Albert C. (Al) Weed II, Chairman, owns and operates Mountain Cove Vineyards in Nelson County. He has a BA (cum laude) from Yale in Latin American Studies (with Highest Honors) and a Master’s Degree in Economic Development and Political Modernization from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. Including active duty in Viet Nam and Bosnia he served a total of almost 43 years mostly in the Reserve components, retiring from Army Special Operations as a Command Sergeant Major. Al worked for the World Bank and the Arthur Lipper Corporation before settling in Central Virginia and was a founder of the Virginia Wine Industry. He was involved in every significant legislative, regulatory and organizational development of this now vibrant industry’s first quarter century. Al is the founder of Rural Nelson, a land preservation group in his home county, and has served as a board member, director, and trustee for numerous nonprofit concerns. At the request of the Governor of Virginia he serves on the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Twice the Democratic candidate for the 5th Congressional District, he currently spends half of his time in the daily operations of Public Policy Virginia, acting as its executive director. Al’s Op Eds have been published in major publications, and he speaks frequently in all areas of the state about Climate Change and a broad range of other public policy issues.
Al spoke at Northside Library at a meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia on November 12, 2008. The program was moderated by SSV board member and Past President, Don Wells.