Washington Life Magazine - February 2019

<<

Tom Davidson, Marla Beck and Mark Ein

INNOVATORS & DISRUPTORS ISSUE THE 2019 TECH 25 A Conversation with ‘Be Fearless’ author Jean Case Developer Martin Ditto’s classically modern condo The Indigenous Peoples March comes to Washington

36

12 23

'328)287 FEBRUARY 2019

EDITOR'S LETTER

FEATURES

WASHINGTON SOCIAL DIARY

INNOVATORS OF THE YEAR ....................

THE TECH .....................................

AROUND TOWN Horses for Courses .................

Imagination Stage Winter Ball .................................

BOOK TALK Washington's Golden Age................

Capital Caring Gala ............................................

FYIDC INSIDER'S GUIDE ........................................

Practicing "Slow Art" at Glenstone .........................

WHO'S NEXT Amanda McClements .................

THE DISH Dolci Gelati ....................................

POLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC Kennedy Center Honors .......................................

Mentor Foundation USA Benefit Dinner ................

EMBASSY ROW Prince Khalid Returns ...........

Lantos Foundation Gala ......................................

Templeton Prize ................................................

STANDING UP FOR CHANGE

Washington Ballet's Nutcracker Tea............................

Children's National Light Up The Season...................

Choral Arts Concert ..............................................

Transformer Auction & Benefit Party..........................

National Portrait Gallery's Face Forward Artist Party .....

Washington Winter Show .......................................

"She Sings" by Rebecca Magnuson............................

Celebrating Women Leaders .....................................

Freer Sackler's Spirit of Tokyo Gala ...........................

Juvenile Diabetes Hope Gala ...................................

SemSem Pop-Up at Cafe Milano .............................

French Heritage Society Dinner ................................

The Indigenous People's March .............................

Cancer Alliance Lunch ...........................................

Winternational ...................................................

DC Chamber of Commerce Gala .............................

Honoring Jamaica's Prime Minister.........................

White Hat Gala ..................................................

Heroes and History Makers...................................

Kirov Ballet Reception & Recital ..............................

Book Parties .......................................................

Parties, Parties, Parties! ...........................................

MetroCooking DC .............................................

Kara Swisher Welcome .........................................

HOME LIFE

Washington Business Hall of Fame Gala ................

INSIDE HOMES Martin Ditto ...........................

REAL ESTATE NEWS ...................................

The National Gallery's New Director .....................

69 OPEN HOUSE ...............................................

OVER THE MOON .......................................

MY WASHINGTON Jean Case .........................

COVER: Tom Davidson, Marla Beck and Mark Ein (Photo by Tony Powell) TOP FROM LEFT: Fig O' Reilly from the Tech 25 (Photo by Tony Powell); "Big Phrygian" by Martin Puryear at Glenstone; former Vice President Joe Biden receiving the Lantos Foundation award; the exterior of Martin Ditto's Logan Circle condo (Photo by Patrick Ross).

4

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

T H E I N S I D E R’S G U I D E TO P OW E R , P H I L A N T H R O PY, A N D SO C I E T Y S I N C E 1 9 9 1

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Nancy Reynolds Bagley EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Virginia Coyne SENIOR EDITOR

Kevin Chaffee MANAGING EDITOR

Catherine Trifiletti DEPUTY EDITOR & SENIOR LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Erica Moody CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Roland Flamini COLUMNISTS AND CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Janet Donovan, Steve Houk,Vicky Moon, Stacey Grazier Pfarr and Donna Shor ART DIRECTOR

Matt Rippetoe PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Tony Powell CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Joy Asico, Ben Droz, Alfredo Flores, Larry French, Naku Mayo,Kyle Samperton, Erin Schaff, Jay Snap, Amanda Warden and Brian Wilson

PUBLISHER & CEO

Soroush Richard Shehabi SALES AND MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE

John Arundel BOOKKEEPERS

Michelle Frazer WEB TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT

Eddie Saleh,Triposs Mihail Iliev LEGAL

Mason Hammond Drake, Akerman, LLP EDITORIAL INTERNS

Lauryn Cantrell, Max Harwood, Kaitlyn Hopkins and Georgia Slater

FOUNDER

Vicki Bagley CREATIVE DIRECTOR EMERITUS (*)

J.C. Suarès CHAIRMAN, EXECUTIVE BOARD

Gerry Byrne Washington Life magazine publishes ten times a year. Issues are distributed in February, March, April, May, June, July/August, September, November, and December and are hand-delivered on a rotating basis to over 150,000 homes throughout D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland. Additional copies are available at various upscale retailers, hotels, select newstands, and Whole Foods stores in the area. For a complete listing, please consult our website at www.washingtonlife.com. You can also subscribe online at www.washingtonlife.com or send a check for $79.95 (one year) to: Washington Life Magazine, 2301 Tracy Place NW, Washington D.C., 20008. BPA audited. Email us at info@washingtonlife.com with press releases, tips, and editorial comments. Copyright ©2011 by Washington Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content or photos in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed in the United States. We will not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. *deceased

EDITOR’S LETTER

INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY & HQ2

N

o doubt about it, the biggest local Native American men and women and technology news of the past year their allies who came to Washington for was whether the Washington, the first-ever Indigenous People’s March in D.C. area would win a bid to be the January. Activists Davidica Little Spotted home of e-commerce giant Amazon’s Horse shared with us what she and fellow much-anticipated second headquarters, activists like Bethany Yarrow are doing and HQ2. The announcement finally came explained how we can help raise awareness in November: the company, led by of police negligence of thousands of missing founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, would and murdered women and other injustices. split HQ2 between Crystal City, Around this time of year, resolutions Virginia and Long Island City, Queens, kick in for living a healthier and more New York. Debates over the tax breaks fulfilling lifestyle. Boutique real estate Amazon will receive aside, the decision developer Martin Ditto seems to have will help bring 25,000 new jobs to cracked the code in his own life and is Northern Virginia, will reinvigorate working to create a home that fits his Crystal City, which was left a virtual personal philosophies. Flip to our Home ghost town after defense contractors Life section to peek inside his minimalist moved out in 2005, and will further Logan Circle condominium. solidify our region as a world-class hub Before our New Year’s diets, we of technology and innovation. indulged at MetroCooking DC, a foodie Of course, we already knew extravaganza produced by Kara Krause of Washington was full of innovative Bethesda’s EJ Krause & Co. and sponsored businesses founded right here by

by WL. In addition to sampling bites from visionary leaders, and this issue is a participating restaurants and vendors, our tribute to them. Every year, we feature editors moderated a Taste Talk with Bravo a new group of innovators, disruptors reality star and businesswoman Bethenny and tech leaders who have been on Frankel, whose Skinnygirl brand broke the forefront of change in business, down barriers for female entrepreneurs.

Catherine Trifiletti, Bethenny Frankel and Virginia Coyne at technology, or the combination of Yes, it’s cold outside (and snowing as MetroCooking DC both. EVERFI’s Tom Davidson, of this writing) but our party pages are Bluemercury’s Marla Beck and investor-entrepreneur-philanthropist heating up - check out our Social Calendar if you don’t believe Mark Ein have been chosen as our Innovators of the Year for us! This month you’ll find coverage from WL-sponsored holiday pushing boundaries in ed tech, the beauty industry and e-sports. We events, including Choral Arts Society’s annual concert and gala, the also feature 25 extraordinary tech entrepreneurs, including former Nutcracker Tea and Children National’s ‘Light Up the Season.’

Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli, who is bringing news and information via mobile devices to underserved markets globally; Blackgirl Ventures founder Shelly Bell, who has made it her mission to provide business development support and access to capital to minority women; and WeddingWire founder Tim Chi, whose company has transformed how people plan their weddings.

Nancy R. Bagley In the “My Washington” column, technology pioneer and Editor in Chief philanthropist Jean Case, talks about her new book, “Be Fearless,” a how-to guide to conquering fear and sparking breakthroughs that Readers wishing to contact Nancy Bagley can email her could potentially change the world. at nbagley@washingtonlife.com We also showcase visionaries for change, like the thousands of

8

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

FYIDC The Insider’s Guide to Washington

BY ERICA MOODY

TIFFANy’s OPENS IN CITY CENTER CLASSIC COLLECTIONS The first Tiffany’s store in the District is set to open soon. To celebrate, CityCenter will be hosting a monthlong Tiffany Archival Exhibition through March 31, displaying several of the brand’s most notable pieces throughout its history including a necklace and brooch from Mary Todd Lincoln’s personal collection, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Tiffany gold watch and a diamond and ruby clip worn by Jacqueline Kennedy. The inviting design includes a one of-a-kind gilded Tiffany Blue magnolia chandelier at the center of the store and an oversized neon sign created by graffiti artist Faust. In addition to dazzling jewels, the store will include a home and accessories collection. Opens Late February, 960 New York Ave. NW, tiffany.com.

BIG APPLE CIRCUS

TOP TALENT

The female-focused, rescue animal-only Big Apple Circus is coming to National Harbor for the second time. Ringmaster Stephanie Monseu and trainer Jenny Vibel lead the action-packed, family-friendly show featuring dogs and horses only. The circus, which began in 1977, is well regarded for its community outreach programs and humane treatment of animals. National Harbor, Feb. 14-March 24, tickets start at $15, nationalharbor.com.

SOCIAL CALENDAR 2/8: Support So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) affordable housing programs for homeless and low-income families at the S.O.M.E Young Professionals Winter Ball. National Museum of Women in the Arts, black-

tie optional, $80, some.org.

CHINESE NEW YEAR FESTIVAL

2/16: Meet fashion personality Monte Durham at the “Something Old, Something New” fundraiser for the American Horticultural Society.

LUNAR CELEBRATION

Stylish vintage wedding gowns will be displayed and discussed. River Farm, Alexandria, 12-2:30 p.m., $25, ahsgardening.org/monte.

The Year of the Pig is upon us, and there are ample ways to celebrate with the family at the annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Festival on Feb. 10. The Chinatown Community Cultural Center will host educational and cultural activities after the colorful annual parade. “Expect Chinese folk dancers, beauty queens, firecrackers, kung fu demonstrations, floats (including lions and dragons) and plenty of pageantry as the procession winds through Chinatown.” Parade at 2.p.m, activities from 12:30-5 p.m., free admission.

BIG AL CARTER RETROSPECTIVE

STYLISTIC SUCCESS

10

2/23: Late show comedian Seth Meyers will provide laughs at

the American Heart Association’s annual Greater Washington Region black-tie gala, the Heart Ball. Mandarin Oriental, 6:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., black tie, $1,000 and up, dcheartball.com.

2/24: The Kara Kennedy Fund’s “Brunch And A Band” with The Wailers

features Julian Junior Marvin. Proceeds from the casual daytime event support programs to help children learn how to swim. The Hamilton Live, 11:30 a.m.; tickets from $175, karakennedyfund.org.

2/27: The 10th anniversary benefit dinner for the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys provides Episcopal school tuition for underserved students east of the Anacostia River. Washington National Cathedral,business attire, 6:30 p.m. reception, 7:30 dinner, bishopwalkerschool.org.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

P H OTOS CO U RT E SY

The work of late District artist Allen “Big Al” Carter will have its first showing since his death in 2008, timed to run during Black History Month. The multi-talented artist (painter, printmaker, sculptor, muralist) drew inspiration from the world around him by addressing social issues and their resolutions.

The exhibit will feature never before seen works from his daughters’ private collections. Fred Schnider Gallery of Art, free and open to the public, Jan. 25 through March 3, 2019, fredschnider.com.

2/19: Bring your appetites to the 20th annual St. Jude’s Gourmet Gala for an evening of tastings with some of the District’s top chefs (and a live auction!), to ensure that families who cannot afford it never receive a bill for their children’s treatment at the hospital. National Building Museum, $500 individual tickets/$5,000 table of ten, 6-10 p.m., stjude.org.

FYIDC | GLENSTONE

SLOW DOWN WITH SLOW ART After a $200 million expansion, the new and improved Glenstone museum in Potomac, Md. masters the art of relaxation through contemporary art. .

BY C AT H E R I N E T R I F I L E T T I

A

s visitors to Glenstone make the seven-minute walk from the parking lot to the private art museum’s freshly-launched Pavilions complex there are two words that subtly manifest– “chill out.” It turns out that the commute through the rolling green hills of Potomac, Md. was an intentional design element that represents founders Mitch and Emily Raleses’ ethos for their 230-acre art campus, a portion of which opened its doors late last year after a $200 million expansion. The distinctly different arrival exercise mentally and physically prepares visitors for the museum’s unique approach to experiencing art. “We hope that you will slow down,” director and co-founder Emily Rales explained to media prior to opening, “and that your pulse will also slow down.”

Once inside, visitors are invited to enjoy the impressive showcase of post-World War II art in the same low-key manner and in tandem with a growing movement in the creative world called the “slow art” method.

Through an advanced ticket reservation system that ensures the space is never overcrowded, a no photo policy and longer installation periods, the museum encourages visitors to check their haste (and social media) at the parking lot. “These types of artworks take time to understand and appreciate,” Emily says, further explaining that time is needed to “engage these complex works in the most profound way possible.”

She is referring to a priceless roster of works by contemporary greats, including Jasper Johns, Mark Rothko and Louise Borgeois, all of which are on display in pristine white gallery rooms sans traditional barriers.

