also led COG’s Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee, which addresses regional water quality issues, and is a member of COG’s Food and Agriculture Regional Member Policy Committee, which supports efforts to build a resilient, connected food and farm economy.
Monica Backmon, Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, received the Ronald F. Kirby Award for Collaborative Leadership for her work in advocating for and coordinating the planning, funding, and prioritization of Northern Virginia’s largest transportation projects.
The Amazon Housing Equity Fund received the Stuart A. Freudberg Award for Regional Partnership, for its support of the development and preservation of diverse and accessible affordable housing across the metropolitan Washington region. The fund has contributed nearly $1 billion to date to support these efforts in the region, including COG’s HAPP grant program.
During the awards program, Dorsey also recognized Chuck Bean for his decade of service as Executive Director of COG during which time, despite economic insecurities and immense change, the region grew more unified in its inter-jurisdictional collaboration. Bean’s tenure, which will conclude in February 2023, focused heavily on maintaining and strengthening COG’s reputation as the hub for regional partnership, expertise, and problem-solving.
Ready for 2023
COG members also elected the incoming slate of corporate officers for 2023. Prince William County Board Chair Ann Wheeler was elected Corporate President, District of Columbia Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. and Charles County Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II were elected as Corporate Vice-Presidents, and City of Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor was elected as Secretary-Treasurer.
COG had the pleasure of welcoming the region’s newest elected officials, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater and U.S. Representative-elect Glenn Ivey, who both provided remarks and committed to embracing the spirit of collaboration exemplified among COG partners.
More: COG Regional Leadership Awards Release