Each year, the Volunteer Fairfax Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual who, over the course of at least 15 years, has made significant contributions to Fairfax County through extraordinary service to the community. This year, the Volunteer Service Awards Selection Committee has selected Kathryn Falk for her community impact and regional leadership as Vice President & Market Leader for Cox Communications.
Nearly a lifetime resident of Fairfax County, Kathryn is a graduate of Fairfax County Public Schools and for more than 23 years has been an executive with Cox Communications. Kathryn has led Cox’s commitments to the community and served in many capacities from leading day-to-day operations of the business, customer experience, government and public affairs, media relations, community relations, and Cox’s charitable giving. Giving back is a core part of Cox Communication’s mission – “To Build A Brighter Future for the Next Generation.” Founded more than 125 years ago and still owned by the Cox family, the company has committed to positively impacting 34 million lives by 2034.
During Kathryn’s tenure, she has led efforts to award Cox Charities grants to 8 local nonprofits to support their important work in the community. These were made possible by employee contributions and winners were selected by Cox employees.
Cox has shown strong community support through the Connect2Compete (C2C) program, introduced over 15 years ago in Fairfax County. This initiative offers broadband for $9.95 a month to families with children in K-12 who qualify for free or reduced lunch, SNAP, or TANF programs. Despite multiple speed increases, the price has remained the same since 2009, ensuring every family can benefit from home internet. To promote C2C, Kathryn has hosted a local summit for the past two years, bringing together non-profit and government leaders to educate organizations serving eligible communities.
Her leadership has inspired hundreds of local Cox employees to get involved in the community, collectively tallying 875 volunteer hours last year. Additionally, they donate to food banks through an annual food drive, support local parks with trash clean-ups, and ran a campaign to honor park employees. Her team also partnered with the Captain Planet Foundation to donate seven gardens to local elementary schools, teaching students about growing food and good nutrition. Furthermore, through a comprehensive partnership, Cox supports every Boys & Girls Club in Fairfax County with financial aid, volunteer time, and this year, they donated 200 backpacks filled with school supplies to help the clubs start the school year right.
Kathryn was honored to be included in the Washington Business Journal Class of 2021 “Women Who Mean Business” and was selected by Virginia Business Magazine to be in its “Women in Leadership” Class of 2022. In 2024, she was inducted into the Fairfax County Public Schools Hall of Fame.
Kathryn is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Inova Health System and is on the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (NVC) board where she is a Past Chair. She is also a past Chair of Educate Fairfax, the foundation for Fairfax County Public Schools. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tysons Community Alliance, formerly the Tysons Partnership, as well as the Broadband Association of Virginia (VCTA) and she is a member of The Economic Club of Washington.
She is extremely proud that she and her team were recognized last year with a special commendation from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on our employee philanthropy & volunteerism.
Kathryn is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she studied politics and communications and lives in Fairfax County with her husband and daughter.