The collection reflects the couple’s commitment to progressive artists who “have altered the way we think about art–creating distinctive, often challenging bodies of work, and changing the course of art history,” Emily told Washington Life.

There is seamless flow between the property’s pristine landscape

12

and modern architecture courtesy of Thomas Phifer and Partners and PWP Landscape Architecture– teams that spent years carefully crafting a setting that induces tranquility. A set of muted gray concrete buildings housing the collection feature long spacious corridors that commingle with massive skylights and windows to create a minimalist template that allows the bold and colorful pieces of avant-garde art to come alive.The galleries are anchored by a serene open-air courtyard complete with a pond filled with water lilies.

The Raleses drew inspiration for Glenstone from a range of art institutions across the globe including the Menil Collection in Houston and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. From each of the nearly 50 private institutions they visited, the couple internalized ideas and moments that appropriately established a sense of place, noting those ideals as they designed the Pavilions complex—an expansion to the original museum, which opened in 2006.

Every detail was considered and centered on the idea that art should make you think and feel at the same time. “All of these features were designed to offer opportunities for meaningful and contemplative encounters with art, architecture and nature,” Emily says.

Glenstone | 12100 Glen Rd, Potomac, Md. |Open Thurs. - Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | admission and parking free | reservations required | glenstone.org

ART ON YOUR OWN TERMS In the galleries there are no didactics for artwork besides title, artist and year, leaving each piece open for personal interpretation and prompting visitors to engage with gray-clad guides, who are quietly stationed in the corner of each gallery. Many of them are part of Glenstone’s emerging professionals program, a two year commitment that was developed especially for recent graduates looking to pursue a career in the arts.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

FYIDC | WHO’S NEXT

WHO’S NEXT Amanda McClements’ boutique shops Salt & Sundry and Little Leaf offer a different kind of retail therapy

BY C AT H E R I N E T R I F I L E T T I PHOTO BY TONY POWELL

For Amanda McClements, owner of three home and lifestyle boutiques, it’s the small face-to-face moments with customers that give her work meaning in a competitive marketplace ruled by Pinterest trends and giant online shopping retailers. “If someone comes in and they’re 22 and they don’t make a ton of money, but they buy a little $6 incense with a $5 plate to put it on and they go home and have a moment to themselves—that’s amazing for everyone,” she says.

Both Salt & Sundry locations and sister store Little Leaf in Logan Circle are designed to be experiences that pull passersby away from their day-to-day routines and into a beautifully curated, colorful world of “urban-bohemian” design.Whether they’re sniffing candles, stroking textiles or fawning over lush green plants, visitors are invited to engage their senses.

McClements and her all star team thrive on the design elements of running the shops, sourcing products locally, nationally and from fair trade partners globally. Everyone is encouraged to deep-dive into the creative process.“It’s trying to get in touch with what we’re drawn to at any given moment whether it’s a color palette, a flower or a location in the world and letting that inform our window displays and buying decisions,” McClements says.

The North Carolina native wasn’t always into the business of selling artisanal goods. As a graduate from UNC, Chapel Hill, McClements used her journalism degree to write for Roll Call, where she carved out a restaurant vertical. In 2005 she launched her own food blog called Metrocurean and it was there, writing about entertaining, that McClements noticed her inclination toward design-centric pieces.That in combination with her personal frustration on where to buy dinner party wares that fit her boho aesthetic eventually led to the opening of the first Salt & Sundry boutique in 2012 at Union Market.

Most recently, McClements and her team launched a new concept in Eckington called The Sun Room, which serves as the brand’s headquarters and creative hub.

The warehouse space is also available for private events including weddings—several of which are already on the books for this year. As for what’s next, McClements says that in a perfect world she will create a larger Salt & Sundry flagship complete with a champagne bar and more space for a growing number of collaborations.There is also buzz about designing pieces in-house.

Whatever the future brings, the same standards will underlie new projects – that shopping should be a sensory and aspirational experience.“I’m hopeful that gathering places where you feel a certain way when you walk in will never go away,” McClements says. At Little Leaf, which sells a variety of plants, succulents and greeting cards, she saw her philosophy play out after the 2016 election, when cold temperatures and the shift in administrations left Washingtonians feeling uneasy. McClements recalls visitors walking into the shop and not wanting to leave. “People were saying I just want to pull up a lawn chair and sit here because it’s making me feel better just being in the space.”

advice for budding entrepreneurs

Learn to trust your gut because when you’re doing something you haven’t done before, you think that there is a right way to do it and you think that everyone knows more than you. That’s not true on either front. There are a million ways to do a million of different types of businesses. If you are constantly questioning yourself, you’re never going to do something that feels authentic.

16

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

FYIDC | THE DISH

AMBASSADOR OF GELATO Gianluigi Dellaccio spreads the word about the popular Italian dessert.

BY C AT H E R I N E T R I F I L E T T I

Gianluigi Dellaccio

aprese salad, cucumber and red beet, lobster and guacamole with caramelized onion are items one might expect to find on a café’s lunch menu. But if you’re Gianluigi Dellaccio, they are flavor combinations that work as dessert. With more than 22 years of experience making gelato and over 450 varieties to show for it, he is a force and an authority in his industry. The Associazione Italiana Gelatieri named him the world’s first global Gelato Ambassador, a title he will use as a platform to share his knowledge.

After sitting down with Dellaccio, 43, it’s not his gold medals and accolades that most distinguish him—although they are both impressive and vast—it’s his tireless dedication to the artisanal craft of gelato making. His core values and work ethic can be traced back to his professional water polo playing days in Naples, Italy. When contract issues put his athletic career off track, it set a new and unique opportunity in motion. Dellaccio traveled to Germany to work for his cousin’s gelato business and unearthed his love for creating the Italian dessert. From there, he attended a prestigious pastry school and honed his skills, using his family’s recipe as a guide.

It wasn’t long before he became fluent in speaking the “language of gelato,” as he calls it, teaching classes in New York then moving to Washington, D.C., where he bounced around as a pastry chef (his resume includes Roberto Donna’s famous Laboratorio Del Galileo).

In 2006, Dellaccio opened a gelato factory, Dolci Gelati, which has since grown to three brick-and-mortar shops in Takoma Park, Shaw and most recently Old Town Alexandria. Dolci operates out of a factory in Northeast that supplies the sweets to restaurants and retailers, including Whole Foods and Nationals Park. Dellaccio uses the space as a laboratory to experiment with ingredients, many of which are internationally sourced, because hazelnuts and pistachios from Italy simply taste

16

better, he says.

By tailoring flavors to fit his restaurant clients’ cuisines, he is constantly challenged to think beyond the basics. At Indique, for example, he created a tamarind blend to sync with the Indian eatery’s tastes. A major part of Dellaccio’s passion is exercising his creative muscles by thoughtfully marrying pairings. Without that he would be bored, he says.

Dellaccio feels lucky to have professionally grown up in Washington, where international tastes and palates converge and he can find adventurous foodies for his innovative concoctions. Guinness beer gelato, anyone? Even if the unlikely fusions don’t fly off the counter, he appreciates the personal challenge and the opportunity to keep visitors to the shop on their toes.

Last fall a gelato festival took over 8th Street NW in Shaw as artisans from all over the globe competed for a top prize. Dellaccio, who is behind the annual event, says it aligns with his ambassadorial mission to spread education to makers and consumers about the value of the thoughtfully made treat. One particularly noteworthy fact–gelato is healthier than ice cream (thanks to natural ingredients and a lower fat percentage). We’ll eat a scoop to that!

INNOVATIVE FLAVORS Saffron Pistachio with Candied -FNPO 1FFM s )POFZ .BTDBSQPOF 'JH s 1FBOVU #VUUFS +FMMZ .JNPTB s $BSSPU s 0MJWF 0JM

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

P H OTO CO U RT E SY

C

POLLYWOOD The Nexus of Politics﹐ Hollywood﹐ Media and Diplomacy | Kennedy Center Honors, Winternational, Embassy Row, Templeton Prize and more!

Honoree Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice 10th annual gala. (Photo by Tony Powell)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

19

POLLYWOOD

The 2018 honorees (photo by Scott Suchman)

Cyndi Lauper (photo by Michelle Crowe/CBS)

KENNEDY CENTER HONORS

By Janet Donovan | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL AND OTHERS

Kelly Clarkson (photo by Michelle Crowe/CBS)

Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein

2018 Honors host Gloria Estefan

20

IF WE COULD TURN BACK TIME: The 41st annual Kennedy Center Honors celebrated a panoply of talent, including singer and actress Cher, composer/pianist Philip Glass, country music icon Reba McEntire and jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter. Lin-Manuel Miranda and his “Hamilton” co-creators received a unique award as “trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category” and were the first honorees to perform during a show. All the artists represented “the pinnacle of our nation’ s originality and the rich mosaic of diverse perspectives and art forms that has come to define who we are as a people,” said Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter. Cyndi Lauper did a whiz-by on the red carpet but brought her all to the stage to perform a robust rock star rendition of Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” as the honoree screamed from the balcony: “I thought you said you were going to be in Los Angeles!” Lauper shot back, “I lied.” Kelly Clarkson paid tribute to McEntire, her former mother-in-law, with a soulful cover of the country legend’s hit “Fancy” and thanked her for being a “rad grandmother.”

CBS “This Morning” anchor Norah O’Donnell

Sen. Rand Paul and Kelley Paul

Cher and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (photo by John Fila/CBS)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Romero Britto and Zara Larsson Malcolm Dixon and Queen Silvia of Sweden WL SPONSORED

MENTOR FOUNDATION USA BENEFIT DINNER Embassy of Sweden | PHOTOS BY ECLECTIC INFLUENCE

Michaela Pratt, Sergio Chavez and Melissa Neves

DRUG PREVENTION: As the U.S. is facing its most challenging drug epidemic in history, the Mentor Foundation’s efforts to prevent teen drug use is more essential than ever. Its annual “In Light of Youth” benefit gathered influencers from business and government who are compassionate about the health and wellbeing of youth.

Among those in attendance were Queen Silvia of Sweden and ambassadors Emily Haber (Germany), Kåre Aas (Norway), Tihomir Stoytchev (Bulgaria) and Kurt Jaeger (Liechtenstein). Queen Silvia said, “The teenage brain is still developing, making young people especially vulnerable to destructive behaviors such as drug use. It is more important than ever that Mentor Foundation fulfills its vision of a world where young people are empowered to make healthy decisions and live drug-free.” Susan Gage catered the well-attended event, and international popartist Zara Larsson gave a surprise performance to an evening that ended with coffee and cordial with Nicklas Bäckström, Christian Djoos and André Burakovsky of the Washington Capitals.

Gudrun Giddings and Boris Pomroy

Dr. Robert DuPont and Caroline DuPont

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Lamont and Mel Wells, Rhoda Septilici and Aydin Akgun

Tom Manatos and Sofia Sheppard

André Burakovsky, Tom Manatos, Nicklas Bäckström and Christian Djoos

21

POLLYWOOD | EMBASSY ROW

Second Coming Prince Khalid Returns—for now, plus no E.U. Presidency for the U.K.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Khalid bin Salman al-Saud accompanies Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as the Secretary departs from King Salman Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

ONGOING SAGA: In January, ten new foreign ambassadors presented their credentials to President Donald Trump in a time-honored White House ceremony. They included chiefs of mission from New Zealand, Liberia, Pakistan, and India, but no one from Saudi Arabia to replace Prince Khalid bin Salman, as many had anticipated. That’s because in December, Prince Khalid—Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s younger brother—showed up again in Washington. The envoy-cum-prince had made a hurried exit last year, having run out of denials to U.S. lawmakers. He first told them that Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi had not been murdered in Istanbul, then that no video existed of the killing and then that his Big Bro had nothing to do with Khashoggi’s execution.

Middle Eastern sources in the nation’s capital said Prince Khalid has simply returned to collect his toothbrush and other belongings left behind in the scramble to get out of town.

Others saw his return as an attempt to demonstrate that it was business as usual in bi-lateral relations, pointing out that he was still listed

22

as ambassador on the embassy website. Meanwhile, however, the name of Princess Reema bint Bandar al Saud, daughter of former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan, continued to circulate in Riyadh as his nominated successor.

No prizes for guessing the Saudi embassy’s reply to requests for comment, which was nothing. But the word is that embassy staffers were not thrilled by the return of Prince Khalid, whose rather haphazard approach to diplomacy had earned him few admirers inside the Washington mission, or outside it. According to one story that did the rounds, an ambassador from another country had scheduled a courtesy visit to the prince but was kept waiting in the residence, with aides periodically assuring him that Khalid had been held up at the embassy and would be arriving any minute. The visiting ambassador left in a huff after 90 minutes— without his appointment.The story goes on that the prince was in the residence all the time, but had decided not to receive his guest.

Khashoggi’s brutal death provoked public outrage almost everywhere except in the White

House. President Trump persisted in giving Crown Prince Mohammad the benefit of the doubt even after U.S. intelligence agencies were reliably reported to have linked “MBS”—as he is known—directly with the journalist’s execution and subsequent dismemberment. On Dec. 13, the U.S. Senate, in a rare show of bi-partisanship, condemned MBS as ultimately “responsible” for the criminal act. In the balance for Washington are planned Saudi purchases of U.S. weapons worth sizeable amounts, even without Trump’s exaggeration, and also Riyadh’s key role in the Trump administration’s aggressive posture against Iran—and in the administration’s Middle East peace plan that has yet to be unveiled.

