Hawkins, the former president and CEO of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP), has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in Philadelphia and a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering, with a second major in economics, from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. He is also a former senior managing director of the USAA Real Estate Co. Hawkins served on active duty as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army for two years with deployments to Korea and a 12-month tour in Vietnam. He was the architect of the AEDP's Capitol Post initiative, which provides mentoring, training and business connections to returning veterans.