Penny Gross

Penelope Gross is a Northern Virginia politician.
Political Career and Community Involvement
Penny Gross was elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from the Mason District on November 7, 1995, and took office on New Year's Day, 1996. She was re-elected on November 2, 1999, November 4, 2003, and again on November 6, 2007. Supervisor Gross serves as the chair of the Board's Personnel Policy and Reorganization Committee, and the Board's Environment Committee. She also serves as vice chair of both the Human Services Committee and the Development Process Committee.
Active in regional organizations, Supervisor Gross represents Fairfax County on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, where she is VA Vice Chair, and chairs the Water Supply Task Force. She was the original chair of the Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee, and also chaired the Public Safety Policy Committee. Supervisor Gross served as Secretary-Treasurer for the Council of Governments in 2003, vice president in 2004, and was elected president for 2005. She represents Region III (VA, MD, DC, WV) on the National Association of Regional Councils Board of Directors.
Additionally, Supervisor Gross represents Fairfax County on the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. Following 12 years of county representation on the INOVA Health Care Services Board, she was appointed to the INOVA Health System Board of Trustees in January 2008. In January 2003, she was elected chair of the Potomac Watershed Roundtable, and was re-elected to a second term in January 2005.
On the state and national level, Supervisor Gross serves on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Association of Counties, and chaired its Administration of Government Committee. She currently is chair of the National Association of Counties' Solid and Hazardous Waste Subcommittee. Supervisor Gross served on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Blue Ribbon Finance Panel, and was appointed by Governor Warner to the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) for the Chesapeake Bay Program in October 2004. She was elected LGAC chair in March 2006. Supervisor Gross also was appointed to the U.S. EPA LGAC in May 2007. In January 2008, Governor Tim Kaine appointed her to the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change.
Supervisor Gross' tenure on the Board of Supervisors followed a long-term career in public service at the federal level, and extensive service to the community at the local level. Prior to her current position, Supervisor Gross served for 20 years as staff in various congressional offices, and has held an office with the United States Senate Federal Credit Union since 1985. Committed to local participation, Supervisor Gross spent more than 20 years devoted to civic activities and Parent-Teacher Associations. She served on the Board of the Lincolnia Park Civic Association from 1985 to 1997, and on the Executive Board of the Mason District Council of Civic Associations from 1988 to 1995. Involved with PTAs from the local to the state level, she has held numerous offices, including Newsletter Editor for the Fairfax County Council of PTAs. She is an Honorary Life Member of the Virginia State PTA.
Community Activism
Supervisor Gross is a founding member of the Friends of Mason District Park and continues to be an active member and officer. In 1989, she received the first Fairfax County Elly Doyle Park Service Award. Supervisor Gross was co-manager of Girl Scout Service Unit 52-4 and continues to be an active adult Scout. She also is a founding member and officer of the National Capital Chapter of the University of Oregon Alumni Association.
In 2001, she was selected as the Outstanding Elected Official by the Human Services Coalition. In 2002, Supervisor Gross was the first elected official to receive an award from the Fairfax County Human Rights Commission. In December 2003, she was awarded the Elizabeth and David Scull Metropolitan Public Service Award, the highest award given by the Council of Governments. She also was named the 2004 Elected Official of the Year by the Council of Governments Animal Services Committee. Supervisor Gross has two daughters and one stepson, and resides with her husband, Hal, in the Lincolnia section of Mason District.

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