Part of the fallout in Riyadh has been the demotion of yet another former ambassador to Washington, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who is now minister of state for foreign affairs, with a newly appointed foreign minister in his place. No reason was given for the shift, but, in any foreign service the minister of state is the number two position. To many, al-Jubeir has looked increasingly mournful and uneasy peering from under the fringes of his keffiyeh as he defended the Crown Prince in television interviews.

THINGS TO COME AND HERE ALREADY:

The Brexit crisis trundles on without resolution, but the United Kingdom has already dropped out of at least one European Union procedure. On Jan. 1, it was the U.K.’s turn to take over the rotating presidency of the European Council. This requires the presiding member state to assume certain administrative responsibilities both in Brussels and at E.U. embassies around the world. But the sixmonth E.U. presidency term ends on July 1, and the U.K. is supposed to quit the union on March 29. So the U.K. dropped out of the sequence and Romania, next on the list, has taken on the job.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

STATE DEPARTMENT PHOTO BY RON PRZYSUCHA/PUBLIC DOMAIN

BY ROLAND FLAMINI

Tomicah Tillemann-Dick, Annette Lantos Tillemann-Dick, Katrina Lantos Swett, Joe Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Betsi Shays and Christopher Shays

Jim Sciutto and Gloria Rivera WL EXCLUSIVE

LANTOS FOUNDATION GALA The Willard Hotel | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL STANDING UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Former Vice President Joe Biden was awarded the inaugural Decennial Lantos Legacy Award for his commitment to human rights at the Lantos Foundation’s 10th annual gala.

The foundation was established in honor of the late Rep. Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor who became a leading voice against communism. Biden praised the late congressman, who had also been a mentor and friend, saying, “He taught me most of all that silence was complicity.” Without mentioning President Donald Trump’s name Biden went on to give a campaign-style assessment of the current administration, fueling whispers in the audience that the former veep would soon announce his own 2020 run. “Our children are listening .... and the words of their leaders matter!” he exclaimed. “Folks, we cannot remain silent.”

Salah Alabbadi, Hussein Rawajdi and Abdim Nasir

Rep. Jim McGovern

Annette Lantos

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Photo by Clifford Shirley) WL EXCLUSIVE

King Abdullah II of Jordan and Heather Templeton Dill

TEMPLETON PRIZE Washington National Cathedral | PHOTOS BY JAY SNAP

Iman Beasha and Diana Lady Dougan

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

ROYAL HONOR: King Abdullah II of Jordan received the 2018 Templeton Prize for his “exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension” at a glittering ceremony at Washington National Cathedral in the presence of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, U.S. and Jordanian political leaders and other VIP guests. “Everything you honor me for simply carries onward what Jordanians have always done … in mutual kindness, harmony and brotherhood,” the King told guests, noting that the $1.1 million award will help restore religious sites in Jerusalem and also benefit humanitarian, interfaith and intra-faith initiatives around the world.

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Layth Sidiq and Zain Awad 23

POLLYWOOD | ACTIVISTS

STANDING UP FOR CHANGE Native activists and allies raise awareness of injustice at the first-ever Indigenous People’s March.

BY ERICA MOODY | PHOTO BY TONY POWELL

56.1%

300

24

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

BY T H E N U M B E R S S O U R C E S : U. S . D E PA RT M E N T O F J U ST I C E N AT I O N A L I N ST I T U T E O F J U ST I C E R E S E A R C H R E P O RT, “ V I O L E N C E AGA I NST A ME R I CAN I N D I AN AN D AL A S K A N AT I V E WO M E N A N D M E N : 2 010 F I ND I N G S F R O M T H E N AT I ON A L I N TI M ATE PA RTN ER A N D S E XUAL VI O L E N C E S U RVE Y ” ; “ D O CTO RA L ST U D E N T CO M P I L E S DATA BAS E O F I N D I G E N O U S WO M E N W H O’ V E G ON E M I S S I N G , ” N PR .

O R G ; I N D I AN L AW RE SO U RC E C E N T E R ( I ND I A NL AW.O R G )

N

ative American credits social media for women have the bringing attention to highest rate of domesinjustices that otherwise tic violence, abuse and might remain hidden. “I murder of any racial totally believe in resistgroup in the nation. ance at all levels,” she says.

“People who are in a “No movement is more place of power are not important than the next.” doing their due diliThe #MeToo movement, gence,” says Davidica she notes, helped a lot of Little Spotted Horse. native people, especially That’s why she the men, to be open traveled from South about the abuses they’d Activists and musicians Bethany Yarrow and Davidica Little Spotted Horse gather at the family Dakota’s Pine Ridge endured. “Indian men are home of Nora Maccoby after the first Indigenous People’s March in Washington.

Indian Reservation to stoic and they don’t want Washington last month to join indigenous Peter Yarrow, helped stop the Constitution Pipe- to be vulnerable but the platform gave them the people from across the globe and their allies to line behind her house in New York, the only strength to say “Me Too” and not be ashamed.” protest wrongdoings that include police neg- federally approved pipeline that has ever been Activists are optimistic about the political ligence of thousands of missing and murdered stopped by a state. Yarrow and Little Spotted progress, with the first Native American women, indigenous women. An event addressing that Horse both stress the importance of natives and Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland, ever elected to topic was held at the Woman’s National Demo- non-natives working together.

Congress beginning their terms along with other cratic Club the evening before the march.

It’s not just law enforcement that overlooks women who have spoken up about the issues.

The majority of the sex trafficking and indigenous people more so than many other “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decided to run sexual abuses being protested are perpetrated underserved communities. Social media brought for Congress when she was at Standing Rock,” by men in “man camps” working in oil fields to light the infamous viral video of a teenage Yarrow says. “That’s how change happens.” outside of reservations. When Little Spotted boy in a red MAGA hat standing in front of a Horse calls police stations to inquire about these Native American man who is singing a prayer

BY THE NUMBERS crimes, they hear her last name and hang up song. Although many have come to the defense the phone. of the boy, who claims in a prepared statement of American Indian or Alaska Native women have or will be a victim of sexual “We’re targeted because law enforce- that he was merely trying to defuse the situaviolence in their lifetime. ment doesn’t treat our cases the same as tion, others who saw the clip saw a boy smirkothers,” she says. “The men know there are no ing as he and his friends mock the music as the consequences.” song of peace grows louder. of these crimes are committed by non-Native men She wants more transparency about the men “It’s pretty disheartening to know that there working in the camps so women know whom are people out there raising their children to be to look out for when hundreds of them sud- racist,” Little Spotted Horse says.“This is not the approximate number of indigenous denly appear outside their land, many drinking 1800s anymore. It’s not 1950 where it seems like women who go missing each year and on drugs. “We have a right to know,” she racism was encouraged.We’re supposed to be at in the U.S. and Canada. says, adding that more men need to take respon- a higher consciousness and the fact that there sibility for the actions of their gender. are still groups out there that think it’s ok to be percentage of Indian country matters “The rape of the women is tied to the rape racist is something that we as humanity need to referred to U.S. attorneys involving sexual of the earth,” says Waterfall Unity Alliance stand together and deem unacceptable.” abuse and related matters that they founder Bethany Yarrow. The environmental Despite the controversy of the video that declined to prosecute between 2005-2009 activist, the daughter of Peter, Paul and Mary’s went viral on social media, Little Spotted Horse

Anaxinabila Baran Gonzalez

WL SPONSORED

WINTERNATIONAL Adele Effa and Eurykah Ndumu

Timoci Tupua

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL AND COURTESY RONALD REAGAN BUILDING AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER

WORLD TOUR: Fifty-one countries were represented at the annual Winternational embassy showcase, the signature event for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center that began in 2012 and aims to connect cultures, foster dialogue and generate business opportunities. Diplomats shared crafts, food, art and tourism and travel exhibits from their respective countries in a pre-holiday gift emporium. Participating embassies included Afghanistan, Bolivia, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, Uganda, Vietnam and many more.

Ambassadors and Representatives from 2018 Winternational

Andrew Gelfuso, Marie Royce and John P. Drew

Madonna John and Chief of Protocol Sean Lawler

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Joy Gacuga

Tajikistan Amb. Farhod Salim and Jan Du Plain

25

POLLYWOOD

HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Jamaican Amb. Audrey Patrice Marks and Sen. Ted Cruz Stefan Baugh and Caron Chung

Colin Powell and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness

WL EXCLUSIVE

HONORING JAMAICA’S PRIME MINISTER The Ritz-Carlton Washington DC | PHOTOS BY BEN DROZ

Dr. Sharon Robinson and Hon. Edmund Bartlett

ONE LOVE With its lush mountains, rain forests and reef-lined beaches, it’s little wonder that Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness had never ventured off the famed Caribbean island—known as the birthplace of reggae and Bob Marley—to make an official visit to Washington. His first time here was marked by a spirited dinner in his honor hosted by JamaicanAmericans including Sen. Kamala Harris (her father is of Jamaican descent), who’s running for president in 2020. After meeting with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill (where the Congressional Black Caucus also hosted a reception), Holness joined dinner guests including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. Ted Cruz and HUD Secretary Ben Carson to support Jamaica’s Promise Foundation and American Friends of Jamaica, which support the country’s underprivileged youth.

David Vitter

WL EXCLUSIVE

HEROES & HISTORY MAKERS GALA Washington Hilton PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Bonnie McElveen-Hunter and Maddie Moore

Tom Hanks, Bulgarian Amb. Tihomir Stoychev, Elizabeth Dole and Savannah Guthrie

United Arab Emirates Amb. Yousef Al Otaiba and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford 26

Gina Adams

Sen. Susan Collins

Bob Dole WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

AMERICAN HEROES: Actor Tom Hanks received an inaugural award for his advocacy work on behalf of military caregivers at the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s Heroes and History Makers gala. Former Sens. Elizabeth and Bob Dole co-hosted the evening that raised $1.7 million. Sen. Susan Collins and Speaker of the Housedesignate Nancy Pelosi were recognized with the first Congressional Caregiver Champion Awards and “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie was announced as the newest Hidden Heroes Ambassador.

Hanks’ award was in the shape of a typewriter to reflect his love for the machine.

“If we truly wish to be a nation that cares for those who have borne the battle, then we must also be a nation who cares for its caregivers,” he said, adding that “the great thing about America is that people will show up to help.” Hanks chairs the Hidden Heroes campaign to raise awareness of the crisis facing military caregivers.

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

PARTIES PARTIES PARTIES

BOOK BUZZ

What we’re reading in this cold weather.

VIEW ALL THE PHOTOS AT WWW WASHINGTONLIFE COM

‘SEA CHANGE’ B Y M A X K E N N E DY

[NIXON RESIDENCE] P H O T O S B Y T O N Y P O W E L L

Max Kennedy and Sen. Edward Markey

Lori and Michael Allen with Vicki Kennedy

Xina Eiland, Ariel Pasternak, Nathalie Molina Niño and Ruthie Ackerman

Max Kennedy’s rollicking tale of adventure on the high seas and his voyage to deliver a dilapidated wooden schooner from San Francisco to the District has been well-received for its humor and entertainment value as well as the life lessons it imparts. Among those on hand to celebrate were his sister, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Willee and Finlay Lewis, Sarah Nixon and George and Liz Stevens.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Sarah Nixon

Cindy Jones with Damir and Amra Fazlic

French Amb. Gérard Araud, Alexandra de Borchgrave and Bob and Jamie Craft

B Y N AT H A L I E M O L I N A N I Ñ O

‘LOVE AND WISDOM: 37 TIMELESS REFECTIONS’

[LAPOP]

B Y A L E X A N D R A V I L L A R D D E B O R C H G R AV E

P H O T O S B Y T O N Y P O W E L L

Pam Stevens

Gabonese Amb. Michael Moussa-Adamo and Congolese Amb. Serge Mombouli

Sara Beckstead, Meredith Fineman and Angie Bidnick

‘LEAPFROG: THE NEW REVOLUTION FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS’ Emily Rasowsky and Katie Shannon

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Mark Shriver and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Women Write Washington (WWW) and Women@Forbes organized a night of discussion and networking to celebrate BRAVA Investments founder Nathalie Molina Niño’s new book (with Sarah Grace) outlining ways for women entrepreneurs to leapfrog over obstacles and succeed in business. Cohosts included WWW founder Meredith Fineman, Sara Beckstead, Rina Shah and Sean and Kellee Glass.

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

[FRENCH AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE] CO U RT E SY P H OTO

“It is rarely with such pleasure and generosity that I am pouring French champagne on my guests ... but I just can’t say no to Alexandra,” French Ambassador Gérard Araud told the crowd toasting Alexandra de Borchgrave and “Love & Wisdom: 37 Timeless Reflections,” her most recent book of art images, quotes and poetry. Given free of charge, the beautifully printed volumes “deliver comfort to those who are suffering” as well as their families and friends in times of adversity, de Borchgrave said, noting that more than 35,000 copies have been distributed by her Light of Healing Hope Foundation over the years to hospitals that include Walter Reed, the N.I.H. and Johns Hopkins.

