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Foggy Bottom West End Village

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Meet some new members

Published on 2/26/2018
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.”
New Member
Alan Andreasen

Alan is a long-time resident of Great Falls, and has recently joined the Village as a Nonresident Social Member. He is actively involved in the Village’s survey of neighborhood residents designed to help increase our membership. He is married to Jean Manning, who serves on the Village’s Board of Directors.

Alan is a career academic – having retired just over two years ago from his position as a Professor of Marketing at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He is a world leader in the application of marketing to nonprofit organizations, social marketing, and the market problems of disadvantaged consumers. He is the author or editor of 18 books and numerous articles. Alan has advised, carried out research, and conducted seminars for the World Bank, American Cancer Society, AARP, American Red Cross, and public health programs in the developing world, among others.

His previous academic appointments included the State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Illinois, UCLA, and the University of Connecticut. Before academia, Alan worked for two years at General Motors of Canada (he was a Canadian then) and, prior to that, driving a parts truck (and being picked on by the mechanics) at his father’s automobile dealership.

Alan enjoys golf, reading, gallery-going, and walking his two Cotons.

Leslie Barrett Rothblat
Leslie grew up in Long Island, graduated from the University of Connecticut and did her graduate work at San Jose State in California. In 2006 she retired from Montgomery County Public Schools where she had been an ESOL teacher for many years. That same year, Leslie and her husband Larry sold their Bethesda home of 35 years and moved to The Columbia Residences in the West End.

Leslie happily found that adjustment to urban life and retirement was not a difficult one. She is able to continue to enjoy gardening by tending the plants on her terrace and at her beach house in Delaware. For exercise and transportation, Leslie walks everywhere. Retirement has offered her more time to devote to artistic endeavors, and watercolor painting is a joy she has discovered. (Village volunteer Lynn Cates photographed Leslie next to some of her watercolors.)

Leslie and her husband also enjoy hiking and cooking with their son and daughter-in-law who live in the Metro area. As a new member of the Village, Leslie has enjoyed meeting other members and participating in various activities. The Wednesday morning Yoga Class is one of her favorites.

John Barnett
 
John moved to Foggy Bottom in 1966, left in 1978 and then moved back to the neighborhood in 1999. He has been here ever since. John was in the transportation field most of his career and wound up retiring from the Postal Service Headquarters in 1989. John is one of our newest members, having joined the Village in January.
           
John says he leads a simple life of a little periodical reading; walking; volunteering at the Smithsonian and at George Washington University Hospital; and he says, “Just minding my own business.”

John says he joined the Village because he may need a little help from time to time with transportation, and he is looking forward to meeting folks he might not otherwise have gotten a chance to know.

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:: Foggy Bottom West End Village: 
2430 K Street, NW : Washington, DC 20037 : 202-333-1327 ::