Since establishing headquarters in Sterling in 1994 and building her home in Leesburg in 2000, Reston Limousine President and CEO Kristina Bouweiri has supported the broader Loudoun County community through her contributions to the Loudoun economy, leadership of philanthropic initiatives, and expansive volunteer and vocational service.
Her professional efforts have had a great impact on the county’s tourism and agriculture industries. She started the company’s winery tours in 2002 during the economic downturn following the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. At the time there were only a dozen or so wineries in the area, and Kristina created partnerships with the winery owners to bring residents from Northern Virginia, The District and Maryland on public bus tours to their tasting rooms. She also began donating seats on the public winery tours to hundreds of nonprofits annually – a practice that continues today.
Her contributions to Loudoun’s winery industry have also included co-hosting a wine festival with David Weinschel of Whitehall Estate and Jim Corcoran of Corcoran Vineyards. More recently, she has sponsored the Loudoun Wineries Association’s Loudoun Wine Awards and supported its promotional activities such as the inaugural Winter Wine Barrel Tasting last February. Over the years, Reston Limousine has secured regional and national publicity for Loudoun County with these wine tours, and they have become one of the company’s signature product offerings.
As the winery industry grew into what Visit Loudoun has successfully branded as DC’s Wine Country, Kristina turned the same support to the county’s growing brewery businesses. Reston Limousine was the first to launch Loudoun brewery tours in 2014 based on the model she created with the wine tours – by forging strong partnerships with brewery owners and creating experiences that emphasized the craftsmanship of the process and quality of the products.
Kristina’s personal experiences directed her company’s corporate philanthropy mission, which targets organizations that provide support to children with illnesses. However, her philanthropic and volunteer efforts have helped transform the lives of countless Loudoun residents, from families battling childhood cancers to those struggling to pay bills and put food on their tables. Through Reston Limousine, Kristina’s corporate philanthropy encompasses more than $2 million in in-kind services to charitable organizations in Loudoun County and beyond.
And as a successful CEO in a male-dominated industry who grew her business from five vehicles to a private fleet of 250 vehicles today, Kristina has over two decades of service as a role model and mentor to hundreds of women entrepreneurs and executives on a local and national scale.
Following is a detailed account of her efforts.
Groups and Organizations
Kristina has volunteered more than 1,800 hours of her time over the years as a board member including the following organizations in Loudoun County:
- Inova Loudoun Hospital Foundation (board member since 2014)
- 100WomenStrong (charter member since 2008)
- Loudoun CEO Cabinet (board member since 2005)
- Loudoun Education Foundation (board member since 2008)
- Loudoun Chamber of Commerce (former board member)
- Visit Loudoun (former board member)
- Leadership Loudoun (former board member)
Kristina serves as a member of the following regional organizations:
- George Mason University School of Business Dean’s Council (member since 2013)
- Northern Virginia Community College Foundation (board member since 2018)
- DC Chamber of Commerce (board member since 2013)
- Washington DC Economic Development Partnership (board member since 2017)
- Potomac Bancshares and BCT-Bank of Charles Town (board member since 2019)
- Children’s Science Museum (advisory board member since 2019)
- Leadership Greater Washington former board member
- Eaglebank Virginia former advisory board member
Kristina also has served on the board of the national women’s business magazine Enterprising Women since 2007.
Volunteer Service
Besides serving on the boards noted above, Kristina regularly volunteers with the Good Scouts of Loudoun County Committee and acted as the official spokesperson for the Faces of Loudoun Campaign, created by Community Foundation for Loudoun and Fauquier Counties to help raise the county’s giving level from 1.8 percent to the national average of 3 percent.
In addition to her time, Kristina personally donates to the charitable causes that she champions, such as her annual donation of $10,000 to 100WomenStrong, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life for residents of Loudoun County.
More importantly, Kristina has successfully leveraged her personal and professional networks over the years to enhance an organization’s ability to raise funds and support its beneficiaries. Kristina also has personally raised $200,000 for the Boy Scouts of Loudoun and her membership recruitment efforts for 100WomenStrong have brought in approximately $100,000 annually to county organizations, according to 100WomenStrong founder Karen Schaufeld.
“Nothing makes Kristina happier than encouraging other leaders to get engaged and make a difference in Loudoun County,” Schaufeld said in a letter recommending Kristina for a community leadership award.
In addition, Kristina has successfully led her own fundraising efforts. She co-founded two local events that donated more than $800,000 to charities in Loudoun County, and through her networking program Sterling Women, she has raised another $200,000 for Loudoun nonprofits.
In late 2018 she formed the Sterling Women Giving Circle, a new philanthropy initiative modeled on 100WomenStrong. Members are asked to contribute in $100 shares, with each share entitling the donor to one vote for a grant recipient. In May 2019, the organization issued its first donation of $10,000 to Loudoun Hunger Relief, which will use the grant to purchase a mobile food pantry vehicle to serve low-income neighborhoods in the county.
Vocational Service
Since Kristina founded Sterling Women in 2008 to provide a new monthly networking opportunity for businesswomen in the Dulles corridor, the organization has substantially transformed the personal and professional lives of its members. As the result of her Sterling Women speech where she shared her story as a 13-year-old child bride in Turkey, Zarif Sahin was asked to give a TED Talk and is now a global ambassador for women’s rights. This example was featured in an Aug. 18, 2018 story by Loudoun Now, which also recounted how Amy Dagliano was so inspired by a Sterling Women speech that she resigned from her job to start her own business. Her company, Rowan Tree, is the first women-focused coworking and cogrowth space in Virginia.
Kristina also co-founded what was formerly known as the Northern Virginia Women’s Business Conference, which took place in Loudoun County in its initial years. The conference drew hundreds of women executives and entrepreneurs who made strategic business connections and were empowered to take their companies to the next level.
On a more personal level, Kristina regularly shares her experiences and insights as a successful businesswoman at local, national and international speaking engagements. She has served on panel discussions at the Global Summit of Women and at industry events such as the International LCT Show, covering topics ranging from startup strategies to the use of social media in growing your business.
Most recently, she shared her professional journey at a special presentation hosted by the Washington Women’s Leadership Initiative, welcomed attendees at the Flourish Conference for Women in Leadership, served on a Washington Business Journal panel on the State of Small Business, and moderated a “How to Think Like a CEO” panel hosted by the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development.