For the second time in three years, Arlington is on the hunt for a new economic development director.
Ryan Touhill will be departing Arlington Economic Development (AED) in early November. Katharine Ange, currently deputy director, will serve as acting director during the search for a successor.
Kate Bates, president and CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, broke the news during a forum on economic development yesterday (Thursday).
“We appreciate the great work Ryan did,” Bates said, adding she anticipated “a seamless transition.”
The Washington Business Journal reported that Touhill is accepting a position in Arizona, but did not have details. AED did not respond to a request for more specifics by publication time, but the county government is expected to release a statement today.
Touhill had been senior vice president of the AED Partnership when County Manager Mark Schwartz tapped him for Arlington’s top economic development post in November 2022.
Schwartz said at the time, “He will be instrumental in fostering innovation and resiliency to advance economic growth and competitiveness in our community for small businesses and large corporations as well as foster real estate development, tourism, arts and cultural amenities.”
Touhill’s appointment filled a vacancy left by the departure of Telly Tucker in May 2022 after two years in the post. Tucker left around the same time the agency’s deputy director, Cynthia Richmond, retired.
After leaving Arlington, Tucker became president of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, a Danville-based organization set up by the state government to support economic development in Southwest Virginia.
In the interim between Tucker’s departure and Touhill’s arrival, Shannon Flanagan-Watson, a deputy county manager, led the department.
As of yesterday evening, Touhill’s position had not been posted on the county’s jobs site. Ange, who will serve as interim director, has been with the department since September 2023.
Members of Touhill’s staff were represented at the economic development roundtable, and one senior AED staff member detailed some of the challenges the county is facing.
“The real fright is in the unknown,” said Marc McCauley, director of AED’s Strategic Investment Group.
“The external threats are real,” McCauley said, but the key for economic development staff and county leaders is to separate “the real threats from the irrational.”
He said the best strategy was “timely, aggressive and bold action, even if incremental in nature” rather than “paralyzing aversion to risk.”
