LuAnn Bennett grew up on her family’s farm east of St. Louis. She and her husband Rick moved to Fairfax County 35 years ago where they raised their family and built a life just like hundreds of young Northern Virginia families are doing here today.

 

Together, they started and grew a small real estate business, until Rick was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away in 1994.  Left a single, working mother of three boys running a business, LuAnn never missed a payroll even during a recession.

Today, her small business has worked on projects that helped create job opportunities for more than a thousand workers and generated millions of dollars in economic development for the Metro region, while promoting energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable development. 

LuAnn has also worked to help children and families throughout the region and across Virginia, serving on Virginia’s Climate Change Commission, the Virginia Health Care Foundation, the I Have a Dream Foundation, Turnaround for Children, and the National Children’s Museum. Like all parents, LuAnn is proud of her three grown sons, and she’s a proud grandmother.  

LuAnn learned that, in challenges, you can always find opportunities.  As a small businesswoman, LuAnn understands that you have to work with whomever you need to in order to get the job done. She’s frustrated with the lack of results in Congress, and thinks Washington needs more common sense and problem-solving.

LuAnn earned her Bachelor’s degree in education from Eastern Illinois University. She was married to Congressman Jim Moran from 2004 to 2011 while he represented the neighboring 8th Congressional District – and they remain friends. Today, she continues to work with a number of foundations fighting for working families across the region and across Virginia.