David Manley, Master Economic Development Practitioner (MEDP)

David Manley is an economic development practitioner with more than a decade of experience working with businesses large and small, local governments, the Commonwealth and its agencies, and public and private sector partners to grow economic opportunity in Southwest Virginia and beyond.

In July 2026, he was appointed by Governor Abigail Spanberger to lead Virginia's Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, a public body supporting economic development for 40 communities throughout Southern and Southwest Virginia that were historically tied to the tobacco industry.

Prior to this appointment, he served as Executive Director of the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, Wytheville, and Rural Retreat, where he led business attraction and retention efforts that brought more than $2 billion in investment to the community.

In 2022, he served as the 40th President of the Virginia Economic Developers Association, and he represents Virginia on the board of directors of the Southern Economic Development Council. David holds the Master Economic Development Practitioner designation and a B.A. in Government from the University of Virginia.
He has a long record of civic leadership in Southwest Virginia, including as founding chair of the nonprofit board that restored the historic Millwald Theatre in downtown Wytheville, co-founder and advisor of Wythe-Bland Young Professionals, and founder and co-chair of the Wytheville Wine Festival.

A native Wythe Countian, David established and operated West Wind Farm Vineyard & Winery for over a dozen years before joining the public sector, and he brings a practitioner's perspective shaped by more than a decade leading economic development at the local level to his work at the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission.