Mayor Derrick Wood

09/05/2026

Dumfries stands with Manassas.

My heart is with the family grieving this heartbreaking loss, the individual recovering from their injuries, and everyone affected by the violence in Manassas.

Community gatherings should be places where families come together, local businesses thrive, and neighbors feel safe and connected. What happened is devastating.

To Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger, the City of Manassas, its first responders, and the entire community: your neighbors in Dumfries are standing with you during this difficult time.

We grieve with you. We pray for healing. And we stand together against violence.

09/02/2026

Congratulations on your appointment

I am deeply honored and incredibly proud to share that I have been appointed by Governor Abigail Spanberger to serve on the Virginia Board of Medical Assistance Services.
This is more than an appointment—it is an opportunity to serve, to make a difference, and to help improve the lives of Virginians across our Commonwealth.
I am grateful for the trust placed in me and excited to bring my experience, expertise, and passion for service to this important work. I look forward to listening, collaborating, and helping create meaningful solutions for the people and communities we serve.
I am humbled by this opportunity, proud to serve, and ready to get to work.
For Virginia. For our communities. For the people. 💙💛

https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/august-releases/name-1123036-en.html

09/01/2026

Today I turn 49.

And I’ve been thinking about what you do with 49 years of wins, losses, mistakes, relationships, hard decisions and lessons.

For me, the answer is simple:

You plant them. 🌱

Today I’m officially opening DWood University and planting the first seed of the Mango Tree Movement.

I didn’t start this journey trying to become a leader. I was selling barbecue.

Then I saw a problem in my community, kept wondering why somebody wasn’t doing something about it, and eventually realized:

I had to become the solution to my own problem.

That decision changed my life.

Since then I’ve built businesses, lost an election, won one as a write-in, helped transform a community people once drove past, mentored leaders, made some good decisions, made some mistakes — and learned a lot the hard way.

At 49, I don’t want to keep those lessons to myself.

So today I’m opening the doors.

If you know there’s more in you, I want you in the room.

dwooduniversity.com/bundle

09/01/2026

Tomorrow I turn 49.

And tonight, I’m thinking less about what I’ve accomplished and more about what I’ve learned.

The wins taught me.

The mistakes taught me.

Leadership taught me.

Business taught me.

Public service taught me.

People taught me.

And eventually I had to ask:

What am I supposed to do with everything I’ve learned?

I finally have my answer.

Share it.

Tomorrow we begin. 🌱

09.01.26

09/01/2026

Tomorrow, I celebrate another year of life.

But tonight, I’ve been thinking about this little boy.

Before the titles.
Before the businesses.
Before the uniform.
Before becoming Mayor.
Before I understood anything about leadership, loss, responsibility, purpose, or legacy.

Just Derrick.

He had no idea where life would take him.

No idea about the rooms he would enter, the people he would meet, the things he would build, the mistakes he would make, the people he would lose, or the lives he would eventually have the opportunity to impact.

And looking at him now, I realize something:

I’m still becoming the man he was growing into.

This birthday feels different.

I’m not just counting another year. I’m thinking about what the years have taught me and what I’m supposed to do with those lessons next.

So over the next few days, I’m going to share a few reflections from the journey.

The wins.
The lessons.
The hard seasons.
The people who shaped me.
And the vision for what comes next.

Because maybe the real goal of getting older isn’t simply to accumulate years.

Maybe it’s to become more useful with them.

Still Becoming.

Tomorrow, a new chapter begins.

DWoodUniversity.com