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Leadership Alexandria alumni gathered June 23 at Cooper Mill Restaurant to welcome the program’s 2025 graduates and celebrate two decades of civic leadership and lasting community ties.
The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce launched the nine-month program in 2004 to help emerging and established leaders better understand the city.
Alumnus John Porter said the reunion highlighted the class of 2005, the program’s second class. Leadership Alexandria later paused for several years before returning, he said, and continues to introduce rising leaders to different aspects of the city.
Jake Truex, one of the newest graduates, joined to learn more about Alexandria, including the workings of local government and the benefits provided by civil services.
Truex described the experience as phenomenal, saying it gave him a deeper understanding of the community and connected him with people from across the political spectrum. Alumni from 20 classes remain involved in the network, he said.
Mark Feldheim, a 2005 graduate, called Leadership Alexandria a life-changing experience that taught him how to work with others and led to lifelong friendships.