Marlene Berlin, Treasurer
Marlene Berlin is the Editor of the Forest Hills Connection, a community e-magazine that reports on news, nature, people, and happenings in Forest Hills and Van Ness area. She has been an active community member since 1989 when she moved to Forest Hills and organized the neighborhood to renovate its playground. Her two daughters attended Murch, Deal and Wilson, and she lead the Local School Restructuring Teams at Deal and Wilson. She then went on to become a leader of pedestrian advocacy heading up Connecticut Avenue Pedestrian Action and pushing for the DC Council establishment of the DC Pedestrian Advisory Council. She advanced the establishment of the Van Ness Main Street and was member of its precursor, the Van Ness Vision Committee.
Reginal Felton
Mr. Felton is a resident of Van Ness and a member of the UDC Board of Trustees since January 2010. Although a native Washingtonian, Mr. Felton spent his early years in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Felton is President of Felton Associates, L.L.C., providing consulting and lobbying services to not-for-profit organizations and local school boards in the areas of public policy, communications and organizational leadership. Prior to establishing his firm, he served as the Assistant Executive Director for Congressional Relations at the National School Boards Association, Alexandria, VA. At NSBA he was responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive legislative strategies representing the interests of local school boards from across the nation on Capitol Hill and with the Administration.
Felton is very much involved in the community, serving as Vice President, Board of Directors of the George B. Thomas Learning Academy, a nonprofit tutorial program serving over 3,000 students; on the Board of Directors of the Rudolph W. Snowden Memorial Scholarship Fund, providing postsecondary scholarships; and as a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Felton holds a B.A. degree in sociology from Howard University; an M.S. degree in urban studies from Tulane University; and holds certificates from the Federal Executive Institute, the Brooking Institution, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Zachary Friedlis
Zachary Friedlis is Vice President of Leasing at Saul Centers Inc. where he has worked since 2009. He focuses on retail leasing of Saul Centers portfolio of close to 10 million square feet. He works with local, regional, and national tenants to keep the company’s mix of Grocery Anchored, Regional, and Mixed Use Properties leased up. He is also a resident of upper northwest and lives just blocks from the Van Ness Main Street. With Saul Centers having a trophy property in the VNMS and being a neighbor he dually interested in the success and vibrancy of the neighborhood. He is thrilled to be working on this creative and diligent board with the rest of the VNMS Board Members.
Sally Gresham
Sally Gresham is a 25 year resident of Forest Hills and has her own consulting company, Gresham & Associates, specializing in fine residential interior design and program and property management. She most recently served as an elected official for the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for 3F04. She was a founding member of the Ad Hoc Van Ness Vision Committee which has become Van Ness Main Streets. She is a Co-Chair of the Van Ness Main Street Design Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors. As a Commissioner, she also served as a member of the Murch School Improvement Team (SIT). She is a graduate of Hollins University and Virginia Commonwealth University with degrees in Art (Honors) and Interior Design respectively.
Pat Jakopchek
Pat Jakopchek moved to Washington in 2008 to pursue his graduate education and has called the 3rd Ward home ever since. Pat is vice-chair of ANC 3F. As commissioner, Pat has prioritized increasing pedestrian safety, preserving community recreational areas, ensuring responsible development, and maintaining our sidewalks and roads. Pat is also a member of Van Ness Main Street’s Economic Development Committee.
Pat is a partner at Local Politechs Strategies, a progressive political and technology consulting firm. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Communication from American University and a B.A. in Political Science from Saint Louis University.
Gary Malasky
Gary Malasky is a principal with Malasky Real Estate, consulting in Public Private Partnerships and Transit Oriented development. His experience in both private and public life give him the understanding to translate one to the other. Mr. Malasky’s private sector experience includes ground up office building development and commercial renovations for his own development company; office, retail, multi-family, and industrial property.
