About Us
A nonprofit community of neighbors helping neighbors age well at home since 2007.
About Capitol Hill Village
Capitol Hill Village is a nonprofit established in 2007 serving older adults in Capitol Hill and surrounding DC neighborhoods. We’re one of 74 Villages in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area and one of nearly 300 nationwide, all dedicated to helping seniors age in place within their community.
We connect older adults to volunteer help, social activities, educational programs, transportation, and more — everything you need to thrive at home.
Our Vision
Older adults thriving in a vibrant, inclusive, and age-friendly community.
Our Mission
Capitol Hill Village helps older adults navigate and embrace the opportunities of aging. Through the efforts of volunteers, members, partners, and staff we provide a wide-range of services and programs that promote the well-being of all older adults in our community.
2007
Founded
300+
Villages Nationwide
500+
Events Annually
Our Values
Volunteerism
We are committed to providing excellent, timely, and relevant programs and services. This dedication spurs us to go “above and beyond” on behalf of older adults. We are also focused on outcomes and on helping older adults achieve their goals, however they measure success.
Respect
We always treat each other with respect and dignity; we reject ageism; we actively listen; we recognize that each of us has different life experiences, interests, and abilities; and we seek to understand and mitigate how power differences impact our relationships and communication.
Excellence
Service is fundamental to who we are. It underpins all of our efforts, including our volunteer programs, member-led activities, and the work of staff. We constantly seek ways to help others and reduce barriers to asking for and receiving help. Members are encouraged to both provide and receive services.
Responsiveness
Our members can depend on us. We are here when they need us and are responsive to their needs.
Service
We believe that our membership is rich in talent, capacity and resourcefulness, and that our commitment to inviting volunteers to help meet the needs of other older adults and the organization is among our greatest strengths.
Teamwork
Our impact is greatest when we work together toward our common goals. We value collaboration and strive to help each other succeed. We appreciate the many contributions of our members, staff, volunteers, and partners.
Inclusivity
We are a member-driven organization that values diversity, equity, and inclusiveness. We actively fight racism and all other forms of inequity. People of all races, genders, cultures, and sexual orientations are welcomed, heard, and play integral roles within the Village.
Kindness
We show kindness and compassion to ourselves and to others. We strive to communicate kindness through every interaction someone has with the Village. We are caring individuals that seek to understand others’ needs and to provide support with kindness and empathy.
Innovation
The Village is itself an innovation in how older adults experience their elderhood. We love to learn, to improve, and to innovate. We embrace opportunities and problems alike, and are empowered to take initiative to address them in creative ways.
Joyfulness
We take joy in our community and our work and strive to bring joy to those we work with. We acknowledge and celebrate each other’s success.
Our Staff
Judy Berman
Executive Director
Read Judy's Bio
Judy Berman is honored to serve Capitol Hill Village as Executive Director. She has been a resident of Capitol Hill since 2001, and brings a broad range of experience to Capitol Hill Village. She has studied and taught American literature, trained healthcare workers and police on intimate partner violence and, since 2006, did policy research and advocacy on a range of economic, social, and health related issues in DC, including long term care, healthy housing, education and services for people with disabilities, and workforce development.
She has a B.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Judy is an avid consumer of audiobooks (she’s been a member of Audible for so long she still has a separate user name!), a student of Afro-Brazilian music, and has as many four-legged members of her household as two-legged.
Mary Bloodworth
Director of Operations
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After five years as a volunteer at CHV, Mary joined the staff and is currently the Director of Operations. She brings experience in DC senior services, including positions at the Department of Aging and Community Living lead agencies Seabury Resources for Aging in Ward 6 and TERRIFIC, Inc. in Ward 1. Mary also had a career in nonprofit information technology, leading the IT department at the Folger Shakespeare Library, and also at the Capital Area Food Bank.
She has lived on Capitol Hill since 1995, and currently resides in northeast DC with her husband and their dog. Mary has an MPA from the University of Colorado at Denver. In her free time, she loves paddling in a kayak on the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.
Veronica Ferris
Volunteer and Administrative Coordinator
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As CHV's Volunteer and Administrative Coordinator, Veronica enjoys supporting members regularly via phone and email and enjoys coordinating volunteers. Before joining CHV, she worked with older adults in the DC area at both At Home in Alexandria (Alexandria, VA's village) and Iona Senior Services.
Prior to that, she worked in elementary school literacy programming, including during her AmeriCorps service. Veronica also served in the Peace Corps in Namibia from 2015-2017 as a Community Economic Development volunteer. Veronica holds a Master's in International Development from American University and a Bachelor's in Economics and Environmental Science from the College of William and Mary.
