Josh Summits has been appointed as the new Director of Fredericksburg’s Economic Development and Tourism Team, starting mid-August. Summits has fifteen years of experience in urban redevelopment, community revitalization, and economic development. He joined Stafford County’s government in 2019 and most recently served as Business Development Manager.
Summit said he has “spent the past five years working with Stafford to bring transformative economic development projects to the Fredericksburg Region. Each locality offers diverse and unique attributes and opportunities. The City of Fredericksburg has a robust list of amazing amenities and a thriving historical downtown. My core focus and energies will target corridor redevelopment, and expanded business attraction and retention efforts.”
Summits holds a BA in Urban and Regional Planning from WVU and an MS in Regional Planning from Indiana University of PA. His previous roles include Business Expansion and Attraction Specialist at the Urban Redevelopment Authority in Pittsburgh, PA, and Economic Development Coordinator for the City of Johnstown, PA. He is recognized by the National Development Council as an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) and participated in the Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 “Leadership Fredericksburg” Program.
Summit will be working with Joel Griffin, who also recently left Stafford for Fredericksburg. Griffin served on the Stafford Economic Development Authority (EDA) from 2004 to 2023 before joining Fredericksburg’s EDA in January 2024. Griffin is founder and CEO of Riphean Investments, which owns several restaurants in downtown Fredericksburg, and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate District 27.