Christopher Johnson has been a James City County local for more than two decades and now he’s bringing his love of the area to his new position as Economic Development director.
“It isn’t just a job for me,” he said. “Being part of the community and active in the community after work and on weekends…I’m always listening and I think it’s a wonderful match between my interests and seeing this community continue to grow and prosper.”
When Johnson first moved to the area from California in 1995, the economy and geography of James City County was much different.
“The population has more than doubled,” he said. “The diversity that has been brought to the economic base from a corporate standpoint has evolved at a very rapid pace. There are ties to the agricultural past [but we’re] seeing that change and fit a growing landscape.”
The area largely relied on agricultural industries whereas now, the farms and businesses have adapted to allow for more technology and growth.
“We’ve got prosperous businesses,” he said, “The manufacturing base in the community provides a wide variety of partners for 20 to 40 years and an outstanding economic backbone to work off of.”
Before taking the director position, Johnson had been working as the interim Economic Development director since April. During that time, Johnson graduated from the Basic Economic Development Course through the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He also is a member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association and the International Economic Development Council.
Prior to that, he worked with the county since 2009 in multiple roles such as ombudsman under county administration.
However, his experience with the county doesn’t just stop there.
In 1997, Johnson worked with the county’s planning department for about nine years before moving to work with a private law firm, Kaufman & Canoles, P.C. Johnson said this experience helps him provide a unique perspective to the position.
“Given that I’m not new, it’s the primary benefit of what I bring to the table is the diverse background on both public and private sides,” he said. “The greatest benefit I have are the people I know and relationships I’ve built these past 20 years.”
Johnson wants to continue to take the growth of the county and build an even more robust economic area. He said this will be done through the comprehensive plans, through the goals with the Economic Development Authority and through general goals of the county.
Johnson said one of the positive aspects of James City County is that it worked so closely with its neighbors in York County and the city of Williamsburg. He said while the localities compete for businesses, they also help each other to grow and thrive economically because each area builds off of the other.
“Collectively, it’s a nice place to work,” he said.
Johnson added he is excited to use his years of experience and connections in the community to see the ways in which he can help the economy grow.
“I want to help keep us moving forward and diversifying local economy and helping our region in business attraction,” he said. “I want to help us retain local businesses and see them proposer and expand.”