In her free time, Veronica enjoys spending time with family and friends and being outside. She enjoys nature photography and birding.
Lizzy Kosin
Director of Care Services
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As Capitol Hill Village’s Director of Care Services, Lizzy is fortunate to be able to work in the same neighborhood she calls home. She started her career in DC after graduating from The University of Chicago with her Master’s degree in social work. Lizzy has worked in a variety of settings including community mental health, schools, intensive mental health programs, and private practice. With her time at CHV, Lizzy has loved being able to help Member’s figure out their plan to tackle challenges and thrive as they age.
Outside of work, she enjoys learning new recipes with her husband and making sure their cuddly orange tabby, Winston, has plenty of love (although it seems he can never get enough). On weekends, Lizzy loves going to a comedy show with friends or taking long walks through the neighborhood and listening to her favorite podcasts.
Alex Smith
Care Services Specialist
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Alex Smith is proud to serve as a Care Services Specialist with Capitol Hill Village. Alex most recently worked as an outpatient clinician at Medstar Washington Hospital Center. She has prior experience working with adults with severe mental illness, unhoused women, and domestic violence survivors. Alex brings her passion for social work and for working with older adults to CHV.
Alex has a BA from Georgetown University and an MSW from University of Maryland, Baltimore. She is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker. She is a Pittsburgh native but has lived in DC for the past 10 years. She lives with her husband, and spends her free time hiking, making music, cooking, and bird watching!
Pamela Johnson
Peer Health Outreach Specialist
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Pamela, a native Washingtonian, is honored to work for Capitol Hill Village. Pamela has 20 years of experience in the nonprofit housing industry, during which she served as the Assistant Director of the Manna Homeownership Center. Pamela also worked with AmeriCorps as a Programs Assistant and Community Outreach Liaison with City Gate; in which she engaged with 80 youth from at risk communities in Ward 8.
In Pamela’s role as the Peer Health Outreach Specialist, she successfully manages the CHV Help Desk, located onsite at the Capitol Hill Towers apartments for older adults with disabilities and seniors.
She is responsible for collaborating with CHV members to develop Affinity Groups, access resources, arranging transportation, and arranging workshops focused on health and wellness, socializing, and isolation.
Ashvita Vasireddy
Community Mobility & Wellness Manager
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Ashvita is excited to help older adults stay active, connected, and supported as Capitol Hill Village’s Community Mobility & Wellness Program Manager. She brings a background in public health infrastructure and community health, and a deep commitment to programs that help older adults live well and independently. At CHV, she collaborates with members, volunteers, and local partners to enhance transportation access, social engagement, and aging in place.
Ashvita earned her MPH in Epidemiology from The George Washington University and previously served with AmeriCorps on community service and environmental stewardship projects. Originally from Massachusetts, she now calls DC home. Outside of work, Ashvita enjoys thrifting and upcycling clothes, trying cuisines from around the world, and exploring DC’s vibrant live music scene.
Sophia Ross
Digital Media & Grant Program Strategist
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Sophia Ross is proud to serve as the Digital Media and Grant Program Strategist for Capitol Hill Village. Sophia developed a passion for working with older adults from their experiences in continuing care retirement communities and with the Alzheimer’s Association. Sophia is also an advocate for LGBT* older adults. They graduated from Towson University with a BS in Family and Human Services. Sophia manages Capitol Hill Village’s social media accounts and website.
Sophia also manages two grants, one for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and for the Washington DC Department of Aging and Community Living.
Our Board
Cecilia Albert
Chair
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Cecilia (Ceci) C. Albert has lived in Capitol Hill for over 30 years. She became a Social Member of CHV in May of 2019. As a volunteer, she helped fit out the new CHV office, is a sector lead in the COVID-19 membership outreach program, and is making masks for use by CHV members.
Ceci works part time as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University. Ceci retired from active duty in the U.S. Air Force in 1999 after a career of almost 27 years.
Ceci’s avocation since 2003 has been costume and prop design for local Community Theater. She has predominantly supported productions by the St Mark’s Players on Capitol Hill and the Little Theater of Alexandria in Old Town. She holds a Master of Science, Computer Science from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics from Sweet Briar College.
Stan Soloway
Vice Chair
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Stan Soloway is the CEO of Celero Strategies, a business strategy consultancy. He was previously the CEO of the Professional Services Council and served as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense during the Clinton Administration.
Stan is also a Fellow and Vice Chair of the National Academy of Public Administration, and a member of the Defense Business Board, which advises the Secretary of Defense on management and operational issues.