27

POLLYWOOD | METROCOOKING DC

DINING & DISHING MetroCooking DC hosts a weekend of learning, tasting and shopping with artisan food purveyors and acclaimed chefs.

BY C AT H E R I N E T R I F I L E T T I | P H OTO S BY TO N Y P OW E L L

C

rowds from near and far descended on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for two days in early December to sample food and drink from 180 vendors, watch cooking demos, partake in culinary classes and holiday shop at the annual MetroCooking DC showcase. The recordsetting event saw a 20 percent increase in attendance from 2017, with more than 12,000 visitors taking cover from the rain to enjoy the dynamic, food-centric programming.

New Orleans celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse headlined the weekend, whipping up steak Diane for a live audience on the James Beard Stage before meeting with fans for an exclusive happy hour and Q&A session with Tommy McFly, where he dished about hitting the town with José Andrés the night before. Legendary French chef Jacques Pépin also took to the stage to make chicken jardinière and cauliflower polonaise alongside his daughter Claudine.

Other notable culinary talent included Scott Drewno, Erik Bruner-Yang and

WL editors Catherine Trifiletti and Virginia Coyne with Bethenny Frankel on the MetroCooking DC Taste Talk stage

Amy Brandwein. At Saturday’s BBQ Bash pit masters from as far as Georgia threw down smoked brisket, ribs and pulled pork.

Lefty’s Barbecue Unlimited, hailing from Waldorf, Md., took home a well-deserved first place ribbon for their BBQ chicken.

The Grand Tasting on Sunday featured a similarly for matted crowd-sourced competition where 50 local restaurants put their best dishes forward. Circa ended up a winner with its bulgogi lettuce wraps, but the lobster mac ’n’ cheese from J. Gilbert’s in McLean was our pick, followed by the

chicken tikka bowl from fast casual Indian favorite RASA. In the beer and spirits tent, we crushed on Código 1530’s rosa tequila, Ommegang Brewery’s Belgian brewed Rosetta beer and Eden’s Vermont Ice Cider.

At “Cocktail to Success: Building a Successful Empire,” a Taste Talk moderated by WL editors, Skinny Girl founder and “Real Housewives of New York” star Bethenny Frankel shared tips for growing a business with a standing-room only crowd. She encouraged entrepreneurs to be confident– “Never assume anyone is smarter than you.”

Emeril Lagasse

“Killing Reagan” Director Rod Lurie Bethenny and Novelist Kyra Davis Frankel Jack Norton and Jean Case

Devorah Churchill and John Sohn

28

Kyndall Douglas

Rollie Wesen and Jacques Pepin

Thomas, Christie Kristenand Shaw and Michael Grady Natalie Heidenberger

Kimberly Casey and Kara Krause Cynthia Nixon and Tim Matheson

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Jay Carney and Donald Graham

Sara Fischer, Mike Allen and Hilary Rosen

Kara Swisher and Jim Bankoff WL EXCLUSIVE

KARA SWISHER WELCOME Jim Bankoff Residence | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Virginia Shore and Carol Melton

Dr. Sachiko Kuno and Frederick Pang

BACK IN THE DISTRICT Jim Bankoff, CEO of Vox Media hosted a “welcome back to D.C.” reception for veteran technology journalist Kara Swisher, the co-founder and editor at large of the Recode news site (now a Vox Media property). Bankoff praised his friend, who had moved back after years in San Francisco, for her “insightful reporting and straight-shooting style.” Among those raising a glass to Swisher were former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, top Politico editor Carrie Budoff Brown and Rep. Ro Khanna.

Maureen Dowd

Ben Jacobs and Joseph Gildenhorn Gazal and Prufesh Modhera

Marion Ein and Mark Ein

WASHINGTON BUSINESS HALL OF FAME GALA National Building Museum | PHOTOS BY BEN DROZ

Seth Hurwitz and Ed Cohen

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

José Andrés

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

EDUCATING THE FUTURE: Local leaders were recognized at Junior Achievement of Greater Washington’s annual induction ceremony and gala honoring chef/activist José Andrés, Venturehouse Group Founder and CEO Mark Ein, Halcyon Founder Dr. Sachiko Kuno and The JBG Companies founding partners Donald Brown, Joseph Gildenhorn and Benjamin Jacobs. Proceeds supported the non-profit group’s financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship programs. More than 100 laureates have been honored since the organization was founded in 1988.

29

POLLYWOOD | NATIONAL GALLERY

CHANGING THE GUARD AT THE NGA Kaywin Feldman succeeds Earl (Rusty) Powell III.

BY ROLAND FLAMINI

T

o its credit, the National Gallery of Art (NGA), in announcing the selection of Kaywin Feldman as its new director, resisted the temptation to trumpet its gender breakthrough until the third paragraph of its official news release.

But to the media it was headline fodder, too good to pass up. “The National Gallery of Art Chooses First Female Director” reported the New York Times in a typical, and somewhat ambivalent headline.

For the NGA, the fact that its trustees settled on a woman to fill the departing Earl (Rusty) Powell III’s enormous footprints was hopefully secondary to her record as director of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia). She was successful in key areas where, some noted, the NGA needs improvement—digital programs, education and a closer interaction with the community. (For example, Feldman launched courses at Mia to prepare immigrants for U.S. citizenship, using the Institute’s art collection as a teaching tool.)

Feldman, 52, made expansion of the Institute’s digital presence a top priority and presumably it’s hoped that she will do the same at the National Gallery. By way of comparison, until Aug. 2018, 8.2 million people visited the NGA website, but 38.3 million visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website over the same period.

Frederick Beinecke, the NGA’s president, called Feldman “a dynamic and highly principled leader, a gracious collaborator, and an innovator with the skills and vision to lead the National Gallery of Art in the 21st century” —a description short of specifics of what the search committee of board members, assisted by the recruiting firm Phillips Oppenheim, had spent about nine months looking for—and of the daunting challenge ahead.

The start of the NGA search happened to coincide with the appointment of Max Hollein as the new director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in spite of a strong, but ultimately unsuccessful campaign to appoint a woman. Insiders say this may have focused greater interest in finding a female successor to Powell, and Kaywin Feldman was high on the list of candidates from ,

30

the start. So were at least two other women, Ann Philbin, head of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and Rebecca Rabinow, director of the Menil Collection, in Houston. But Feldman was the only woman running one of the 17 largest encyclopedic art institutions, with a budget of $32 million, an art collection of 89,000 objects and 250 staff members.

Feldman has been a prominent figure in the museum world for years, having previously served as president of the Association of Art Museum Directors and chair of the American Alliance of Museums. She has been a museum director since the age of 28, when she was appointed head of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science.

It will still be a jump to heading the second largest and most important museum in the country. The NGA has an operating budget of $190 million (75 percent in Federal funds); 152,000 objects; a permanent staff of 848; twelve curatorial and conservation departments; an annual program of between 20 and 25 exhibitions; a Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts; and a 495,000-volume art research library.

The director is required to appear annually before the Congressional sub-committee for the Interior to explain the NGA’s budget, has as exofficio members of the board the secretaries of state and the treasury and the chief justice of the

Supreme Court, and should also cultivate foreign embassies willing to lend their nation’s art treasures for prestigious blockbuster shows.

“Her peers believe that she is up to the task,” reported the online Artnet magazine, seemingly replying to a question that nobody has raised yet, at least in public. Feldman was enthusiastically received by the staff when she paid her introductory visit to the NGA. The Washington Post invariably plonks into its NGA stories references to low morale at the National Gallery, favoritism as well as some unresolved harassment offenses and gender issues. Feldman fends off questions about how she plans to confront such matters, saying she will “dedicate the first year to doing a lot of listening” before taking any major action.

Past performance sends mixed signals about how far she is expected to go, and in what direction. “I’m a feminist,” she says, “and I have long advocated for gender equality.” She recently discussed the lack of gender parity in arts leadership at her alma mater, the prestigious Courtauld Institute, in London. But according to the Mia website, of the eight top curatorial positions, six are held by white males.

And late last year, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Twin Cities’ leading newspaper, reported that Mia was “struggling to bring more diversity” to its curatorial staff. The ostensible reason advanced by the paper was that museum staffers were poached by other institutions, but does not go on to make the logical argument that Mia could recruit other staffers from minority groups to fill any gaps.

Instead, the Star Tribune reported that Feldman had appointed a diversity and inclusion manager to address the problem. The paper quoted Feldman as saying, “In order for Mia to stay relevant and meaningful to our audience, it’s important our employees are representative of the changing demographics of the Twin Cities.”Yasufumi Nakamori, the Institute’s Japanese curator of photography and new media, commented, “Mia has a long way to go—there should be more senior curators who are curators of color.”

Feldman is scheduled to start at the NGA on March 11.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

SPECIAL FEATURE TECH

Tom Davidson, Marla Beck and Mark Ein. (Photo by Tony Powell)

WASHINGTON LIFE’S 2019 INNOVATORS OF THE YEAR Conversations with three inspiring and determined leaders in ed tech, beauty and e-sports. he Oxford English Dictionary defines “innovator” as “a person who introduces new methods, ideas, or products.” Merriam-Webster’s definition is even simpler and more straightforward: “one who creates or introduces something new.” But the reality is that creating something truly new and different is never easy, nor is it straightforward. It takes keen vision, a lot of work and tremendous dedication. Tom Davidson, the founder of education software company EVERFI, says aspiring entrepreneurs must be willing to break through brick walls to enact their ideas. That’s what he did in his mission to bring innovative learning to not just communities who could afford it, but especially to those who couldn’t. Bluemercury founder and CEO Marla Beck simply doesn’t take “no” for an answer. She pivoted when her e-commerce business didn’t stick, made vegan products when she was told nobody wanted them, and

T

32

most recently persisted in her efforts to infuse single-use skincare pads with nutritive molecules when chemists told her it couldn’t’ be done. Investor and philanthropist Mark Ein has a track record of introducing new and unexpected ventures to the city, and bolstering the community as a result. Ein did this when he brought the Washington Kastles tennis team to the District and hopes to replicate that success (although this time it will likely be much more lucrative) with his recent acquisition of an e-sports team in the Overwatch League. He won’t say what it cost him, but the going rate for the franchises is between $30 and $60 million. The competitive video game league, where spectators fill arenas to watch players compete, has an estimated worldwide fan base of over 400 million and is growing exponentially each year. We asked Davidson, Beck and Ein to share their inspiration and their vision. >>>

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

always free to schools, but our paying customers are some of the biggest companies in the world. The NFL, Wal-Mart, Morgan Stanley and others license our products for typically high poverty areas in the country where families and kids couldn’t usually afford this type of stuff.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THE COMPANY? I was elected a state legislator in Maine right out of college and just loved that experience. One of the things that I was really interested in, and this was in the mid-’90s, was how technology was going to change education. Maine was a real trailblazer in this. We had the very first one-to-one laptop initiative in the country and were one of the first states to wire schools and libraries together to the internet and so, pretty early in the game, I just kind of cut my teeth on this idea that education technology was eventually going to be everywhere, and that it would probably give us the best chance to provide something that was just really a game changer to kids and communities that didn’t have it and couldn’t afford it.

So I founded EVERFI on the idea that you had to create a third party payer in order to make that happen because. I didn’t want it to be one more thing where districts that had the means to afford it could have it, and districts that didn’t couldn’t. That was really the kernel of the idea.

YOU HAVE SOME BIG; HOUSEHOLD NAMES AS INVESTORS INCLUDING JEFF BEZOS; RICHARD BRANSON AND BONO HOW DID YOU GET THEM ON BOARD? These are the folks I really wanted on board. It was intentional. I started with one or two big names—Jeff Bezos, for instance, was one of our really early investors. Once you’ve got a couple of these folks you can make a call and say, “Hey, Evan Williams from Twitter is an investor and thought you might think this was interesting.” At the end of the day, people want to be doing interesting things with interesting people and I think that it made some of the later conversations easier along the way.

It’s a fascinating, diverse group that also includes people like Richard Branson and Queen Rania of Jordan.

Tom Davidson believes doing good and building a successful business should not be mutually exclusive.

INTERVIEW BY VIRGINIA COYNE

H

e’s been recognized as one of the most innovative technology leaders in the country for his efforts to bring “real life” skills and education on touchstone issues to school children in every socio-economic group, and his mission has garnered the attention of some of the most high profile investors in the world. Tom Davidson’s education software company EVERFI, which he founded in Georgetown in 2008, made headlines in 2017 for raising $190 million in a funding round—one of the largest investments ever made in the education space. TEVERFI’s roster of investors includes Bono’s RISE Fund, TPG, Jeff Bezos, former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Twitter co-founder Evan Willams.

WHAT EXACTLY IS EVERFI? CAN YOU SHARE SOME EXAMPLES OF YOUR WORK FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT? EVERFI is an education software company that uses its platform to go after the biggest, most complicated social issues in the world that affect kids and families. These are things like financial illiteracy, student loan defaults, sexual assault prevention on college campuses, harassment in the workplace, prescription drug abuse and bullying. We create really interesting, sophisticated courses that are all done online and about seven million people a year take one or more of our courses.

