SPOTLIGHT ON OUR MEMBERS
MELISSA PETERSEN MAKES HISTORY FUN (AND PUTS THE ‘DO’ IN DOCENT)
T
he Junior League of Washington (JLW) focuses its financial and volunteer resources on literacy within the Washington, DC, area; a subset of this focus is cultural literacy. JLW members on the Historic Alexandria Docents (HAD) Committee aim to improve cultural literacy through a variety of volunteer opportunities at five historic properties in Alexandria, VA. Committee members serve as tour guides and assist with special events at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, Carlyle House, and Lee-Fendall House Museum. In addition to an affinity for history, HAD requires members to serve for two years due to the extensive training program for its volunteers. While this may seem daunting to some, one member of JLW, Melissa Petersen, has served for nine years and provided service beyond expectations. “Essentially, Melissa is HAD. She was an amazing committee chair, and even now that she’s doing her primary placement with other committees, she continues to be a great resource for everyone on the committee,” said Laura Lieberman, current HAD Chair. “She doesn’t like to draw attention to herself, but she ought to be acknowledged for all the work she’s done.” Melissa Petersen joined the Junior League of Knoxville, TN, in the spring of 2009 while attending law school. She did so at the encouragement of her mother, who had been a member for a few years. Moving back to the Washington, DC, area after graduating, Petersen transferred her membership to complete her new member year as a member of JLW.
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Fall 2019
By Katie Hatfield
Petersen spent most of her formative years in Clemson, SC. She attributes her love of history to a childhood surrounded by historic homes in the south and to the year her family spent in Regensburg, Germany, living in an apartment building from the 1300s. As an adult, however, Petersen’s day job did not allow her to engage in any historical activities. A tour of one HAD property, Carlyle House, first piqued Petersen’s interest. “Since I live in Arlington, I was already interested in HAD as a committee but enjoyed seeing a museum/historic home I had not discovered while previously living in DC,” said Petersen. Commuting to Baltimore for work throughout her new member year and into the fall of her first active year, Petersen found the flexibility she was looking for in her placement at Mount Vernon upon joining HAD.
HAD committee members, Laura Lieberman, Jessica Avery, and Jackie Sandler, pose with a costumed Petersen at an event at JLW Headquarters.
Volunteering for HAD has its perks. Here Petersen (Left) and fellow volunteers are pictured with, local celebrity, General George Washington.