He is also a Principal at the Partnership for Public Service, where he serves as a senior advisor to government executives and served for six years on the board of AmeriCorps (formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service).
He and his wife Kathleen have lived on Capitol Hill for more than 40 years.
Hank Brothers
Treasurer
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Hank Brothers practiced law in DC for 40 years, the majority of that time as a partner in a large law firm, focusing on commercial and multifamily real estate finance and development. He is now semi-retired, with a solo practice focusing on housing and community development matters, mostly pro bono.
He has been involved in DC Bar leadership and has received awards for his work in that arena. He has served on the board of a DC charter school and on the board of DC Appleseed, which brings to bear litigation, teamwork and advocacy to help make DC a better place to live and work.
Hank has been involved in Scouting since 1965, continuing to the present day as a leader, hiker and camper; he is an Eagle Scout and was honored with the Vigil (Order of the Arrow, an honor society within Scouting) in his youth; as an adult, he has been accorded top District and Council honors. Hank met his wife, Cathy Landry, when they both were undergrads at Tulane University and Newcomb College; they have lived in Capitol Hill since 1989.
Susan Sarfati
Secretary
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Susan Sarfati is proud to be an association management professional. She succeeded in helping to create high performance teams, and organizations to achieve extraordinary results. For 25+ years, she served as executive staff and CEO of the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives, the founding CEO of The Center for Association Leadership and Executive Vice President of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the largest and most prestigious organization in the nonprofit sector with 45,000 + members in the U.S. and over 50 countries. Members include chief executives and management staff of organizations such as AARP, American Medical Association, National Education Association, International Red Cross. Later in her career, she taught best practices to nonprofit professionals in countries including but not limited to Bangladesh, India, South Africa, Jordan, and Serbia to name a few.
She was named Non-profit Times Executive of the Year; recipient of the Spirit of Hospitality Award from Destination Marketing Association International; recipient of a Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Organization for Community and Justice; and was the first recipient of the ASAE Lifetime Achievement Award. Susan received a B.A. from the City College of New York and a M. Ed from Coppin State University.
She lives in Capitol Hill with her husband and has two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren.
Ann Manheimer
Board Member
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Dr. Ann Manheimer, D.P.A has been an active Capitol Hill Village volunteer for over ten years. She’s collaborated with fellow volunteers, members and staff to create and provide programs, including the popular Wellness Cafes and Memoirs Affinity Group, to support the health and engagement of Village members.
Prior to serving the Village, Ann provided over 30 years of leadership at the U.S. Department of Education. In a variety of roles, including education program specialist, program auditor, and as the agency’s lead internal management consultant, Ann was recognized for her contributions to ensure that at-risk students could benefit from the education grant and loan programs created to help them learn and thrive.
Currently, when Ann is not traveling, she manages Ann's Capitol Hill Bed and Bichon, a small dog-boarding business, at her Capitol Hill home. Her co-hostess is a rescued Bichon Frise named Princess.
Ann also manages a rental property in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. She holds Doctoral and Master’s Degrees of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and George Washington University, respectively. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Maryland.
Barbara Fox
Board Member
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Barbara Fox is a biotechnology executive and board director with more than three decades of experience building and guiding organizations from founding through successful outcomes. She currently serves on the board of three companies developing medications for the treatment of cancer and vascular diseases and has served as founder or CEO of four biotech companies. Earlier in her career, she was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from MIT and trained as a postdoctoral fellow in immunology at the NIH.
Dr. Fox is deeply committed to mentoring and to helping others succeed. She currently mentors entrepreneurs at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, previously served as an executive coach for the MassNextGen Initiative, and was a director of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. She and her husband moved to Capitol Hill in 2024 and many CHV members know her through her leadership of the Seniors Defending Democracy affinity group.
Christine Healey
Board Member
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Christine Healey had an almost 30 year career in various Congressional staff and counsel positions, working on a range of national security, intelligence, and domestic issues, in both the House of Representatives and Senate. Most recently, in 2022, she was of counsel to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. She also served as a senior counsel on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission).
Chris served three terms as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the Capitol Hill neighborhood of ANC 6C01, first elected in November 2016. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Georgetown University Law Center.
In 1991, she and her husband Ryan Brown, founder and artistic director of Opera Lafayette, settled on Capitol Hill, where they raised their two sons.
James Kennedy
Board Member
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Mr. James Kennedy is a native New Yorker who relocated to Washington, DC in 1974. He came to Washington with his oldest child and wife to join his sister who had resided in Washington, DC for ten years prior to his arrival.
After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, at Manhattan College in New York City, he came to Washington to join an organization called the United Planning Organization (UPO). As a Counselor/Employment Specialist his motivation was to help marginalized people obtain a better quality of life educationally, economically, and socially in the metropolitan area.
