Member Profile

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Since December of 2018, Christopher “Chris” Whitlow has served as County Administrator of Franklin County, Virginia having previously served as Interim County Administrator. Mr. Whitlow served in the capacity of Deputy County Administrator since 2004. As County Administrator, Mr. Whitlow performs in the capacity of the County’s Chief Executive overseeing multiple County Departments while serving as professional support to the Franklin County Board of Supervisors. Mr. Whitlow represents Franklin County as an appointee to various regional boards and commissions within the Greater Roanoke region. Currently, Mr. Whitlow serves as the Chairman of the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority, Past Chairman and member of the Roanoke Valley Detention Commission, current executive board member of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, current executive board member of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, member of the Roanoke Valley – Alleghany Regional Commission, as well as a member of the Virginia Association of Counties Finance and General Government Committees. During his time with Franklin County, Mr. Whitlow has overseen the planning, development, financing, and management of numerous capital projects including, but not limited to a new regional jail, new libraries, Fire-EMS Station, business and industrial parks, new higher education - workforce center, new government operations center, solid waste landfill, and utility expansions among many others. Prior to his tenure with Franklin County, Mr. Whitlow worked as the Economic Development Administrator for the City of Roanoke, Virginia where he served as the professional support to the City Council and Industrial Development Authority thereby structuring and managing Roanoke’s economic development projects and programs. Mr. Whitlow has over twenty-nine years of local government experience in Virginia, having also worked in various planning and community development positions for the Towns of Bridgewater, Rocky Mount, and the City of Martinsville. Mr. Whitlow has studied and worked internationally, having completed an exchange program with various local governments in New Zealand. Mr. Whitlow holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from Virginia Tech and a Bachelors of Science Degree from James Madison University where he double majored in Public Administration and Political Science. Mr. Whitlow is a long standing member of the International City-County Management Association (ICMA), the Government Finance Officers Association of America (GFOA), and belongs to numerous other professional organizations having previously served as a member on the Advisory Board of the Weldon Cooper Center’s Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Mr. Whitlow and his wife Jennifer currently live in the Henry - Philpott Lake community of Franklin County, Virginia with their two college aged sons where they are active in church and community activities.