A Wythe County native who most recently worked in economic development there will be the next executive director of Virginia’s Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission.
The 28-member state commission aims to grow and diversify the economies of 40 localities in Southside and Southwest Virginia that historically were heavily dependent on tobacco. Since its inception in 1999, it has awarded more than 2,000 grants totaling $1.1 billion.
David Manley, who recently served as the executive director of the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, was appointed as the commission’s new executive director by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, according to a Monday news release from the governor’s office.
Manley is an “expert who knows the region, who is focused on delivering for these communities, and who is committed to executing a vision to deliver for economies across the region,” Spanberger said.
“He has vast experience in guiding impactful projects, and I am certain that his expertise will be an immense asset as we work together to create good jobs and opportunity in every corner of the Commonwealth,” she said.
Manley, 50, left the Wythe County IDA at the end of June, and Monday marked his first day on his new job in Richmond. He said in a phone interview that he looks forward to working with the commission and the localities it serves to “maximize prosperity and opportunity for everyone in Southern and Southwest Virginia.”
“For me, economic development has a tangible impact on the people, and being able to work with the tobacco commission and its commissioners and staff is an opportunity to make an impact on a broader scale,” Manley said.
Parts of Southside and Southwest Virginia have struggled in recent decades with job losses from industry downturns in tobacco, mining, and the manufacturing of furniture and textiles. Local officials have also identified challenges including workforce shortages, infrastructure investment and the availability of business-ready sites.
Manley said he believes his Southwest Virginia roots and his experience in economic development will give him a “special understanding and perspective” about the challenges faced by the commission’s service area.
“To serve the community and its neighbors where you were raised is an honor, and economic development builds prosperity not just for the immediate future but for the long term,” Manley said.
Before he was with the Wythe County IDA, Manley founded and operated the West Wind Farm Vineyard & Winery in Max Meadows. He was president of the Virginia Economic Developers Association in 2022. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Virginia.
The tobacco commission was founded with money from the 1998 master settlement agreement between 46 states and four tobacco companies over claims associated with smoking-related illnesses.
One example of a project that the commission supported is when it awarded an $835,000 grant to the glass manufacturer Press Glass in 2018 toward opening a facility in Henry County. The company has since grown with a major expansion announced in 2023.
Other examples include multiple grants supporting the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol and the Crooked Road, a 333-mile driving trail that connects dozens of music venues in Southwest Virginia.
In May of this year, the tobacco commission awarded more than $1 million for four projects in Campbell County. It also launched a new nonprofit, the Foundation for Southern and Southwest Virginia, which has a goal of helping localities and organizations obtain project funding from federal and state grant programs.
The commission’s most recent previous executive directors were James Campos, who served from January 2023 to January 2026 and now is president of Red Post Energy Futures LLC, a division of the power generation developer Red Post Energy, and Evan Feinman, who served from May 2015 to January 2022 and now is principal at Feinman Strategic Network. Feinman also is a former director of the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program.
Del. Will Morefield, R-Tazewell County and the chair of the tobacco commission, said in Spanberger’s news release on Monday that “it is critical that we have excellent leadership on staff to guide our efforts.”
“I am excited to work with David in the years ahead and extend my thanks to Governor Spanberger and her team for selecting an excellent leader and native of Southwest Virginia to serve as the Commission’s Executive Director,” Morefield said.
