The 2026-27 chair of Advance Arlington wants to maintain some of the organization’s traditional elements while adding new ways to connect with the community.
Tony Weaver described his plans as “aspirational.”
“If we want to be relevant, we have to be expanding the people we interact with,” he told ARLnow. “I’m interested in engaging … in various different channels.”
Weaver succeeded Devanshi Patel as the organization’s chair, making him the 69th person to lead the nonprofit since its founding as the Arlington Committee of 100 in 1954.
The goal from the inception was “to counteract the polarization that had developed in Arlington’s civic and political life after World War II,” according to the organization’s website. Times have changed but that general philosophy has not.
The organization strives to remain “as absolutely neutral as possible,” Weaver said.
“People have a sixth sense for agendas — they know it in their gut,” he said. “We are an organization where all views are welcome.”
The 2026-27 year will open with a program focused on the hot topic of local governance.
“County, City or Something In Between: How Forms of Local Government Can Impact You” will feature elected officials from Arlington, Fairfax County and Alexandria, comparing and contrasting their very distinct governance forms.
The program will be held Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 6:45 p.m. at the Lubber Run Community Center, with an online option available.
Future planned programs include “The Cost of Eldercare: Is Arlington Keeping Up with an Aging Population?” (Oct. 14), “Data Centers, AI and Arlington” (Nov. 11) and “Columbia Pike: What Does the Future Hold?” (Jan. 13).
For generations, the Committee of 100 was known for its monthly dinner programs, held from 1970 to the pandemic era at Marymount University. In recent years, however, meals have largely been dropped in favor of a focus on community conversation.
The rebranding from “Committee of 100” to “Advance Arlington” in 2024 was an acknowledgment that “we can’t keep doing things the same way … in a world that’s very different,” Weaver said.
He said plans for the future include shorter videos on topics of community interest to drive participation.
“We’re a laboratory,” Weaver said, suggesting there should be a “balance between Arlington-focused [issues] and topics that are on everybody’s minds.”
The organization has not scheduled a candidate debate this fall, but plans to hold one in advance of the June 2027 primaries.
Weaver is the latest in a roster of chairs that includes some major players in Arlington politics and civic engagement over the past 72 years:
- 2025: Devanshi Patel
- 2024: Jeanne Broyhill
- 2023: Jeanne Broyhill
- 2022: Gerry Laporte
- 2021: Hannah Dannenfelser
- 2020: Hannah Dannenfelser
- 2019: Lynn Juhl
- 2018: Tamon Honda
- 2017: Scott Pedowitz
- 2016: Scott Pedowitz
- 2015: Brian Marroquín
- 2014: Karl VanNewkirk
- 2013: Kim Klingler
- 2012: Jeanne Broyhill
- 2011: Lincoln Cummings
- 2010: Cecelia Espenoza
- 2009: Edd and Anita Nolen
- 2008: Jim Schroeder
- 2007: Pete Pallesen
- 2006: Karen Darner
- 2005: Christian Dorsey
- 2004: James Pebley
- 2003: David Briggs
- 2002: Joan McDermott
- 2001: Tom Brooke
- 2000: Martha Foster
- 1999: Margaret Lampe
- 1998: Martha Duggan
- 1997: Arthur Welch
- 1996: James Mayer
- 1995: Robin Stombler
- 1994: Rex Wackerle
- 1993: John McCracken
- 1992: Virginia DeSimone
- 1991: Constance McAdam
- 1990: Margo Horner
- 1989: Scott McGeary
- 1988: Marjorie Hobart
- 1987: Theodore Weihe
- 1986: James Wright
- 1985: James Hunter, III
- 1984: Bette Clements
- 1983: Hilton Peel
- 1982: W. Grady Malone
- 1981: J. Newman Carter
- 1980: Elizabeth Weihe
- 1979: Robert Skinner
- 1978: Ruth Cocklin
- 1977: Larry Suiters
- 1976: Gustave Zader
- 1975: Allen Harrison, Jr.
- 1974: Clyde Elliott
- 1973: M. Patton Echols, Jr.
- 1972: Dr. Theodore Taylor
- 1971: James McMullin
- 1970: Ellen Bozman
- 1969: Malcolm Miller
- 1968: Henry Lampe
- 1967: Dr. Barnard Joy
- 1966: William Bartlett
- 1965: John Palmer
- 1964: James McHugh
- 1963: Harold Stone
- 1962: Jules Guedalia
- 1961: George Terborgh
- 1960: William Watt, Sr.
- 1959: Kenneth Ludwig
- 1958: Stanley Mayer
- 1957: William Backus
- 1956: Kingsley Higgins
- 1955: B. Alden Lillywhite
- 1954: Dr. Lucas Blevins
