Hugo Schmidt
Hugo joined the Village at the end of February and moved to the West End six years ago with his wife, Diana. Hugo practiced dentistry for 40 years in Newport Beach, Calif. He and Diana joined the Peace Corps in 2000 and spent 11 years overseas in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. “I had the opportunity to teach dentistry in many countries while in the Peace Corps,” Hugo said.
Hugo says his life has been one of adventure. He was an Air Force bomber pilot and flew combat missions in the Korean War. His last mission was also the last mission of the war on July 17, 1953.
He and Diana enjoy travel, canoeing and cycling. For the past three years he has especially enjoyed taking Olli classes at American University. In his younger days, Hugo was a competitive surfer, cyclist and small boat sailor. He has three adult children and five grandchildren.
“I joined the Village to participate in the social activities,” he says.
Bari and Richard Bienia
Bari and Richard returned in 2007 to their condo in the West End after roaming the globe with the State Department’s Foreign Service for 19 years. That adventure was a midlife career change, and before the Foreign Service, Bari and Richard lived in Norfolk, Va., raising two daughters while teaching at the Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Their daughter Holly lives in Leesburg, (“not too far, not too close”), and daughter Leigh is in Massachusetts, an Amtrak ride away. They have come full circle: Bari grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, and Richard was born in the Columbia Hospital for Women.
“Now, the Village makes us feel more a part of a community,” they said. “Also, it’s yet another vehicle to learn and appreciate more of the world.”
Martha Gil-Montero
Martha has lived in Foggy Bottom for almost 40 years, and says that joining the Village has “added an extra layer to my sense of belonging.” She was born and educated in Cordoba, Argentina, and then left to study German in Germany.
Martha speaks six languages and is a writer and translator. Upon moving to Foggy Bottom, she met Joseph Page, (also a Villager), when he was in need of a translator and a wife. “I translated his best-selling biography of Peron, and we soon married."
Martha calls herself a generalist, “by education and inclination,” which is reflected in the subjects of the MOOCs she has enjoyed taking in the last decade: Archaeology, Biology, China, Denmark's H.C. Andersen, English Country Houses, etc. She enjoys the film program of the National Gallery of Art, and is a member of the circle of "Amici of Gianandrea Noseda," the new conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra and a fellow Foggy Bottomer.
Nancy G. Porter
Nancy moved to Foggy Bottom in late 1983, and except for three years living in St. Michael’s, MD, she has livedinthe neighborhood ever since. Her pastprofessional experiencesinclude Director of Development for nonprofit institutions such as The University of Denver, Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City, the Phoenix Symphony; and in Washington, Tudor Place and the Council of Scientific Society Presidents. She also served as a Special Assistant in the White House Office of Policy Development.
Among Nancy’s many volunteer activitieshave been docent and Chair of the Docent Volunteer Council at the National Gallery of Art, docent at Octagon House, and various activities for Junior League volunteer committees and at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington. Her favorite pastimes now include walking, birding, bicycling, enjoying local foods and exploring the history in nearby outdoor areas. Nancy enjoys reading about art history and writing a history of her family's genealogy.
“I joined FBWE for its interesting activities, to meet and socialize with its accomplished variety of members; and to be able to use its many benefits to allow me, as a widow who lives alone, to be able to 'independently age in place,” Nancy says. “And, my children -- scattered across the country as they are -- approve, and appreciate what the Village can contribute to my wish to remain here in the city I have called home for so many years.”