About Us

EDA Mission
The primary purpose of the EDA, in conjunction with the City Council, is to foster and stimulate economic development and redevelopment within the City of Fairfax, Virginia. To carry out this purpose, the EDA will support bond financing for projects within its powers as granted by the Virginia General Assembly and work with the City’s Economic Development Office (EDO) to advance business recruiting and expansion efforts. Further, the EDA and EDO will facilitate small business improvement and incubation, as well as promote an active dialogue within the business community, all in partnership with area business and educational resources.

EDA Members

The EDA consists of seven members appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The Authority meets the third Wednesday of each month and recesses in August and December. The EDA meets in the Fairfax Innovation Center first floor conference center located at 4031 University Drive, Fairfax.

At present the EDA’s principal activities relate to the issuance of public bonds. The scope of bonding projects ranges from $2.5 to $40 million. Currently, the city is considering a Master Plan for the redevelopment of Fairfax Boulevard, the principal source of the city’s business tax revenue. As the redevelopment plan matures and project implementation begins, the nature of the EDA’s involvement in development projects is likely to broaden and the scale of its bonding projects is likely to increase.

The EDA also functions as a land owner. In cooperation with the city, the Authority strategically acquires under-utilized properties for the purposes of land assemblage and future redevelopment. The EDA currently owns parcels in the commercial block known as George Mason Square located in the historic downtown. The Authority continues to monitor other properties in the city for potential revitalization opportunities.

Additionally, in conjunction with the Small Business Development Center and George Mason University, the EDA operates a business incubator known as the Fairfax Innovation Center. The center is home to several GMU programs and private start-up businesses. Numerous businesses have graduated from the incubator and now occupy commercial space in the city helping to strengthen its economic base.

• Virginia Acts of Assembly
• City of Fairfax Enabling Ordinance

 
Bios

Michael DeMarco
Chairman

Michael DeMarco has served as a Commissioner on the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority (EDA) since June 2008 and Chairman since January 2011. He has spent 20 years working for the ExxonMobil Corporation in primarily financial and marketing related roles. In 2007, he became the Global Marketing Operations Manager with responsibilities including revenue management, marketing excellence, internal communications, process governance, cross-business synergy and financial stewardship.

Mr. DeMarco has degrees in Political Science and Economics from Penn State and Temple Universities as well as a MBA in Finance from Columbia University. Prior to receiving his MBA, he was an Assistant Vice President in the Philadelphia National Bank’s Specialized Lending Division focusing on Public and Non-Profit Organizations.

Since 2000, Michael, his wife, Joanne, and their three children, Anna, Emilia and Antonio have made their home in the City of Fairfax. His interests include spending time with his family, sports, politics, genealogy, music and the arts. In addition to his role on the EDA, Mr. DeMarco is an Ambassador, Columbia MBA Recruiting, Student Mentor, Penn State School of Liberal Arts, Area Director, Mosby Woods Community Association, Board Member, Mosby Woods Village and an Active Member in the St. Leo’s Catholic Church Community.

W. Craig Havenner
Vice Chairman

Mr. Havenner is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Construction Management. A native of Northern Virginia, he and his family have resided in The City of Fairfax since 1980. Over the years he has been actively involved in many community and professional organizations.

Serving the Fairfax community, he is a past member of the Fairfax Police Youth Club (FPYC) Board of Directors and the Jermantown Elementary (now Providence) representative to the City School System’s Facilities and Planning Committee. He currently serves as Vice President of the Fairfax Renaissance Housing Corporation.

In addition, he is past board member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance (NVTA) and a current member of The George Mason University School of Managements’ Dean’s Advisory Council.

Mr. Havenner’s career in construction led to his involvement with the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA) where he is a past President , former ASPAC trustee, and was named Builder of the year in 2002. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Homebuilders Association of Virginia (HBAV) and on the Board of Directors of The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). He is currently a Build-Pac trustee.

Mr. Havenner has been a principal and President of the Christopher Companies since 1995. Christopher has developed a number of new home communities throughout the Northern Virginia area. In recent years the company has expanded its services to include general contracting, remodeling, light commercial construction and investor services. The company is currently active in the Mid-Atlantic Region from Caroline County, Va to Sussex County , Delaware.

Ann Bogat
No bio currently available.

James Offutt
Mr. Offutt is currently President of National Capital Group LLC., a management consulting firm in Northern Virginia.  His corporate career has included positions as Vice President Vanguard Research Inc, AC Technologies Inc., Alphainsight Corporation and Titan Corporation.  As president of Computer Reclamation Inc., he led a non profit organization that provided IT services and job training to non-profits and associations.

Mr. Offutt served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot and weapon systems acquisition manager.  His tours included: Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (now Missile Defense Agency) where he managed the start-up of SDI system analysis projects including Architecture, BM/C3, National Test Bed and Theater Missile Defense.  As Commanding Officer, Office of Naval Research Detachment, Pasadena CA, he managed a sixty-person team engaged in R&D project management, technology transition, and contract administration.  He developed future year program plans (POM) in OPNAV for Navy research, personnel and training programs.  As a pilot, he flew carrier-based aircraft for 4000 hours, participated in four Vietnam combat tours and flew 201 combat missions.  His awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal (10), and Navy Commendation Medal (3).

Mr. Offutt’s education includes a Master of Public Administration, University of LaVerne, California, a Bachelor of Business Administration, University of New Mexico, and Engineering Studies, Pennsylvania State University.  He earned a Chief Information Officer Certificate, University of South Carolina School of Engineering.

His association and civic activity currently include the Navy League of the United States where he is Chairman of the Maritime Policy and Resolutions Committee.  He is a program chairman for Naval IT Day in the Northern VA Chapter of Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA.)

He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and is married to the former Becky Wyman of Albuquerque, NM.  They have two married sons, Jim and Jeff and grandchildren Nickolas, Sofia and Lucas.

John Petersen
No bio currently available.

Betsy Rutkowski
The Mayor and City Council appointed Betsy Rutkowski to the EDA in October of 2006.

Ms. Rutkowski is a Realtor with Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. in residential sales.  Prior to working in real estate, Ms. Rutkowski spent over 16 years with United Airlines working in their sales and marketing division- followed by owning a retail and design business in the City of Fairfax for nearly 7 years.

Ms. Rutkowski is active in the community and has served on many boards.  In 2002 she was elected to Historic Fairfax City Inc. and has continued to serve as their Secretary since 2007.  From 2005-2006 she served on the board for the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce.  She was a founding member of Destination Fairfax Inc., a tourism and marketing initiative launched in 2003 and served as their Chairman from 2006-2009.

Ms. Rutkowski holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.  She has lived in the City of Fairfax since 2000.

Chris Todd
Mr. Todd is a 7th generation Washingtonian with more than 25 years of experience in the practice of architecture, land development, building development and construction.  His resume encompasses single family and multi-family residential, retail, office and mixed-use projects as both a designer and a developer, with design services across the United States of approximately 500 million dollars and development projects throughout the Northeast totaling close to one billion dollars.

A graduate of the UVA School of Architecture, Mr. Todd is a Fairfax City resident currently employed with a large national multi-family developer in Reston, Virginia.  His professional career includes work for national architecture and development firms in Georgia, Virginia and Washington, DC.