Paul Larner received his JD from the University of Virginia and began his career as a real estate lawyer at Piper & Marbury in Baltimore in 1985. He switched to real estate finance in 1991 while working at The Charles E. Smith Companies in Arlington, VA, where he became Chief Financial Officer in 1998 and in 2002 Chief Operating Officer. After Smith merged with Vornado Realty Trust he became Chief Administrative Officer of the combined public company. Since 2003 he has been the principal in many real estate investment partnerships and he also manages a private investment fund dedicated to real estate income securities. He is a graduate of Haverford College (with Honors); Kings College, the University of London (with Distinction); and the University of Virginia School of Law. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger from 1978-80. In addition to formerly being Chairman of WCDS, Mr. Larner has been instrumental in the Advisory and Adjunct Faculty Programs at WCDS. He lives in Rappahannock County with his wife Rosita; they have three children. Their youngest, Daniel Larner, is a 2012 graduate of WCDS and a 2016 graduate of the University of Mary Washington.