Libby Garvey, Monica Backmon Receive Top Awards From DC Regional Group

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Arlington County Board Member Libby Garvey and Northern Virginia Transportation Authority CEO Monica Backmon received top honors from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on Wednesday at its annual membership meeting and awards luncheon.

Garvey received the Elizabeth and David Scull Metropolitan Public Service Award, while Backmon received the Ronald F. Kirby Award for Collaborative Leadership.

The Council of Governments (COG) also recognized the Amazon Housing Equity Fund for its contributions to the region.

Garvey was elected to the Arlington County Board in 2012. Prior to her election to the county board, Garvey served 15 years on the Arlington School Board.

The Scull Award is presented to a local, state, or federal elected official serving a COG member jurisdiction. It is presented in the memory of Elizabeth and David Scull, two former Montgomery County councilmembers who were strong supporters of COG and regional cooperation.

“Libby is known for consistently creating spaces and opportunities at COG where ideas and thoughts can flow freely,” said District of Columbia Councilmember Robert White, who presented Garvey with the award. “By helping area leaders build bonds and learn from each other, she’s helped shape a better region.”

Garvey first became involved with COG when she joined its National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Council in 2004. Since then, she has served as chair of the Region Forward Coalition, a group focused on advancing COG’s vision plan, where she worked on inclusive growth and advancing racial equity.

In her work with the Council of Governments, Garvey also led COG’s Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee, which addresses regional water quality issues.

As CEO of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Backmon is responsible for the long-range planning, prioritization and funding of the Northern Virginia region’s most significant transportation projects. She has served as executive director, and most recently CEO, of the NVTA since May 2014. Prior to joining NVTA, Backmon served as Prince William County’s Regional Transportation Planner for a decade.

Backmon received the Kirby Award on Wednesday, which honors area government executives who work collaboratively with elected officials, stakeholders, and their communities to shape a better region. The award is presented in the memory of Ron Kirby, COG’s Transportation Planning Director from 1987 to 2013.

“Under Monica’s leadership at NVTA, Northern Virginia has had a fierce advocate for additional state transportation funding,” said Loudoun County Board Chair, COG board member and NVTA Chair Phyllis Randall. “She’s developed aggressive, competitive funding programs to transform our transportation networks across Northern Virginia and ensure our region and its economy keeps moving for our residents.”

During her tenure at NVTA, Backmon also led the creation of a Bus Rapid Transit Planning Working Group to initiate collaboration between planners across Northern Virginia to support the development of a regional BRT system. The system would link COG "Equity Emphasis Areas" and rural communities to employment and retail centers across Northern Virginia otherwise not accessible by public transit.

At its membership meeting, COG also recognized Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, represented by Director Catherine Buell, with the Stuart A. Freudberg Award for Regional Partnership. Since launching its Housing Equity Fund in 2021, Amazon has committed nearly $1 billion in funding to support the development and preservation of diverse and accessible affordable housing across the metropolitan Washington region.

The Freudberg Award recognizes organizations or individuals that provide leadership in support of regional policies or programs endorsed by COG. This is the second year the award has been presented, created in memory of Stuart A. Freudberg, who in his 40-year career at COG, served in several leadership positions in the organization, including deputy executive director from 2014 to 2020.