His public sector experience includes multiple projects at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”—Director and Sr. Real Estate Advisor). In this capacity, he was responsible for the joint offering with the state of Maryland of over 30 acres at New Carrollton leading to the selection of Forest City Enterprises and Urban Atlantic to start a multi-phase development which could span 20 years. Mr. Malasky has been invited to speak in front of a variety of audiences including the Rail – Volution national conference and ULI seminars. He is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School.
Dipa Mehta
Dipa Mehta recently rejoined the practice of law as Special Counsel at Gorman Health Group. In 2003, Dipa made the life-changing decision to be a stay-at-home mom to her two kids, now ages 13 and 11. She served on local non-profit boards and committees, volunteered at her kids’ schools, assisted Mark Furstenberg with opening the popular local Bakery Bread Furst, and served on the Van Ness Vision Committee of ANC 3F. Prior to that, Dipa practiced antitrust and mergers/ acquisitions law at Cleary, Gottlieb et al in Washington DC and worked as in-house counsel at United Technologies in Hartford, Brussels and Paris. Dipa lives in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Washington, DC with her husband Mark Nelson and two kids Nikhil and Shivani.
Mary Beth Ray, President
Mary Beth Ray is President of the Van Ness Main Street Board of Directors, and founder and former Chair of its predecessor, the Van Ness Vision Committee, which she started in 2013. She recently served as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC 3F3 (Forest Hills). She is a lawyer and graduated from Vanderbilt (BA 1981) and LSU (JD 1986). A New Orleans native, she practiced law in Louisiana, married, then moved to Hong Kong where she did legal consulting. In 1990 she moved to Washington and joined MCI, handling commercial litigation, negotiations, real estate and business matters. She retired in 1999 and tutored in a DC public school, chaired Flower Mart, and wrote book reviews for the Diane Rehm Show. She serves on the All Hallows Guild Board and the Garden Committee. She is an active member of Georgetown Presbyterian Church (former Trustee, Deacon and Elder), has chaired fundraisers for local and international charities, and regularly helps with dinners for the homeless. She is married to Sheldon Ray, Jr., and they have loved raising their two children with almost daily hikes in Soapstone Valley Park.
Ed Sands
Ed Sands is the owner of Calvert Woodley Wine & Liquor. Calvert Woodley has been in Van Ness for over 50 years. They pride themselves on personal, knowledgeable customer service, fantastic selection and hard to beat prices.
Chuck Schilke
Chuck served on the original Van Ness Vision Committee from its inception, then transitioned into Van Ness Main Street as Treasurer and board member. He is a real estate developer, financier, and lawyer, as well as a professor of real estate development, finance, law, design, and other business and legal subjects. He has worked in real estate at industrial companies like Exxon Mobil, service companies like Marriott, and nonprofits like The American National Red Cross, where he served on the deal team that built the $135 million National Headquarters building, and has also worked at major real estate, finance, and environmental law firms. Chuck founded the Georgetown University real estate program, and grew the program to 50 real estate development and finance courses, 300 students, and 100 real estate practitioner faculty and thesis advisors, then ran the Johns Hopkins real estate program, and begins teaching in the University of Maryland real estate program in fall 2016. Chuck has lived in Van Ness since his arrival from Boston in 1992, greatly values his colleagues on the Van Ness Main Street team, and is dedicated to applying his business, legal, and academic real estate knowledge to improve Van Ness, his home of 25 years, and the lives of the people who live here.
Ken Terzian
As a registered architect and Principal with OPX, Ken Terzian manages many of the firm’s complex hotel, commercial and government projects. Ken is an expert in green building and sustainable design, and applies these skills in OPX projects as well as in his own home of more than 15 years in Forest Hills. He enjoys long runs and bike rides in Rock Creek Park in training for marathons and ultra-running. Ken has a B.A. from Wake Forest University and a Masters in Architecture from Virginia Tech.
Uzay Turker
Uzay Turker was born and raised in Istanbul and came to the U.S 1994. He is the owner and manager of the Acacia Bistro in Van Ness. He lives in Van Ness and was part of Van Ness Vision Committee. He graduated from Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi and has a degree in hospitality management.
