Bret Schardein
County Administrator
Bret Schardein assumed the position of County Administrator for Powhatan County starting March 1st, 2023. He has been serving as Interim County Administrator since October 2022. This was Mr. Schardein’s second term as Interim County Administrator, having filled that role in 2020 as well. Schardein brings over thirteen years of local government experience, the last seven of which were in various roles with Powhatan County including Director of Community Development and Deputy County Administrator. He has worked in other Virginia localities including King William and Cumberland.
Schardein earned his undergraduate degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and his Master of Urban and Regional Planning also from VCU. He also attended the National Association of Counties High Performance Leadership Academy. Mr. Schardein holds certifications from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and the Virginia Association of Zoning Officials as a Certified Zoning Administrator (CZA). He was the 2021 recipient of the VLGMA Marshaw Memorial Award as an outstanding Deputy County Administrator.