The easiest way to think about it is that our courses are implemented in thousands of schools , colleges and universities across the country and we team up with the private sector, who pays for it all. So, it’s

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

YOU WERE RECENTLY HONORED WITH THE GOLDMAN SACHS BUILDER AND INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD; AND USED THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND OTHERS THAT “YOU CAN BUILD A SUCCESSFUL INNOVATIVE BUSINESS WHILE ALSO DRIVING TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT” WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? One of the things you find in the social impact world is that there are just so many cool companies, but they wind up being pretty small. I think people don’t actually put enough pressure on themselves to also try and build a big company while you’re doing it. That was something that was really important to me, and I tell people all the time, “I’m trying to build a company that’s very impactful, but I’m also trying to build just a really big software business at the same time.” If we’re going to celebrate messaging apps and companies that delivery e-commerce efficiently, we should also be celebrating and building companies that are going after pretty tough issues and just not leave that in the hands of the non-profits and the public sector.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS? My number one piece of advice is to pick an idea that you are literally willing to ram through a brick wall for. That is what I tell people again and again. You don’t have to know finance really well, you don’t have to know technology really well, and you don’t have to know raising capital really well, but you will not 100 percent succeed if you don’t have fire in your belly. That may sound really basic, but the one governor of everything has to be passion for what you’re trying to build. There are a lot of roads to get there along the way, but that initial idea is something that you just have to be willing to work on and think about for a hundred hours a week.

33

Photo by Tony Powell

Marla Beck’s Skincare Revolution INTERVIEW BY VIRGINIA COYNE

L

ast fall, after years of development, Marla Beck, CEO of luxury beauty retailer Bluemercury, founder of cosmetics brand Lune + Aster and creator of the M-61 skincare line, launched a new skincare category—serum pads.

She worked with chemists who at first told her it was impossible to infuse singleuse moisturizing pads for the face with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, peptides, vitamin B5 and vitamin C. But the entrepreneur, who founded Bluemercury 20 years ago with husband Barry Beck, does not give up easily. The brand first launched as an e-commerce site (Marla was inspired to start it after attending a talk at Harvard Business School given by Jeff Bezos, who had just recently launched a company called Amazon.) However, the learning curve to convince customers to buy luxury cosmetics online pre-Y2K was steep, and the Becks pivoted to brick and mortar stores. Their decision paid off. In 2016 they sold the business to Macy’s for $210 million. Today, they continue to lead the company, which boasts more than 180 shops nationwide.

She still tests every product that is sold in their stores and jumps on weekly calls with managers to hear what customers are requesting. When not in the office, Beck volunteers as a mentor with Female Founders Office Hours, an organization which helps women raise capital for and grow their companies. She also cofounded, along with Halcyon CEO Kate Goodall, the Halcyon Fast Forward event series featuring conversations with women leaders, which Beck leads.

“There was a void in the marketplace of speaker series – very few of them showcased the incredible visionary women that we know are out there in droves, and none of them did so with a female host,” says Goodall. “To listen to Marla speak openly about the mountains she has summited in conversation with other very successful women business leaders is really special.”

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR INTEREST IN MENTORING FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS It’s really important to me to give advice to women who are just starting out. Here’s why: if you look at fundraising (raising capital), 97 percent of new venture capital goes to men, and it actually dipped last year.

That’s because the venture capital firms are predominantly male. If we start to create this network of female business leaders and venture capitalists, you begin to break that down.

WHAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR CREATING YOUR M- “HYDROBOOST” AND “VITABLAST C” SERUM PADS? For me, it’s always about serving our clients and creating products that fit

34

into their lifestyles. My personal experiences also inspire innovations. I was making an appearance on the Home Shopping Network a few years ago, and as I was packing I thought, “I hate traveling with all my beauty products. I have to get them all into pads.” That was my dream. These took so long to develop because to put a serum in a pad, you have to make sure that all the active ingredients don’t stay on the pad when you apply it, that they go into your skin. Our vitamin C product took especially long because we were using ingredients that have never been put on a pad before. The challenge with vitamin C is that it oxidizes, which means once you expose it to the air, it starts to degrade and it loses its efficacy. This is the first pure dose vitamin C in a pad. And, again, it took so long because we had to figure out how it wouldn’t oxidize.

HOW INVOLVED ARE YOU IN THE ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT? FOR INSTANCE; ARE YOU IN THE LAB WITH THE CHEMISTS CREATING THE PRODUCT? Yes, I work directly with the chemists, although they’ve repeatedly told me things like “it can’t be done,” or “you can’t do this.” That’s when I respond: “But I HAVE to. And I CAN.” I’ve been pushing the boundaries for years. M-61 launched with vegan products and the chemists would say to me, “Why do you need vegan products?”

I’d been a vegetarian for over 20 years and I had moved to vegan. We had clients coming in asking for vegan products, so I knew they would sell. Same with gluten free. The chemists were skeptical. Now we have people coming in with celiac disease who use our products religiously. I think we’re able to see trends ahead of everybody else and that makes me push the chemists.

Of course, they know the science, they know what goes together. Sometimes I’ll mix things myself and they laugh and tell me it’s not going to work. And it doesn’t. I have a million failed products.

WHAT’S IN THE FUTURE? I’m always looking for the next revolution. For me, it’s all about pushing the barrier of product development. I’d like to utilize biotech to create personalized products based on individuals’ DNA — to get a sample of their DNA, figure out genetically what their issues will be and try to presolve them. If we’re going to do that with medicine why can’t you do that with skincare? I have 100 ideas every day, and that’s just one of them that I foresee in the future. Because we should be able to do that, right? Why not?

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Mark Ein looks to the future of e-sports.

INTERVIEW BY MEREDITH FINEMAN

M

ark Ein’s understanding of what’s to come—and how to invest and seize the right opportunities—means he’s built successful entities for nearly three decades. With the Kastles, a pre-eminent District-based team-tennis experience, he built a new community, fitness initiatives and a way for citizens to get together again and again. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Capitol Investment Corp. and Venturehouse Group, and the newest owner of the Washington City Paper.

Now he has also acquired Washington, D.C.’s first team, which he has named the Washington Justice, in the Overwatch League, a professional e-sports organization where teams play the wildly popular Overwatch game, players are tied to major cities and get salaries and benefits just like football or hockey players. As the fervor around the promise of e-sports reaches a fever pitch, Ein promises to make his hometown one of the world’s preeminent e-sports capitals.

YOU’VE TAKEN THE KASTLES TO NEW HEIGHTS AND DONE “REGULAR” SPORTS TELL US ABOUT THE ESPORTS DECISION AND HOW IT’S BEEN THE SAME OR DIFFERENT Over my 25 year career, what we’ve done best is getting a couple years ahead of trends and investing before other people see it, whether it was mobile communications or data over wireless networks. For sports, it’s harder for teams to get people to come to the stands as the home experience gets better and better. The one contrast to that is e-sports, which is totally exploding. The fascinating thing about e-sports is it’s the biggest thing in the world that virtually everyone over 35 has no idea exists. The opportunity to invest in the preeminent e-sports platform was one that we found really compelling. There is a side of e-sports we can use to bring the community together. Hopefully we can also provide an inspiration for kids to get into computer science, technology and math and things that they might not do otherwise.

WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU ABOUT BEING INVOLVED IN E-SPORTS? The level of fan engagement is extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything like this. We had a bigger Twitter following than the Kastles after ten days. And the followers are from all over the world. Our coach and our players are from places all over the world.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

IT’S WELL KNOWN THAT YOUNG MEN LOVE E-SPORTS WHAT ABOUT FEMALE AUDIENCES? That’s a big part of what I hope to accomplish here.

There’s no reason this should be a gender-specific sport. Last year out of 120 players, there was only one female. One of my top priorities is to make sure that we have strong representation from both genders in our organization and on our team. So, we hired a female general manager. We hired the first female coach in the league.

One of the great joys I’ve had with the Kastles has been that we’ve had two players who came to matches as kids, as fans. That’s sort of the dream come true as an owner, starter, founder of a team and I definitely want that to happen here too. I really hope that ultimately we get players from D.C. on the team. It can be from any part of our region, any community regardless of income level or school system. We want to really use this as a way to provide an opportunity for everyone.

HOW DO YOU SEE OVERWATCH AFFECTING AND HOW DO YOU WANT IT TO AFFECT WASHINGTON? I want this to be another team that our community unites around. Young men in America between the ages of 18 and 24 watch 1.8 hours of traditional sports per week, 4.5 hours of e-sports per week and play video games 21 hours per week. What’s unique about the Overwatch model is that it’s citybased. So, that means when you own a team, you can use it to unite people in Washington. Our franchise actually also represents the entire Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. areas. Our hope is to create something that excites people in the entire region.

WHAT ABOUT WASHINGTON MAKES IT SUCH A GOOD MATCH FOR OVERWATCH?There are nearly a million Overwatch players in the D.C. area already—our game in our territory. It’s growing like crazy. There’s a huge embedded fanbase. It’s obviously a technologically savvy community and the region as well. When you have a global league and you’re the capital of the free world, it’s kind of a perfect match.

35

SPECIAL FEATURE TECH

XLI W A S H I N G T O N

LIFE

TECH

The local entrepreneurs leading the charge on national and global innovations.

I

n recent years, the Washington metropolitan area has consistently ranked among the nation’s top technology centers and the industry is now a critical component of its economy. The global real estate service Cushman & Wakefield’s most recent “Tech Cities 2.0” annual report ranked it second only to New York in terms of people employed in tech occupations. Forbes has named Washington the number one city for women in tech and in 2018 Jeff Bezos’ Amazon chose Arlington, Va., specifically Crystal City, as the (partial) home of its second headquarters, HQ2.

We share the win with Long Island City, Queens, New York. National rankings and Amazon’s HQ2 aside, it is undeniable that this town is full of world-class innovators.

Yes, Bezos is included, but so is Marcus Brauchli, a former Washington Post executive

36

editor who uses Washington as his hub while his venture capital firm, North Base Media, invests in emerging media markets in Southeast Asia, India and Mexico. Jay Newton-Small, a former Time Magazine correspondent, has started MemoryWell, a digital platform that helps elders tell their life stories, and as a result are better cared for as they age. Eric Roy founded Hydroviv, a company that creates custom water filters depending on an area’s needs, with his own money in an attempt to help citizens of Flint, Mich. They, and all of the unique individuals and businesses we feature on this year’s Tech 25 list, are true examples of social entrepreneurship.

They are making an impact on the world as a whole and it all begins right here in our hometown.

>>

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

JIM BANKOFF

Chairman and CEO, Vox Media @Bankoff JOHN ACKERLY

JEFF BEZOS

CEO and Co-Founder, Virtru @JohnAckerly1

Founder, Amazon @JeffBezos

In 2012, four years before Russian hackers meddled in our presidential election, Ackerly, a former White House technology expert who helped lead post 9/11 strategy during the Bush administration, and his brother Will, a former National Security Agency engineer, launched Virtru, an email and data encryption tool “to help people take back control of their data.” The technology allows subscribing businesses and individuals to revoke access to Virtru-protected files or email at any time, even after they have been read. Today, more than 5,400 corporate and institutional clients use the service, including the states of Maryland and Virginia, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Fortune 500 companies like Airbus.

Virtru recently secured $40 million in Series B funding, led by ICONIQ Strategic Partners.

He’s the world’s richest man ($138 billion as of this writing), an e-commerce pioneer and the founder and CEO of Amazon, the world’s second most valuable company. Bezos is also founder of aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin (a competitor of Elon Musk’s SpaceX) and the owner of The Washington Post, which he bought for $250 million in 2013 and has since revived and turned into a digital powerhouse.

In November, after speculation had stolen local business headlines for months, Bezos announced that Arlington, Va. and Long Island City, Queens would share Amazon’s highly anticipated second headquarters, HQ2. The “win” means 25,000 more jobs in Northern Virginia; a revitalization of Crystal City; and further solidification of the Washington region, the birthplace of America Online and numerous other national and global companies, as one of the country’s pre-eminent tech hubs along with Seattle and Silicon Valley.

A shrewd and sought-after investor, Bezos has invested in Twitter, Uber, locally-grown Everfi, and more.

What’s your advice to entrepreneurs?

“The journey will be two times as hard and three times as expensive as you think, but even the tough times can be rewarding if you are tackling an important mission in a truly differentiated way.” .

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

As an executive at AOL in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Bankoff developed and helped lead dozens of the most recognizable brands on the internet including MapQuest, Moviefone, the instant messaging application AIM and the search engine Netscape. He also co-founded celebrity news site TMZ.com. In 2008 Bankoff became chairman and CEO of the sports news website SB Nation, which would rebrand as Vox Media, and evolve into a modern media platform with a unique portfolio of sites and networks.

Vox Media’s properties now include SB Nation, Eater, The Verge, Vox, Curbed, Recode & Code Conferences, Polygon, Vox Creative, Concert, Vox Entertainment and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

The company continues to innovate and expand. In January, it acquired audience engagement platform The Coral Project, which is currently used by more than 30 publishers and 50 newsrooms in 12 countries, including the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Intercept and New York Magazine. Vox Media also produces many popular podcasts including Recode’s “Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway” and several video series on Facebook, YouTube, CNN, Netflix, and PBS.

