Anthony J. Howard

Position : President, Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, which has more than 1,300 members. The chamber's key areas of interest include business development, public policy advocacy, community relations and membership services.

Career Highlights : Senior vice president and chief operating officer, Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce; vice president, membership and communications, Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce; communications director, Rep. Michael P. Forbes (D-N.Y.); news editor and reporter, Suffolk County News/Long Island Advance; general assignment reporter, Taconic Newspapers.

Age : 42

Education : BA, journalism, State University of New York -- College at New Paltz.

Personal : Lives in Fairfax County with wife, Alison, and son, Jake, 6, but the family plans to relocate to Loudoun County.

How did you get to where you are?

My entire career has really been driven by my twin passion for communication and politics. Starting as a journalism student and a newspaper editor, communications was what I did. Two areas I enjoyed covering most were politics and sports. And that is because of the competitive element inherent in both those areas. Along the way, both in journalism and as a communications director and certainly in the chamber world, I have developed a passion and deep respect for the entrepreneurs of this nation. Not only because of their efforts to create wealth and job opportunities, but also for the risk-taking spirit, vision and energy that they bring to their enterprises every day.

I had intended to remain in journalism for some time. I did not plan to enter politics at that time. But an opportunity was presented to me and I took advantage of it. It seemed logical. It's the same with the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce. You need to plan and prepare for the future. But you also need to prepare yourself to take advantage of those opportunities that come your way. In every point in my career where I took a step to the next level there was someone -- a boss, manager or a board -- who took a chance on me that my credentials, my experience, my expertise were right for the opportunity that they had to offer.

The greatest asset of any organization is the people who are affiliated with it. In the Chamber of Commerce world, that is not only the staff but also the key volunteers and investors who are your members. There are also challenges inherent in that. Managing a staff is something that I learned on the job. It's not always about the credentials that appear on the résumé. It's also about the soft skills and the fit that a person brings to a team. And learning how to take those aspects of a person, what a job candidate has to offer your team, is frankly something I had to learn the hard way.

I enjoy the fact that what I have before me is actually a greater challenge than what I would have had if I were walking into a poorly performing or dysfunctional organization because then any improvement would be received as progress and achievement. But to scope a vision and craft a game plan to achieve that vision for an organization that is already firing on all cylinders is a challenge that I relish and look forward to every day.

--Judith Mbuya