The new head of the Fort Monroe Foundation is looking to turn the historic fort into a park of the future.
Aazia Mrozinski, a leader experienced in innovation and community-building, took the reins as executive director on July 1. Her job is to raise funds for Fort Monroe Authority’s programs.
Established in 2011, the foundation is the fundraising arm for conservation and education projects tied to the fort’s historic, cultural and natural resources. Fort Monroe Authority is a state entity responsible for managing and redeveloping a significant portion of the 565-acre site. Partnering with the National Park Service, the focus is adaptive reuse and historic preservation. The Virginia General Assembly allocated $50 million in its recent budget for upgrades and improvement.
Among Mrozinski’s responsibilities is raising funds for the African Landing Memorial set to open in 2026. It will commemorate the first enslaved Africans, from Angola, brought to England’s Virginia colony, landing in 1619 at Point Comfort or today’s Fort Monroe in Hampton.
Mrozinski, a 2020 Inside Business Top Forty Under 40 honoree, has been involved in the region’s entrepreneurial scene, including as executive director of ecosystem development for Hampton Roads at Techstars and as director of the Reaktor business incubator at the National Institute of Aerospace. She also created the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Regional Landmark Initiative.
Since starting the role this summer, Mrozinski said she’s learned that people have strong feelings about the former Army base and designated national monument.
“Everyone I’ve talked to has a connection — whether they lived here or had a career here,” she said. “There are lots of fans.”
For future proposed projects, the public will be able to give its input this autumn.
“Community engagement is important for this. The architects will be presenting their plans. This is a chance ask questions and give feedback,” she said.
The authority is undertaking a landscape action plan. The 2013 master plan had envisioned a 40-acre crescent-shaped waterfront park stretching from the Chamberlin to Outlook Beach and across to Mill Creek and a seven-mile waterfront trail aligned with a mobile app to offer interpretive history.
A recent development underway is Fort Monroe Lofts, expected to open in late 2026. The project is converting the 1932 Randolph Hall and Building 100, constructed in 1906, into studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Quarters No. 1, rich in presidential and Civil War history, is undergoing exterior renovation.
Mrozinski is the second new leader at the fort this year. Scott D. Martin also took over as the authority’s chief executive after Glenn Oder retired last year after 12 years. Oder was the first executive director who oversaw the fort’s transformation from a decommissioned U.S. Army post in 2011 to its current status as a public space.