Chris Peace

Christopher Kilian Peace (born November 16, 1976, in Richmond, Virginia) is an American politician of the Republican Party. Since 2006 he has been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He currently represents the 97th district in the Middle Peninsula, made up of New Kent County plus parts of six other counties.

Now in his third term, Peace was named the State Police Association and Virginia Sheriff’s Association legislative Rookie of the Year in 2006. The Virginia Assisted Living Association (2007), the Virginia Council for Private Education and the Virginia Optometric Association (2009), and the Virginia Housing Coalition and Virginia Retail Merchant’s Association (2010) have honored Peace for his legislative service.One of Peace's notable efforts has been towards open education, particularly through his work with the Virginia Open Education Foundation.

Speaker of the House William J. Howell likewise recognized Peace’s leadership skills and appointed him to several statewide boards important to his district: Joint Commission on Health Care, Virginia Commission on Youth, Mandated Benefits Advisory Commission, State Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education, Human Services & Public Safety Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC), Human Services & Welfare Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Bicentennial of War of 1812 Commission, and the Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission. He is also a member of several legislative groups namely the Conservative Caucus, Rural Caucus and Tourism Caucus.

Peace has always been an active member of his community serving it in a volunteer capacity through these statewide and community groups: LEAD VA Statewide Board; Library of Virginia Foundation Statewide Board; Metro Richmond Habitat for Humanity Board; Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership Statewide Board; Hanover Republican Committee; Heritage and History of Hanover County, Inc.; Hanover County Historical Society; Hanover Association of Businesses/Chamber of Commerce; Hanover Safe Place; Hanover Ruritan Club; Mechanicsville Businessmen’s Association; New Kent and Caroline Chambers of Commerce; Sons of the American Revolution; Tad DuPriest Foundation for the Association for the Support of Children with Cancer; Washington and Henry Fraternal Lodge and the Scottish Rite. Peace was recently named Chairman of the Advisory Council for the War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, Vice Chairman of the Commission on Youth and Vice Chairman on the Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission.

Prior to his public service in the legislature, Peace worked at McGuire Woods Consulting, a national public affairs and public relations firm. He began his public affairs career by working as a legislative aide to then-Delegate Eric Cantor (now 7th District U.S. Congressman, and as a law clerk for the Richmond City Attorney and Virginia’s Attorney General. Currently Peace consults for Smithfield Foods, Inc. and is an active member of the bar association of the District of Columbia. He has taught legal studies as an adjunct professor of legal studies at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. An avid history buff, Peace serves as the executive director of Historic Polegreen Church Foundation, a historic preservation non-profit foundation, and established the Road to Revolution State Heritage Trail to honor the life and influence of Virginia’s first governor Patrick Henry.

Peace graduated from St. Christopher’s School, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Hampden-Sydney College and earned his law degree from the University of Richmond. In 2005, Style Weekly magazine named Peace one of the “Top 40 Under 40. He is an alumnus of Leadership Metro Richmond and University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. Sorensen presented Peace its 2008 alumni award for “Expression of Ideals.”

Along with their two children, and two dogs, the Peaces make their home in Mechanicsville and attend a local Episcopal Church.