37

SPECIAL FEATURE TECH

TIMOTHY CHI

CEO and Co-Founder, WeddingWire @WeddingWire

MARCUS BRAUCHLI SHELLY BELL

Founder, Black Girl Ventures @BGirlVentures Shelly Bell says she founded Black Girl Ventures (BGV) in response to the lack of equity in available funding for black and brown women entrepreneurs.

Her mission is to provide business development support and access to capital to minority women.

“Black and brown women founders are underserved and underfunded,” she says. “It’s time to change that.” In just two years, BGV has funded 13 womenled businesses via pitch competitions in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, Austin, Atlanta and Chicago. “We flip the traditional pitch competition model on its head by empowering the audience to vote, ask questions and donate to the winner,” Bell explains. The winner also receives a meeting with an investor and over $10,000 in resources.

Bell also serves on Halycon’s advisory committee.

Who should become an entrepreneur?

“Entrepreneurship is the future of work for people who don’t feel included at their current jobs.

Investors must take notice of culture to understand the need to invest in women and minorities.” .

38

Managing Partner and Co-Founder, North Base Media @mbrauchli A former executive editor of The Washington Post, Marcus Brauchli now travels the world searching for potential investments for his venture capital firm, North Base Media. His focus is on fast-growing media markets in Southeast Asia, India and Mexico, where large parts of the population are just getting access to smartphones and broadband. In India, for example, North Base has provided capital to Duta, a company that delivers news and information via the messaging service WhatsApp. Ten million people now use the product every month. For many, it’s the first time they’ve had mobile access to news, sports and entertainment. In Indonesia, North Base invests in IDN Media, which uses technology to deliver news and video to millennials, particularly women. “IDN’s site Popbela tells millions of young, mostly Muslim women things about relationships, beauty and health that they weren’t getting from traditional media,” he says.

Brauchli and his co-founder and fellow former journalist Saša Vučinić also invest in software companies like content monetization platform Piano and digital-video analytics service OpenSlate.

Chi, along with friends Sonny Ganguly, Lee Wang and Jeff Yeh, launched WeddingWire out of Chi’s house in Chevy Chase in 2007. Born out of the nowCEO’s own “frustrating and overwhelming” wedding planning experience, the result was a platform and marketplace that allows engaged couples to plan and execute their wedding digitally —everything from managing the guest list to finding vendors. The service is now used in 15 countries, including the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, France, Mexico, Brazil and India. In September, WeddingWire investors Permira Funds and Spectrum Equity announced the acquisition of XO Group, owner of TheKnot.com, for $933 million. They plan is to merge the two companies (while maintaining both brands) to create a leading global wedding player. Chi will stay on as co-CEO. What’s your recipe for success? “Find great partners. Sonny, Jeff, Lee and I started the company together from my living room. Twelve years later, we still work and sit in the same office together. It’s more than just complementary skill sets. It’s about truly enjoying the journey together, through all the ups and downs, wins and losses and successes and failures.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

TRIPP DONNELLY

CEO and Founder, REQ @TrippDonnelly

NIKI CHRISTOFF

Senior Vice President, Salesforce @nikichristoff Christoff, a tech industry veteran whose resume boasts stints at Google and Uber (and before that, a job in John McCain’s presidential campaign) was tapped by Salesforce in 2017 to open the company’s first Washington office and lead its federal relations and public affairs efforts. She works with the government to help modernize internet technology and address privacy concerns. Salesforce is a cloudbased customer relationship platform that manages sales, customer service and marketing efforts. It’s used by 150,000 businesses, including 97 Fortune 100 companies, and boasts $10 billion in revenue.

What advice would you give to others interested in a similar career path?” My professional mantra is ‘fortune favors the bold’ and I have not been afraid to pivot into new roles or industries.

When it comes to your career, trust your gut.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Donnelly’s digital marketing and brand management company just celebrated 10 years in the business with a rebranding of its own (it was formally known as RepEquity) to better align with the expanded range of solutions it offers its roster of global clients.

Companies like Amazon, Google’s parent company Alphabet, eBay, PayPal, StubHub, Disney, NAB, and PhRMA look to REQ for online reputation management, advertising strategy, analytics, search engine optimization and customer acquisition.

Donnelly began his career in local tech in 2000 as a senior vice president of the e-commerce company InPhonic. He says the landscape has changed significantly since then, adding, “I am energized by the businesses and entrepreneurs who are innovating within the Beltway and the region.” In January, Donnelly announced his company acquired SpeakerBox, an award-winning strategic communications and public relations firm.

This was the third acquisition in REQ’s history.

What’s your advice to budding entrepreneurs?

“Surround yourself with smart, passionate people and, in the words of Winston Churchill, never, never, never give up.”

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

ANTHONY J FERRANTE

Global Head of Cybersecurity, FTI Consulting @ThinkBigMaine He joined the FBI in 2005 as a special agent and went on to become chief of staff of the FBI’s Cyber Division and then director of Cyber Incident Response at the National Security Council during the Obama administration. There, he coordinated the country’s response to unfolding national and international cybersecurity crises. Today, Ferrante is a sought-after cyber risk management expert and CNN law enforcement analyst.

Revelations of Russian hacking during the 2016 presidential election have provided no shortage of questions or talking points for Ferrante, who was hired by BuzzFeed last year to help verify aspects of the dossier the site had published about President Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.

What is your favorite or most-used app?

“Google News. I like to stay current with events around the world and don’t want to limit myself to just one source. Google News gives me access to a continuous and customizable flow of information from various sources.”

39

SPECIAL FEATURE TECH

COACH KATHY KEMPER

CEO and Founder, Institute for Education @CoachKemper BLAKE HALL WINSTON FRAZER

CEO and Co-Founder, Danae Prosthetics @FrazerWinston “We are the design house for humanity,” says Frazer, whose Baltimore-based company uses 3D printing technology to create custom prosthetic covers for lower limb amputees. Using measurements and a scan or photograph of a patient’s sound leg as reference, his engineers create a cover in unique colors or designs, such as the American flag, but that are symmetrical to the existing leg.

Frazer launched the company in 2016 after spending a semester studying abroad in São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation off the coast of Africa. There, he noticed that an unusual number of the citizens were amputees. Inspired by their “unshakable will” he decided to use his education in art and technology (he is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art) to help empower amputees in the United States and abroad by allowing them to choose what their artificial legs looked like, and Danae Prosthetics was born.

What’s Next? “We see our company expanding to being a fully innovative 3D printing facility that will allow you to print everything you can dream of with metal, powders and resins.”

40

CEO and Co-Founder, ID.me @Blake_Hall A former U.S. Army platoon leader in Iraq who earned the Bronze Star with Valor, Hall started ID.me in 2010 while attending Harvard Business School. The company initially focused on helping the military. “Organizations didn’t have an efficient way to verify military service online to give out discounted or free benefits and services,” he explains. After the National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded a $2.6 million grant in 2012, the company expanded its eligible user base to all Americans and earned a rare federal certification to issue a digital login that works like PayPal but functions like a digital drivers license.

Once customers have created an account and verified their identity, they can use the same login across a number of government, healthcare and financial services websites. The company boasts more than 8.5 million users and is adding 20,000 new customers every day. Clients include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Ford, General Motors, Under Armour and the State of California.

Fun fact: “I’m still the number one Google search result for the phrase “muscly entrepreneur.” Thank you Economist magazine! Time to hit the gym.”

Coach Kemper, as she prefers to be called, is a former Georgetown University tennis coach and instructor to they city’s elite. It was out her connections with high-ranking clients in politics that her Institute for Education (IFE) was born.

Part nonprofit, part thought salon, the organization celebrates political common ground and the use of technology in government and diplomacy. “We believe everyone needs to understand technology to keep our democracies strong,” Kemper says.

Since informally launching 27 years ago (early salons were merely breakfast meetings between her tennis students, like then-Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, and some of her husband James Valentine’s business colleagues) the group has hosted over 400 speakers, including Supreme Court justices and Nobel laureates. When President Obama’s chief technology officer, Todd Park, became involved in IFE in 2006, the organization took a technological turn and began hosting panel discussions at partnering embassies on topics such as drones, cryptocurrency, robotics and artificial intelligence.

What are you most proud of? “With the help of former U.S. Chief Technology Officers Todd Park and Megan Smith, IFE has partnered with the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering to offer a free coding camp for underrepresented school children.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

JAY NEWTON-SMALL

CEO and Founder, MemoryWell @JNSmall

KEITH LEMER

CEO, WellNet Healthcare @WellNet_WN Health insurance plans can be both costly and confusing. Lemer’s WellNet Healthcare aims to lessen the pain for businesses by offering lowercost, transparent health insurance to companies and their employees. “What many employers don’t realize,” he says, “is that behind the rising health care bills, there are secret hospital deals between these health systems and the insurance companies that squelch competition.” Leveraging specialized software, which Lemer holds a patent on, WellNet has taken out the middle man and assembled a plan that is identical to that of large health insurance companies like Blue Cross, United, Cigna and Aetna—for a fraction of the cost. The company, which was formed over 20 years ago, has offices in Washington, Philadelphia and New York, and employs remote executives around the country.

Demand continues to grow. Lemer says WellNet has grown the business by about 40 percent in the past year and is expecting similar results for 2019.

Lincoln, the global chairman of the business department at the international law firm Cooley LLP, and co-founder of the firm’s first East Coast office, has become many Washington entrepreneurs’ go-to guy (one founder called him a “guru”) when it comes to matters surrounding venture capital, mergers and IPOs. His practice focuses on emerging companies, including those in cybersecurity, fintech, edtech and artificial intelligence. In 2018, Lincoln advised cybersecurity company Tenable on its $288 million initial public offering; helped New Enterprise Associates and Oak Investment Partners with its $50 million financing of e-commerce site Jet.com; and represented CrowdRise, a company founded by actor Edward Norton, on its recent sale to GoFundMe.

In the simplest of terms, tell us how you bring costs down. “As health insurance premiums are derived from the cost of medical and prescription claims, just like an expensive fender bender raises auto insurance rates, when you lower the cost of the claims, you lower the cost of the premiums.”

As an attorney, what’s the one piece of advice you would give emerging companies? “Trust your gut and instincts just as much if not more than you trust numbers and spreadsheets (and, on this point, read “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, if you have not already done so).”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

MIKE LINCOLN

Business Department Chair, Cooley LLP @lincolnmr

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Former Time correspondent Jay Newton-Small, whose last assignment was covering Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, left the magazine to launch MemoryWell, a digital platform for elder storytelling.

The idea grew out of her experience with her father, who had Alzheimer’s. When admitting him into a care community, she was asked to fill out a complicated, 20-page questionnaire. She tossed it and, instead, used her journalistic skills to write a story of his life that was used by his caretakers as a bonding exercise and to better understand his experiences. Today, MemoryWell has raised more than $1 million in funding, has more than 650 freelance writers on its rolls and is used in more than 35 assisted living communities in 19 states. Last year, the company launched a paid pilot program with Brookdale Senior Living, the largest provider of senior care in America and this year is starting a pilot program with Alphabet Inc.’s Clover Health.

What advice do you have for elder care entrepreneurs? “The aging space requires a lot of patience. It’s not the most innovative place. That said, change here is so meaningful when you achieve it. We watch sometimes in awe as our stories form connections and community and draw people out of isolation. Capturing stories that otherwise might be lost to time, recording the threads that make up our common history, is so powerful.”

41

SPECIAL FEATURE TECH

FIG O’REILLY

Datanaut, NASA and Executive Director, Space Apps DC @figoreilly

ROSHAWNNA NOVELLUS

Founder, EnrichHER @iEnrichHER EnrichHER is a micro-lending platform helping fuel the growth of women-led businesses by enabling female founders to secure capital in an affordable and non-dilutive way. Loans range from $50,000 to $1 million and are made to prescreened women-led companies. Novellus’ desire for financial independence began at a young age.

She was awarded over $600,000 in scholarships, earned four higher education degrees, including a doctorate in engineering, graduated debt-free and went on to become an oracle of sorts for women looking to pave their own financial paths.

Since launching in 2017, EnrichHER now has 17,000 community members and successfully raised a pre-seed round of investment capital. Novellus has been a fellow at both the Halcyon Incubator and Lighthouse Labs in Richmond, Va. and won the Future is Female pitch competition at SXSW. Words to live by: “There is no blueprint for success.”

42

A 2016 graduate of George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, Fig O’Reilly has spent the past year as a NASA datanaut — using her education and coding expertise to engage with the National Air and Space Administration’s open data to, according to NASA, “create innovative new thinking, processes and products.” O’Reilly also visits schools to teach coding to children and launched the #EmpowermentThroughCoding hashtag to show them it’s cool. The social media initiative gained traction in 2018 when O’Reilly was invited to attend NASA’s interplanetary InSight mission launch to Mars in May and partnered with the national organization Girls Who Code to cover the event and take its members behind the scenes as it landed on Mars in November. As the executive director of Space Apps DC, she organized the NASA Space Apps Challenge for our region in October and will do so again this year; the challenge is an international hackathon made up of engineers, technologists, scientists, programmers and other problem solvers who race to create space exploration innovations over the course of a weekend on a global scale.

Fun fact: O’Reilly is also a THE Artist Agencyrepresented model who has graced the fashion pages of this magazine twice.