On his journey, he acquired skills as a tax preparer with H&R Block. He holds Certifications in Paralegal Studies, Courtroom Mediation, entrepreneurship, training people to research on how to open new businesses (National Federation of Teaching Entrepreneurship) in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and Sign Language.
James is also a founding member of an organization called Concerned Black Men (CBN), whose motto was caring for our youth. James has also directed a program called Project 2000 which works with youth in depressed areas in southeast to obtain academic achievement from 1st grade to an undergraduate degree in college. James has further worked with the Center for Youth Services as a GED Instructor for youth that had dropped out of school that had been referred by Court services.
James is currently an Ordained Pastor who conducts bible study and Sunday Church Services at the Capitol Hill Towers Community Room Church. His expertise is in the area of program, design, development and evaluation. James is happy to be a part of Capitol Hill Village and its Board of Directors.
Julie Washburn
Board Member
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Julie Washburn has been a Human Resources professional with a strong foundation in HR operations, recruitment coordination, and employee lifecycle support.
She is passionate about fostering inclusive, values-driven workplaces that align people operations with organizational impact.
Kathleen O'Leary
Board Member
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Kathleen O’Leary is a recovering lawyer and former utility executive. She spent 37 years working in various segments of the energy industry. After retiring, Kathleen was a docent at the Supreme Court from 2017-2022.
Laura Marks
Board Member
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Laura Marks is Assistant Vice President for Community and Government Relations at The American University. She is fluent in DC government, federal higher education policy, community engagement, and land use planning.
Prior to joining AU, she served at Events DC, the Southwest Business Improvement District, and seven years as Chief of Staff for Ward 6 DC Council Member Charles Allen.
Leniqua’dominique Jenkins
Board Member
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Leniqua’dominique Jenkins is a public affairs manager skilled in digital marketing and social media platforms. She served in the office of Council Member Anita Bonds; wrote a monthly column for the East of the River News; created, maintained and grew a home health care agency; and served as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Ward 7. And, she self-published a best-selling children’s book, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.
Louisa Smith
Board Member
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Louisa was born in Vancouver, Canada and then grew up in California, graduating from UC Berkeley, and then UC Davis law school.
After graduation, she became an attorney with the Office of the Solicitor at the US Department of Labor (DOL). Intending to only stay a couple years and then fly back to friends and family in California, Louisa was unexpectedly charmed into staying longer in DC, in particular finding Capitol Hill the best place in the world for her to live.
Here she raised a family with her husband Peter and with help from the whole “village”, including her mom, Carolyn Rondthaler, who is a Capitol Hill Village member.
Louisa has volunteered at Brent Elementary, Capital Rowing Club, and at All Souls Church, and she looks forward to volunteering at CHV as a member of the board and in whatever other capacity she can be of service. She will have more free time for such volunteering after the end of this year when her early retirement from DOL takes effect.
Peter May
Board Member
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Peter G. May, AIA retired from the National Park Service in 2023, having served for more than 15 years as Associate Regional Director for Lands and Planning for the National Capital Region. There he was responsible for real property operations, major planning efforts, government affairs, and the establishment of new memorials on parkland in Washington, DC. He previously worked for the District of Columbia government, the Architect of the Capitol, Weinstein Associates Architects, Quinn Evans Architects, the National Building Museum, and the Warner Theatre. He served as a federal representative on the District of Columbia Zoning Commission for more than 18 years, and he represented the Secretary of the Interior on the National Capital Planning Commission for 15 years.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Georgetown University and Master of Architecture from the University of Maryland. He and his wife Tina have lived on Capitol Hill since 1982, where they raised their three sons.
Richard Hoagland
Board Member
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Ambassador Richard Hoagland was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, after a decade of service in South and Central Asia.
He is currently chairman of the board of directors and director of policy and security programs at the Caspian Policy Center in Washington.
Robert Cooke
Board Member
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Robert Cooke has been focused on affordable housing and public health. He served on the Manna Inc. Board of Directors, Housing Advocacy Team, Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, and DC Health Department Community Outreach Health and Advocacy Committee.
Rob is an enthusiastic supporter of CHV, and as a volunteer has brought many talents to Village events—music, flower arranging, photography, and decorating.
Geoff Lewis
Emeritus Board Member
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Geoff is a past Board Member and one of the founders of CHV, having seen the model on Beacon Hill in Boston. Geoff remains active in advisory roles.
Strategic Plan 2023-2028
Our strategic plan outlines our goals and priorities for serving the Capitol Hill community over the next five years.