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Gene Sofer joined the NNV board in 2021. He has a longstanding interest in issues affecting older adults. As a partner in The Susquehanna Group, his clients include the National Association of RSVP Directors, the largest federally-funded US organization using senior volunteers and providing services to seniors. Previously, he served as Majority Associate staff on the House Budget Committee and Counsel to the House Education and Labor Committee. Gene was the first director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the Corporation for National and Community Service and served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States. Gene is a member of the Board of the Capital Jewish Museum.

Morgan Gopnik joined NNV as a volunteer in 2014 and has been helping members with a variety of tasks ever since. Morgan was elected to the board in 2018, helped shape the Village’s future as part of the Strategic Planning Committee, and served as Vice-President in 2020. Previously, she worked for 25 years in environmental science and policy, with leadership positions at the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and the Ocean Conservancy. Morgan’s understanding of our members’ needs, paired with her demonstrated leadership and commitment to our Village’s mission, are invaluable to the organization.

Sam Smith became a volunteer for NNV in 2018. He is both a Chartered Accountant and a CPA. He worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and was the Chief Financial Officer for several companies, including 14 years at the National Contract Management Association, a membership-based not for profit. He retired in 2017 and NNV is fortunate to have his financial expertise in their corner.

Merilee Janssen has been an active volunteer at NNV since 2013 and a board member since 2015. Her focus has been on expanding and improving NNV’s member services and providing support to its most vulnerable members. Since her retirement from a career as an educator, educational psychologist, and administrator in special education settings, Merilee has dedicated her life to volunteering in non-profit organizations that work to improve the lives of immigrants, older adults, and those less fortunate in our society.

Richard Avidon is a volunteer at NNV and is excited about getting more deeply involved in its mission. He teaches at Georgetown Day School, where he has been a member of the high school faculty since 1988. First trained as an attorney, he left the practice of law after two years, looking for something more satisfying. At GDS, his main areas of teaching have been US and European History, Political Philosophy, Economics, and Constitutional Law. Nine years ago, Richard went part-time at the school and has since spent time taking care of financial and other matters for his mother and mother-in-law, giving him a deep understanding of the issues facing older adults.

Shanti Conly has been an NNV volunteer since 2019. She contributed to NNV’s Communication Plan and enjoys building relationships with the members she supports. Shanti is retired from a career working internationally on HIV/AIDS and reproductive and adolescent health. She previously held leadership positions in HIV prevention within USAID and the PEPFAR program, working extensively in Africa and India. Shanti has also volunteered with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Food and Friends.

Susan Crawford was born in Philadelphia but has resided in the DC area since 1979, received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Georgetown University in 1984, and worked as a consultant in international trade from 1975 through retirement in December 2020. She continues to work periodically as a consultant in the same field. She served in the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce prior to entering the private sector as a consultant in a law firm, Mudge Rose, and subsequently in two consulting firms, Trade Resources and Marks Paneth. As a consultant from 1984, Her expertise was in the antidumping trade cases (price discrimination) before the Department of Commerce involving small, medium, and large-scale companies in Asia, North America, Europe, and South America. The work involved working with domestic and foreign companies in presenting accurate and verifiable information to the Commerce Department and in assisting in audits of the submitted information. Susan worked with the Social Justice committee at Holy Trinity Church for several years.

Judith Fien-Helfman joined the Board of NNV in 2014 and has served as Vice-President and President. During her tenure as President, she worked to enhance the organization’s strategic planning, donor stewardship, innovative programming, and collaborative partnerships. Judie is also an active volunteer who works with NNV members, plans fund-raising events, and assists her husband Jake in hosting the monthly NNV Bingo game. Judie is the founder of Concierge Philanthropy, where she works with individuals, multi-generational families, foundations, and businesses that require well-researched, strategic giving plans that incorporate a donor’s interests and values. Judie’s experience in leveraging multiple agency resources to create a continuum of services for seniors strengthens NNV’s vision of engagement and aging well. She currently reviews grants for federal aging programs, the Catalog for Philanthropy, and local foundations.