EMILY RASOWKSY

CEO and Founder, Women in Tech Campaign @ERasowsky Rasowsky launched her Women in Tech Campaign five years ago in reaction to a magazine article that insinuated women in technology could not identify themselves as such if they were not scientists and coders. “I felt that the tech world was more than just code,” she says, “and wanted to help women in the industry not only feel proud of their stories but also confident that they have the right skills and strengths to be successful.” Today, her organization supports women in the field by promoting their stories and providing them with strength assessments and workshops to match them with mentors and companies. She does all this around her own “day job” in tech as a customer experience specialist at the energy technology platform Sparkfund.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who feel as if they’re not seeing results? “It doesn’t all need to happen today, this month or even this year. Rome wasn’t built in a day and greatness takes patience. It’s okay to change things, to mess up and to make mistakes.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

RYAN ROSS

Chief Innovation Officer, Halcyon @ryanross316 Ross oversees the acclaimed Georgetown-based Halcyon Incubator, which identifies promising earlystage social entrepreneurs from around the world and helps them build scalable and sustainable businesses. Collectively, Halcyon ventures have raised over $56 million in funding, have created over 550 jobs and have affected the lives of close to 700,000 people around the world. Ross is also helping the nonprofit group expand its global impact. This past summer, Halcyon hosted and trained social entrepreneurs from South Korea and an all-female group from Saudi Arabia. “In our city, it’s easy to give in to cynicism,” he says. “But when you see the ideas social entrepreneurs are creating, you realize the future is very bright.”

What advice would you give to early-stage entrepreneurs? “Don’t try to boil the ocean.

You have too much to do, and not nearly enough time to do it. Instead of trying to do everything, focus in on a specific pain point your customer has and build from there.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

ERIC ROY

GENEVIEVE RYAN

Scientific Founder, Hydroviv @EricRoyPhD

Founder and CEO, Real World Playbook @genevievemryan

Roy, a chemist by training whose career focus was on developing technology that is widely used by the military, government agencies and first responders to detect explosives and chemical weapons, started Hydroviv in 2015 in response to the lead crisis in Flint, Mich. Working out of his apartment in Washington, and using his own money, Roy developed high capacity lead removal water filters and donated them to families and child-centric organizations in need. The experiment evolved into an e-commerce water filter company that customizes and optimizes each product based on the individual customer’s water quality data.

That means if your city has higher levels of lead, chromium 6 or arsenic than others, your water filter will address those specific hazards more vigorously.

“Other companies mass produce one size fits all products and sells the same thing to everyone,” he says. In continuing with its charitable roots, Hydroviv donates a portion of all purchase to providing water filtration to low-income families.

Upon graduating from law school and starting a new job at an investment bank, Ryan says she realized how underprepared she was for life in the “real world.” When it came to enrolling in a 401k, choosing a health insurance plan or navigating the leasing process, she felt clueless and quickly realized her contemporaries felt the same. Ryan, the daughter of Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan, founded Real World Playbook to close the knowledge gap facing her generation and to help young adults land on their feet in the working world. The company provides “a one-stop shop to navigate adulthood.”

Need help figuring out how to sign up for a checking account or start a retirement plan? Don’t know how to register your car? Is renter’s insurance necessary?

Real World Playbook’s website has all those answers and more, including a vocabulary guide for terminology related to health, finances and work.

What should entrepreneurs be cautious of? “Be wary of events where everyone boasts about how great things are. Almost everyone is either overstating their success and status or trying to sell you services.”

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

How are you reaching young people? “We recently launched our proprietary ‘Real World Ready’ educational program at colleges across 10 states, which will allow us to reach thousands of students before they graduate! We are continuing to expand to colleges across the country, and are creating a platform of customized resources and tools to help young adults navigate their twenties.”

43

SPECIAL FEATURE TECH

WASHINGTON LIFE’S TECH

HALL OF FAME Jenny Abramson Reggie Aggarwal Serene Al-Momen Aerica Banks Sanju Bansal Michael Beckerman Dan Berger Charlene Brown Michelle Brown Evan Burfield Teresa Carlson Steve Case Andrew Chang Zach Christenson Alan Clifford Gregory Coleman Kevin Conroy Ian Costello Jack Davies Donn Davis Max Duckworth Mark Ein Phil Esterman Trever Faden Raul Fernandez Amelia Friedman Allen Gannett Miles Gilburne Kate Glantz Sean Glass Shana Glenzer Sarah Godlewski Kate Goodall John Gossart Paul Guthrie Richard Hanlon Donna Harris Kyle Hendrick Gary Hensley Rachel Holt Yuriko Horvath Mariama Kabia Goldy Kamali Marc Katz Jim Kimsey Ajay Kori Daniel Kuenzi

44

Ted Leonsis Zach Leonsis Ben Lundin Jonathan Marks Anna Mason Meagan Metzger Jose David McPeek Ben Miller Todd Moore Mario Morino Nigel Morris Carey Anne Nadeau Jordan McBride Rob McGovern Bill O’Hara Geoff Orazem Laura O’Shaughnessy Garrett O’Shea Dale Nirvani Pfeifer Rep. Jared Polis Jon Powers James Quigley Susanna Quinn Sage Salvo Michael Saylor Steve Senkus Juan Pablo Segura Fred Schaufeld Jeff Sheely Danya Sherman Eric Shih Alex Skatell Manu Smadja Chris Spanos Lisa Throckmorton Susan Tynan Benjamin Young Daniel Yu Archana Vemulapalli George Vradenburg Mark Walsh Mark Warner Elise Whang Tom Wheeler Stacie Whisonant Tammy Wincup Alex Wirth

KARA SWISHER

Founder and Editor at Large, Recode; Host, “Recode Decode” podcast @karaswisher Her Twitter profile describes her as the “grumpy lady of tech” and both there and on her Facebook page she offers no-holds-barred thoughts on not just technology news, but politics and other issues of the day. “This guy’s an idiot,” Swisher writes of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in reaction to a news article in December. Other comments about President Trump and conservative commentator Ann Coulter are more strongly worded. The veteran technology business journalist (she has written for The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and the New York Times) launched tech news site Recode with friend and colleague Walt Mossberg in 2014 and sold it to Vox Media the following year.

Today, she is the site’s editor at large, host of the popular “Recode Decode” podcast (which she also founded), host of the “Revolution” series which airs on MSNBC and an NBC News contributor.

What’s in the future? Swisher has said she’d like to run for mayor of San Francisco in 2023.

What is the most important thing we should know about technology right now? “It’s killing us.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

BRETT SCHULMAN

CEO, CAVA @cava The locally-based Mediterranean fast casual restaurant chain CAVA is one of the industry’s biggest success stories. Since launching in Rockville in 2011, the company has shown steady and continued growth and now has outposts in 10 states and the District of Columbia, with more locations to come. In August, CAVA announced it was acquiring Zoe’s Kitchen, another Mediterranean fast casual chain, for $300 million. Despite the expansion, the company remains focused on keeping the product and service consistent, Schulman says. His secret weapon: technology. CAVA uses in-store sensors to know how many people walk through the doors, how long they wait in line, where the choke points are on the food assembly line and how long people sit to eat. (It’s all anonymized data, he promises.) The result: improved service, fresher food and shorter wait times. “We want to use tech to enhance the human experience,” he says, “not replace it.” What’s next? CAVA plans to open a handful of drivethrough digital pickup windows next year, where customers can order ahead via the CAVA app and be assured their order is ready before they pull up.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

TONY WEAVER

MELINDA WITTSTOCK

Founder, Weird Enough Productions @TonyWeaverJr

CEO and Founder, Wings Media and Verifeed @MelindaWings

After mentoring an African-American fourth grader who didn’t feel there were any superheroes representative of him in popular culture, Weaver decided to turn his own love of comics into Weird Enough Productions, a media company that uses diverse content (superhero protagonists are of different races, genders, sexualities and have different world views) to combat media misrepresentation.“ We create graphic novels that inspire everyone to embrace their quirks and think outside of stereotypes,” he says. “Plus, we have a tool for teachers that lets them use our content to teach media literacy.” The nascent company is already getting recognized. In the last year, Weaver won a pitch competition at the Future of Education Technology Conference, made the Forbes “30 Under 30” list and was accepted into the Halcyon Incubator and the AT&T Aspire Accelerator program.

“I have a big mission to catalyze women to lift as they climb,” Wittstock says. “That means mentoring, promoting, buying from and investing in each other.” The founder of Wings Media, a community to advance female entrepreneurship, host of the podcast “Wings Of ... Inspired Business” and founder and CEO of social intelligence platform Verifeed, Wittstock says she plans to invest $10 million over the next 10 years in female-run startups. Last year, her podcast was downloaded more than 250,000 times. She also hosts Wings of Success, a training platform featuring 65 high performing women entrepreneurs, many with eight, nine and even 10-figure businesses. Wings Media has evolved into a membership platform with 62 percent month-on-month growth. As for Verifeed, the company powers Wings with its technology and is focused on assuring its clients a Return on Authenticity™ from personalized social engagement as well as valuation growth and its intelligence is now utilized in the mergers and acquisitions space.

Should young people wait until they have more work experience before jumping into entrepreneurship? “No. The sooner you get your idea off the ground the better off you’ll be. Entrepreneurship isn’t something you save until you’re in your mid 40s. If you have an idea, start now. You won’t regret it.”

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

What’s the secret to success? “Success is in your head. If you can visualize it, you can achieve it. Make sure you give yourself quiet time to reflect and take care of yourself; and invest in great coaches and masterminds.”

45

SPECIAL FEATURE TECH

IS ESTONIA THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY SAVVY COUNTRY ON EARTH?

I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY TECH NECK

BY MEREDITH FINEMAN

AN INTERVIEW WITH ESTONIAN AMBASSADOR JONATAN VSEVIOV

P

icturesque Estonia, with its hilltop castles, lush forests and rocky beaches seems an unlikely contender to be the most digitally advanced nation on earth. Yet this small Baltic country (population only 1.3 million, about the same as the state of Maine) is widely recognized as just that. It’s the birthplace of Skype, its capital city Tallinn is a hub for startups, and citizens can now do virtually everything online. We asked Jonatan Vseviov, the Estonian Ambassador to the United States, to tell us more. >>

WASHINGTON LIFE: What exactly does a “digital society” mean? Can you share some examples of how your country exemplifies that term?

JONATAN VSEVIOV: We use the same technology everybody else uses, however, we are more innovative in the way we use it. In the 1990s we created a digital identity for every Estonian citizen, which is basically a national ID card with a chip in it. And everyone has a personal PIN code. Then we made sure all our databases like that at the DMV, for instance, and that at the doctor’s office were able to talk to each other. We call it the X-Road, which is basically a data highway between different databases.

We amended our legislation in a way that made your digital signature become as valued as your physical analog paper signature. That enabled people to start a business online, sign documents online, and identify themselves online not only to the government, but also to private businesses. Today most of the interactions between Estonian citizens and the Estonian government take place online. We do our taxes online, usually in less than five minutes. We even vote online. Documents are signed online. Cars are bought and sold online and 99.8 percent of bank transactions are completed online. The only thing you cannot do online is get married or buy real estate.

WASHINGTON LIFE: What are you country’s financial savings as a result?

JONATAN VSEVIOV: We believe that roughly two percent of our GDP annually is saved by people doing things online. That’s about what we spend on national defense.

WASHINGTON LIFE: What advice would your country give the United States about how we can be more digitally savvy?

JONATAN VSEVIOV: On a daily basis we think of ways we could use our example in a positive way in other countries. The U.S. is obviously a huge nation and with its own unique laws and permissions, so much of what we have accomplished is very difficult to translate directly at the federal level. At the state level, however, a lot of things that we’ve done are easily doable. We get visitors at the embassy often from different states trying to learn from our experiences of how to make government

46

N

ora Ephron’s book “I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts About Being a Woman” expressed her gripes on aging, particularly the constant fear that her neck would be the dead giveaway of her advancing years. I feel bad about my neck, but in a very different way. My neck hurts ... all the time. I, among many others these days, am a victim to what’s called “tech neck.”

We get tech neck by burying our heads in our phones and computers for hours at a time. It’s sort of like a backward “evolution of man” as we start hunching farther and farther over to scroll on our devices. We’re paying the price — tech neck leads to pain, but can also trigger migraines and vision issues.

The condition technically results from putting weight on your neck that shouldn’t be there. A jaw specialist once demonstrated this to me with a weight in my right hand. If my wrist was aligned (aka in this case, you’re standing up straight with your shoulders back and your head up), it was easy for me to hold up the weight. If my hand drooped (your head falling forward and thus out of alignment) and I held the weight, it was nearly impossible and became very tiring and painful. That is what’s happening with your neck — your head is too far forward and out of alignment, which makes it feel much heavier than it is and strains your neck terribly. ”According to one study published in the journal ‘Surgical Technology International’ “if the head is tilted 15 degrees forward, the effect of the head’s weight is equal to 27 pounds. By 60 degrees forward, the effect can reach up to 60 pounds.” The extra weight pulls your spine out of alignment and can lead to not only pain but herniated discs.

So what does one do about tech neck? Aesthetically, Botox can help with the lines and sagging. But to fix the pain and forward curvature, here are some tips from the experts: 1. Do 20 shoulder rolls forward and backward a few times per day. This will loosen up your shoulders so they don’t fall too far forward with your neck, says my chiropractor. I set an iPhone reminder to do this once a day (see, phones aren’t all bad).

