CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has appointed the current Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, Stanley Meador, as the Commonwealth’s next Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.

Meador has a long career in public safety service, first as a Special Agent with the Virginia Alcohol and Beverage Control Authority starting in 1997.

The Governor-elect’s announced noted he responded the September 11, 2001 Pentagon attack, for which his service merited a Virginia “Declaration of Valor”.

The release’s career rundown said, “The following year, Meador joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent. He served more than a decade in the Seattle and Las Vegas Field Offices, investigating violent crime, gangs, and transnational and international criminal enterprises. He spearheaded a Safe Streets Violent Crime and Gang Task Force and an Indian Country Safe Trails Task Force in Washington State. For his efforts in dismantling the largest gang criminal enterprise in Spokane at the time, he received a Sheriff’s Star Award.

In 2013, Meador was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent at FBI Headquarters, where he supported Middle East operations before becoming the Chief of Asia operations in 2014. In this capacity, he led 11 international FBI offices and expanded FBI diplomatic engagement and strategic program development in more than 20 countries across Asia.

From 2015 to 2018, Meador led the FBI’s Resident Agency in Wilmington, North Carolina, managing all major investigative programs and task forces. He received a National Association of Police Organizations “Top Cop” honorable mention for his leadership over a large-scale kidnapping case.

In 2019, Meador was promoted to Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge in the Philadelphia Field Office, the FBI’s sixth-largest division. He led the office’s largest branch, overseeing all crisis response, community outreach, intelligence, technology, and security operations.

In 2020, he was selected to return to Headquarters to serve as Chief of Staff to the FBI Deputy Director and manage the Bureau’s highest national security priorities and strategic initiatives, affecting more than 37,000 employees worldwide.

In 2021, Meador was named Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office, overseeing all the division’s national security and criminal investigations. In this role, Meador strengthened relationships with law enforcement partners across the Commonwealth, enhanced crisis response, and prioritized public engagement, community outreach, and private-sector partnerships. He also led the law enforcement executive’s FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Executive Board. Meador was elected by his fellow FBI field executives to chair the FBI’s Special Agent-in-Charge Advisory Committee, representing all FBI field executive leadership.

In 2023, he was awarded the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police “President’s Award,” which recognizes police professionals who have served as a key asset to the Virginia law enforcement community.”

The Galax native has a Bachelor in Criminal Justice from Roanoke College, and a master’s in communications from American University.