Monica Knorr joined the NNV board in 2022. Monica has devoted the past two decades to working with older persons and their caregivers in care management, nursing home and private practice settings in Vermont. She explored whether the village concept could be adapted to a very rural setting. Although learning that the distances between service providers and members were prohibitive, she stayed interested. Monica was very happy to learn NNV is alive and well when she moved to Ingleside.

Lenore Lucey joined NNV in 2014 and began volunteering in 2019. A New York architect, her career took her from private practice to architectural association management, then into construction management and ultimately to heading the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards here in DC. With early knowledge of the Village movement, she encountered NNV while volunteering at Forest Hills (back when it was still The Methodist Home) and looks forward to when in-person volunteering will resume for both organizations.

Rosemary Marcuss joined the Board of NNV at the end of 2022. She has volunteered for one year. She is grateful for the opportunities provided by NNV to serve neighbors and to learn more about our community. Rosemary is an economist by profession, now retired. She has held positions in the field in Washington, including Director of Research and Statistics at the Internal Revenue Service, Assistant Director for Tax Analysis at the Congressional Budget Office, and Deputy Director of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. She has served on the Board of the YWCA of the National Capital Area, where she was the Board Treasurer. She currently serves on the Board of the National Association for Business Economics Educational Foundation, which provides professional scholarships for young people in the field. She also serves on the Board of Miriam’s Kitchen.

Jan Solomon joined the board in 2021, having been an active volunteer and supporter of NNV for several years. Credited with the success of NNV’s Speakers’ Series and Salons, she brings extensive experience assisting non-profits, hosting and chairing events, and doing committee work. Jan retired after a long career at the US Department of Education and has served as Vice-President of the Brandeis National Alumni Board, on the Board of Trustees of the Lowell School, and as Vice-President of the Board of Trustees for Green Acres School. Jan is a docent at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and is active in the Washington Guild of Goldsmiths.

Karen Zuckerstein has been an NNV volunteer and board member since 2017. She has led outreach efforts, organized programs, and coordinated walks to keep NNV members active. Karen has also helped our members embrace technology by teaching classes, writing newsletter articles, and identifying new website content. Karen has a strong interest in the direction of public policy in DC, and currently serves as vice-chair of the Ward 3 Democrats. Before her retirement, Karen was assistant director of the Government Accountability Office where she directed efforts aimed at improving how the federal government partners with the private sector under grants and contracts.

Frances Mahncke is one of NNV’s founders and served as its first President and Treasurer. In 2008, with help from Ed Hayes of the Chevy Chase Citizens Association, Frances organized a meeting to discuss forming a Village in Northwest DC and the rest is history! After 10 years of continuous volunteer and board service, Frances was elected an Emeritus Board member for life.

Janean Mann is one of NNV’s founders and has served as President, Vice-President, Secretary and Assistant Treasurer. She has been an energetic volunteer since the beginning and has become a steady presence in the lives of many NNV members. Janean is a retired Foreign Service Officer, specializing in Africa, the Middle East and Counterterrorism at the State Department. During a 12-year stint at the U.S. House of Representatives, she worked on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and as Chief of Staff for Rep. John H. Buchanan, Jr. From 1966-1969, Janean was an award-winning journalist and assistant city editor for the Birmingham Post Herald in Birmingham, Alabama.

Stewart Reuter served as NNV's Treasurer for 6 years. His experience in leadership and non-profit accounting were invaluable in stewarding NNV's finances. Stew holds an MBA, was Treasurer and Business Manager of St. John's College High School for nine years, and Treasurer of the Navy League of the U.S. for five. He is a retired U.S Navy Submarine Officer, having made 14 deterrent missile patrols in four nuclear subs. He moved to the DC area in 1981.

Jo Ann Tanner is one of NNV’s founders and served as its Secretary for many years. Jo Ann wrote and edited the first NNV Volunteer Handbook and publicity materials. For much of the organization’s first decade, Jo Ann conducted the volunteer training program and organized the annual reception honoring NNV volunteers. As a social worker, Jo Ann worked with the elderly and people with disabilities; as a volunteer and Board member with the Anchor Mental Health Association in DC, she supported local residents with mental health issues. In addition, Jo Ann acquired extensive experience as an editor, writer, and publications manager for small newspapers, publishing companies, and The Washington Post, culminating in ownership of two publication production companies.