L. Preston Bryant, Jr.
Senior Vice President
Infrastructure and Economic Development
Preston Bryant is a senior vice president at McGuireWoods Consulting where he works in the firm's Infrastructure and Economic Development group. His expertise lies in water, wastewater and energy generation projects, and he advises clients on project site selection and regulatory affairs.
For the past 15 years, Preston's experience in environmental and energy matters has developed from his work in both the public and private sectors. Preston was a partner for nearly a decade at Hurt & Proffitt, Inc., a Virginia-based civil engineering, surveying and planning firm that specializes in large-scale residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional developments as well as transportation facilities. He also represented the City of Lynchburg and Amherst County in the Virginia House of Delegates for 10 years, where he was the House patron of the state's nationally recognized public-private partnership statute (known as "PPEA), passed landmark legislation on wetlands conservation, developed the nation's largest market-based nutrient credit exchange program (phosphorus and nitrogen) to advance upgrades to more than one hundred wastewater treatment plants, and overhauled Virginia's stormwater management programs.
As Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources in the cabinet of Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Preston led the state's six environmental, recreational, wildlife and historic resources agencies, which included a staff of 2,200, and a $420 million annual budget. He also helped write Virginia's first state-wide energy plan.
In 2009, President Obama appointed Preston to chair the National Capital Planning Commission, the central planning agency for all federal lands and buildings in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. At NCPC, he presides over a staff of some 45 planners, architects, engineers and other professionals.
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Education
- Royal Holloway College, University of London, M.A., Modern British Literature, 1990
- University of Richmond, M.Hum., humanities, 1988
- Randolph-Macon College, B.A., English, 1986
Past Positions
- Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources, Office of the Governor, 2006-2010
- Member, Virginia House of Delegates, 1996-2006
- Partner/Vice-President, Hurt & Proffitt, Inc., 1996-2005
- Member, Lynchburg (Va.) City Council, 1994-1995
- Chief of Staff, Office of the Minority Leader, Virginia House of Delegates, 1992-1994
Memberships
- Advisory Committee, Division of Earth & Life Studies, National Academy of Sciences, 2012 - present
- Board of Trustees, Randolph-Macon College, 2010 - present
- Board of Directors, James River Association, 2010 - present
- Board of Trustees, ex officio, Federal City Council, 2010 - present
- Chairman and member, National Capital Planning Commission, 2009 - present (appointed by President Obama, September 10, 2009)
- Board of Directors, American Foundation for Royal Holloway & Bedford New College, Inc. (University of London), 2008 – present; President, 2010 - present
- Board of Directors, Capitol Square Civil Rights Memorial Foundation, Inc., 2005 – present
- Board of Trustees, Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2003 – present
- Board Member, Opera on the James, 2005-2006
- Board Member, Vice-Chair, Chair, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 1994-2000; 2001-2007
- Board Member, Vice-President, President, National Kidney Foundation of Virginia, 1997-2001
- Advisory Board Member, Virginia Institute of Government, University of Virginia, 1998-2006
- Member, Randolph-Macon College Board of Associates, 1994-2004
- Board Member, Central Virginia Community Services, 1994-1995
Speaking Engagements
- Testimony on Chesapeake Bay Restoration, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, September 2009
- Keynote Address, Energy2020 Conference, Salzburg, Austria, 2009
- Keynote Address, Environment Virginia Conference, Virginia Military Institute, 2009
- Panelist, Transatlantic Conference on Climate and Energy Policy, Federal Foreign Office and Federal Ministry of the Environment, Republic of Germany, Berlin, 2008
- Convocation Address, Longwood University, 2008
- Commencement Address, Lynchburg College, 2008
- Commencement Address, Randolph-Macon College, 2007
- Commencement Address, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 2006
- Keynote Address, Environment Virginia Conference, Virginia Military Institute, 2006
- Keynote Address, 4th Global Conference on Business and Economics, St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University, 2005
Publications
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. "Stormwater Utilities Key to Bay Cleanup." Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 9, 2011. (Reprinted in Lynchburg News & Advance, January 16, 2011; Charlottesville Daily Progress, January 23, 2011.)
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. "Restart for Nuclear Plants." News & Observer. December 30, 2010.
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. "Government, Industry Aligning to Develop Offshore Wind Farms." Virginian-Pilot. June 27, 2010.
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. "Universities Are Leading the Sustainability Revolution." University of Richmond Alumni Magazine. Summer 2010
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. "Climate Change: State, Local Governments Will Help Save Planet." Richmond Times-Dispatch. July 17, 2009
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. “How the Kaine Administration is Moving Towards a More Sustainable Virginia: Energy Efficiency and Planning, Climate Change Strategies, and Strategic Investment.” Virginia Environmental Law Journal. 27.2 (2009): 165-175
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. and Noah M. Sachs. "On Climate, Obama Must Hurry." Richmond Times-Dispatch. December 17, 2008
- Bryant, L. Preston, Jr. "State Commission Grapples With Climate Change." Richmond Times-Dispatch. February 22, 2008
Honors
- Honorary Fellow, Royal Holloway College, University of London, 2011
- George C. Marshall Visitors Program, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Austria, 2011
- Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, U.S. Department of the Army, 2010
- LL.D. (hon.), Lynchburg College, 2008
- Distinguished Alumnus, Society of Alumni, Randolph-Macon College, 2008
- Public Officials Award, Virginia Water Environment Association, 2006
- Virginia Sheriffs Association 2004 Legislator of the Year
- Scales of Justice Award, Virginia Legal Aid Society, 2002
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation 2000 Legislator of the Year
- Outstanding Young Alumnus, Society of Alumni, Randolph-Macon College, 1997
Practice Groups
Service
- Infrastructure and Economic Development
