Barbara Lardy, President
Barbara has over thirty years experience in health care management, research and development. Most recently, prior to retirement, she was Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs and Strategic Planning for America’s Health Insurance Plans(AHIP) a national trade association representing the health insurance industry. In this role Barbara directed collaborative efforts between AHIP member plans and public and private sector stakeholders on key industry issues, including health care reform, quality, innovation and public health. Prior to moving to Washington DC in 1995, Barbara served as President and CEO of the Group Health Foundation in Seattle for ten years, overseeing both fundraising and grant making operations. Outside of the health care arena, Barbara worked as Director of Development for the University of Washington for several years. She has lived in the Forest Hills neighborhood with her husband Nick for over twenty years and is committed to a vibrant Van Ness.
Reginald Felton, Vice President
Mr. Felton is Chair of the Organization Committee and 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, Secretary
Zachary Friedlis is Secretary of the Board and 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.
Pat Jakopchek, Treasurer
Pat Jakopchek is Treasurer for the Board. Pat moved to Washington in 2008 to pursue his graduate education and has called the 3rd Ward home ever since. Pat was previously Charis of ANC 3F. Pat has prioritized increasing pedestrian safety, preserving community recreational areas, and ensuring responsible development.
Jonquilyn “JQ” Hill is a senior producer for 1A and was a member of the team that helped launch the show. Before joining WAMU, she worked on NPR’s 2016 Elections Desk. She’s also part of PRX’s Project Catapult Round Three cohort. Jonquilyn grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended high school in New Mexico, where she volunteered at NPR member station KUNM. She graduated from Howard University where she majored in journalism and minored in political science. Prior to producing public radio, she worked at NBC’s Washington Bureau and for NY1. JQ moved to DC in 2009 to attend Howard and never left! She resides at Park Van Ness after a short stint in Tenleytown.
Doug Loescher. As a strategist for mission-driven and community organizations, Doug brings more than 30 years of experience in public and nonprofit sectors, having worked with more than 300 organizations and executives across the country to develop their program and leadership potential.
For more than 20 years, Doug provided technical assistance and then served as Executive Director for the National Main Street Center, leading a network of 1,200 nonprofit community development organizations and leaders around the country. Since that time, he served as Director for Business Development and Strategy for the District of Columbia, where he oversaw business attraction and retention efforts to implement comprehensive economic development strategies for Washington DC. Currently, Doug is developing new placemaking and branding initiatives for commercial district revitalization in Fairfax County. Trained as an urban planner at the University of Cincinnati, Doug has received additional certifications from Georgetown University and the Creative Problem Solving Institute in Leadership Coaching, Training, Team Building and Strategic Plan Facilitation. He is a DC resident and lives just north of the VNMS northern border of Nebraska Avenue.
Joff Masukawa. Joff Masukawa is President and founder of Diligentia Strategy, a life-sciences consultancy founded in 2015. Prior to founding Diligentia, Joff was Vice President and Global Head of Government Relations and Public Affairs at Shire, where he designed and led strategies to build the company’s brand, engagement and leadership with government representatives and agencies, patient advocacy groups, payors, industry associations and other key external stakeholders. A first-generation American, Joff is a passionate advocate of diversity and inclusion in life sciences. He regularly collaborates across the industry, NGOs, and his personal network to convene important conversations and forums to advance the cause of older adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and the LGTBQ+ community to help them achieve their full potential. He holds a BA in international studies from Johns Hopkins University and completed his graduate studies in international affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies and in strategic communications at Columbia University.
Michael Sands
Michael Sands was born and raised in Washington, DC. In 1998 he joined his father Ed’s business, Calvert Woodley Fine Wines & Spirits, after having worked in the pension plan administration business for four years. He deals with many things at CW, from advertising/marketing to purchasing wine and almost everything in between. He enjoys meeting and helping CW customers with their purchases and is honored to be serving on the Board of VNMS. Michael is a proud Hoosier, holding a BA from Indiana University.
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.
Steven E. Shulman
Steve Shulman loves stories. He likes to write them, watch them, and learn from them. His careers are filled with them. His first career culminated as a theatre manager during which he opened two performing arts centers in Texas after presenting years of summer stock musicals and Las Vegas-style shows in New England. He managed urban shopping malls during his second career and served on the opening teams of St. Louis Union Station and The Conservatory on Nicolet in Minneapolis before moving on to manage the Galleries of Syracuse and then the Pavilion at the Old Post Office in Washington. He helped establish temporary kiosk marketplaces in common areas and learned that highly focused, creative restaurateurs and entrepreneurial retailers build great stores that tell wonderful stories and attract customers.
Act III of Steve’s career is serving as an executive at nonprofit organizations. He served as executive director of the American Red Cross Historical Resources Department which was an organizational member of Cultural Tourism DC and became CTDC’s executive director in 2013. Cultural Tourism DC is active in the Van Ness neighborhood with its Passport DC’s Around the World Embassy Tour and WalkingTown DC programs. A strong proponent of volunteerism, Steve served on the Alexandria Commission for the Arts including two years as its chair, review panels of the Virginia Commission for the Arts, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the History Channel’s Save Our History grant review panel. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, he graduated from American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts with a degree in business management and participated in a leadership program for nonprofit executives at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Sandra Stewart
Sandra Stewart has lived in Forest Hills for 6 years with her husband Michael and dog Millie. She owns SLS Coaching & Consulting that was established in 1999 to assist executives to become better leaders, optimize their teams and experience personal and professional growth. She is a teacher of coaching certification at American University and a member of the Board of the International Coach Federation Independent Review Board. She has a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Columbia University.
Michael Triebwasser has been with Politics and Prose for five years. He currently serves as the Director of Training, Development, and Service. He started his career at P&P working as a Bookseller at the main store on Connecticut Avenue NW. While most days find him at the main store on Connecticut Avenue NW, he tries to get to the Union Market (which he helped open) and Wharf locations as much as he can. He has called the Washington, DC area home for almost twenty years. Michael is married to Jessica Mailander who works as the Program Manager for the Bladensburg Road Main Street and worked as the Event Coordinator for the Rhode Island Avenue Main Street. When he’s not at the bookstore, Michael is hanging out in his Woodridge neighborhood with Jessica and his Pointer mix named Maple.
Fred Underwood is currently is an Executive at The Pinkard Group. The Pinkard Group is a local private real estate company that invests opportunistically across a variety of property types in the DC metro area. Previously, Mr. Underwood served as Senior Vice President of Bernstein Management. Prior to joining Bernstein Management Corporation, Mr. Underwood worked in real estate development and leasing for Buchanan Partners, LLC and served as a law clerk to the Justices of the Superior Court of Massachusetts. He received a B.A. from Brown University, a J.D., cum laude, from the American University Washington College of Law, a Master’s degree in Real Estate Finance and Development from Columbia University, and his M.B.A. degree from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Mr. Underwood lives in Washington with his wife and two children.