2. Try a standing desk or make sure your regular desk is aligned properly.

Your legs should be at a 90-degree angle, the top of your computer should be aligned with your eyes.

3. Bring your mobile device up to your face instead of your face down to your device.

4. Try Screen Time, the new app integrated into the new iOs on iPhone that restricts unnecessary Instagram time. I feel like my own good parent.

When my mom yelled at me to sit upright she was right, so instead of nagging your sagging teen, maybe show them some research.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y over the moon﹐ around town﹐ capital caring gala﹐ imagination stage gala and more!

Kellyanne Conway, Abeer Al Otaiba and Mayor Muriel Bowser at the SemSem pop up shop at Cafe Milano.

(Photo by Tony Powell)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

49

AROUND TOWN

Horses for Courses Irrepressible horsewoman, animal rights activist and Hunt Country hostess Rose Marie Bogley celebrates 90 with compassion and style.

50

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

L E S L I E M A I S A N O ; J O A N N E

fields, a good horse under her, hounds baying and hooves pounding.

The couple had a baby girl, Hilleary. She was just nine months old when tragedy struck.

One day as the Bogleys were riding together, the foot of Sam’s horse plunged into a hole, and he went down.The horse’s entire weight fell on him. He died of his injuries 44 days later.

The crisis would have felled a lesser mortal, but she is a “gung-ho” woman, able to rise to the occasion, and then go to meet it.

Over the years she has chaired many of Washington’s top social events. Entertaining friends is important to her, from dinner parties for eight to huge hunt breakfasts up in the hundreds after all the riders come in.

She hosted 500 for the Middleburg Humane Foundation, a charity her daughter founded.

H I T C H E N ;

nce there was a young beauty from Johnstown, Pa., with long, lean legs and long, blonde locks who daily drew sighs as she passed through the halls of Congress en route to her job.

She caught the eye of a successful real estate developer/banker. Smitten, he vowed that he would change Rose Marie Parker’s last name to his own.

She said, “Good luck!” and walked away.

He persisted, and eventually she married Sam Bogley, an avid foxhunter who was the master of the Potomac Hunt.

Rose Marie Bogley was a natural athlete, who, at the side of her two golfing brothers, had become an accomplished golfer herself.

She became passionate about the hunt, loving the excitement of rushing over the

J A N E T

O

Peace and Plenty at Bollingbrook in Upperville, Va.

B Y

“First Lady of the Fox Hunt” Rose Marie Bogley won first prize in Side Saddle Class competition at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show in 2007 when she was 79.

P H O T O

Bogley (with Bob Heggestad) celebrated her 90th birthday at an at-home dinner dance in December.

An accomplished horsewoman and breeder, Bogley has an exceptionally trained eye. After she decided to ride sidesaddle, she wanted to take part in competitive events but had no teacher.

She found a manual and taught herself.

She entered first at Washington’s International Horse Show competition, then at Madison Square Garden, where she saw her name in lights three times.

“Rose Marie’s artistry and style and her great humanity make her an icon,” says her friend Lisa Barry, the dynamic corporate star who wrought changes in major organizations such as Chevron and AOL. “If she had been born 30 years later, her drive and interpersonal skills would have placed her in the CEO suite, or in high political office.”

When she longed for a more rural setting she bought Bollingbrook, a neglected 400-acre, pre-Civil War plantation that had once been part of a 1709 land grant by Lord Fairfax to the legendary Robert “King” Carter.

She named it Peace and Plenty—a favorite title of hers—at Bollingbrook. With its long, impressive driveway, 100-foot entry hall and fine furnishings, it was the perfect setting recently for her cherished animals (at this writing she has eight dogs, five cats and 23 rescue horses she has saved from slaughter) and most recently a spectacular dinner dance to celebrate her 90th birthday.

Inside story: Needing wall coverings to decorate the tent, Bogley remembered tablecloths she had bought for a ball she chaired some years back.Voila! Instant crimson curtains. Bogley and her best buddy, attorney Robert “Bob” Heggestad , planned every sumptuous detail, including the haute cuisine (some of which she cooked).

“You only come this way once,” she said.

“If you get it right, once is enough, and God knows I tried!”

H A C K E R

BY DONNA SHOR

Andrew Peng and Lily Qi Ashley Whitlock and Allison Solomon

Kristin and John Cecchi with Tara and Jarrod Patten WL SPONSORED

IMAGINATION STAGE WINTER BALL Embassy of Italy | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL INVESTING IN THE ARTS: Imagination Stage’s annual gala jump-started the holiday season. Students ages 12-14 who benefit from the theater’s classes emceed, entertaining guests as they dined on cuisine from Occasions Catering. The Imagine Award was presented to playwright Miriam Gonzales, who wrote the play “Óyeme, the beautiful” which tours as part of Imagination Stage’s ¡Óyeme! program. “Art is what we honor tonight,” she said, “the spirit of imagination and creativity that’s born into each and every one of our hearts.” A live auction brought in $71,000 (the event raised $300,000 overall). The evening was chaired

by Kim Barne e, Sara Lange and Chris Taylor with Antonio Tijerino and Armando Trull serving as honorary chairmen.

Linda Parisi, JJ Finkelstein and Connie Morella Tracy Olivera

Dwight and LaShelle Franklin

Jean-Marie Fernandez

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Rory and Lauren Pillsbury with Ashley and Matt Bronczek

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Sara Lange, Bonnie Fogel, Chris Taylor and Kim Barnette

Charles Johnson, Andrian Goodum and Pedro Alfonso

51

| BOOK TALK

AN EYE ON SOCIETY A new biography of Hope Ridings Miller looks at the journalist’s life and legacy.

BY ERICA MOODY

I

went as a guest, and hoped they’d soon forget I was a reporter.”

Such is the life of a society writer, one that Hope Ridings Miller (1906-2005) lived to the fullest. The pioneering journalist worked the society beat at the Washington Post from 1937 until 1944 before becoming editor-in-chief of the now-defunct glossy magazine Diplomat, and then writing three books on Washington society.

Miller’s cousin Joseph Dalton is just one author who looked up to the wordsmith and Washington hostess. His new book, “Washington’s Golden Age,” covers the small-town Texas native’s career path, how she blazed the trail for women in her field and navigated the changing ways of Washington. >> HOPE WROTE IN THE HEYDAY OF WASHINGTON SOCIETY, DURING THE NEW DEAL AND WORLD WAR II. WHAT WAS THE SOCIAL SCENE LIKE AT THAT TIME? There was an assumption of dignity and respect among all the [political] players and the social scene enforced that. It fostered alliances and bridges and understanding among legislators of opposing parties, diplomacy, the bureaucracy and military and local residents. The hostesses did enjoy showing off their homes and fine dresses but they also understood that, as Hope noted, society is where Washington does business. Hundreds of people were moving to Washington every week and they needed to build alliances and networks from around the city. During the early months and first couple of years after World War II, society exploded. There was one event after another and they were crammed full.

HOW DID HOPE APPROACH COVERING THE SCENE AS AN INVITED GUEST? She never carried a pad

52

and pen at a party. She said it would totally set her off the dynamic, and so she relied on her memory. But she also did carry a little notebook in her bosom. And occasionally she would dash up to the ladies room to jot

WHAT CAUSED THE DIPLOMAT TO ULTIMATELY FOLD? I think it lost its focus. The whole tone of the magazine changed when they tried to bring it more into world affairs instead of highlights about society, fashion and travel. There were a lot of very dense articles that were out of place with the nature of the magazine.

DID SHE FACE A LOT OF SEXISM WHEN SHE WAS THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE NEWSROOM? She said that throughout her career she never faced any discrimination that she was aware of. However, I found some tidbits that undermine that argument when she was at the city desk. She said that one of her duties, was to, every evening, check the drawer of her editor’s desk to make sure he had enough liquor to last the night. And if he didn’t, it was her job to go across the street to the liquor store to buy him another bottle. And the men asked her how to spell things.They’d call out across the room, ‘Miller, how do you spell ...” She said they just did it over and over because they were too lazy to go to the dictionary. She could hardly get her work done.

Hope Ridings Miller greets Vice President Richard M. Nixon at a reception in the mid-1950s

down what she just heard.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT YOUR COUSIN IN YOUR RESEARCH THAT SURPRISED YOU? The intimacy of her contacts. I learned that after she had been in Washington for about six years, she and her husband were invited to dinner at the White House, in the family quarters, and they had dinner with the Roosevelts.

And when she was running Diplomat magazine, she twice finessed the sale of it. She ran into John Kluge, one of the richest men in the world, at a party and suggested he add the magazine to his portfolio. It was moments like that that I realized she was a [power] player.

WHY DID HER JOURNALISM STAND OUT? Her writing gave you an insider’s view, and it made you feel like you were there with her at these events.

She had a wonderful sense of humor, but she was not a gossip monger. She said she never wrote anything that would hurt anybody. She was proper but not stuffy. She was the picture of dignity and being a lady.

WHAT WOULD HOPE THINK OF THE SOCIAL SCENE TODAY? She would be aghast—not at the social scene, but the general dynamic in Washington, the hostility toward the business of government. I think she would be clutching her pearls.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Debbie and Grant Faubion

Dr. John Whyte WL SPONSORED

PASSION FOR CARING GALA Dan and Barbara D’Agostino

Marriott Marquis | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL ONE ENCHANTED EVENING: More than 500 guests, many from the healthcare sector, joined hosts Alan and Lisa Zuccari and the Capital Caring community to celebrate the organization’s mission to provide terminally ill patients with palliative care, counseling and hospice services. The annual gala featured dinner, live and silent auctions and a musical performance

by ENCORE. More than $450,000 was raised to help make care more accessible for local patients. Capital Caring recognized the PANDA Palliative Care Team at Children’s National with the Passion for Caring award and Dr. Loring Flint, Inova’s chief physician executive and high reliability officer with the Chairman’s Award.

Gala Co-Chairwoman Lisa Zuccari and Capital Caring Interim CEO Tom Koutsoumpas Jarred Zuccari and Scott Stewart

ENCORE

Faith Lyons and John Burns

Alan, Jason and Sara Zuccari

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Gen. James Freeze

Dave and Danni Lougee with Susan Muir and Dr. Cameron Muir

53

Anabel, Celia and Anya Genetski

Alexa Torres and Lope Lim

Cindy Jones, Jack Evans and Jean-Marie Fernandez WL SPONSORED

Julie Kent and William Barbee

NUTCRACKER TEA PARTY National Museum of Women in the Arts | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Michael Zingali, Timothy Lowery and Lynda Erkiletian

Eleanor, Dana and Vivienne Rooney with Santa Claus

Robert and Juliett Lehrman

TEA FOR TWO OR THREE OR MORE : Washington Ballet supporters gathered for the company’s annual holiday tea party, complete with scones, Georgetown Cupcakes, activities for the kids, champagne for the adults and a photo op with the Sugar Plum Fairy for all. The event was followed by a matinee performance of “The Nutcracker” at the Warner Theatre. Kris McBrady and Allison Riepe co-chaired the tea (and a breakfast immediately before it). Proceeds supported performances, education and community engagement programs and training throughout the community.

Danielle Jones, Ella Mertz, Halle Lynam and Aubrie Creek

Lucy Holley and Catherine Dooley

WL SPONSORED

LIGHT UP THE SEASON Four Seasons | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Miriam Dillion and Hannah Bock’s “Holiday Butterfly Garden” tree (Photo by Mervin Duguran) 54

Amy Hauser, Kurt Newman and Amanda Sheehan

FESTIVITIES FOR THE FAMILY: Patients from Children’s National teamed with notable area designers and artists to create colorful and inventive wreaths, menorahs and Christmas trees for purchase at the Children’s Health Board’s second annual “Light Up the Season” charity event where families, friends and supporters of the hospital were treated to a festive, activity-filled day. Between photo ops with Dr. Bear and Santa Claus, children decorated cookies, made ornaments and enjoyed entertainment from the Metropolitan School of the Arts dance team and The Georgetown Saxatones a capella group among others. Longtime child advocate April McClain-Delaney served as honorary chair of the celebration.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

John and April Delaney with Muffin Lynham

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Scott Tucker, Lena Schuwer, Netherlands Amb. Henne Schuwer and Amb. of Finland Kirsti Kauppi

Caryn Reeves and Tad Czyzewski

Carol and Climis Lascaris

Felicity Williams and Wesley King WL SPONSORED

Emily Riffle and Ernesto Monter

CHORAL ARTS CONCERT AND GALA The Kennedy Center | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Gala chairs Iver and Lexy Kessler with their children Eleni and Tyler

Irish Amb. Daniel Mulhall and Julie Chase

Christie and Jeff Weiss

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Deborah Sigmund and Nazgol Fearnow

A SINGING CELEBRATION: Washington’s social and diplomatic communities were well represented at the Choral Arts Society’ annual holiday benefit, presented under the patronage of the Dutch Ambassador Henne Schuwer and Lena Boman Schuwer. Guests in festive black-tie (red, green and sparkly gowns were de rigueur) dined on a Dutch- inspired menu from Restaurant Associates, including a selection of Dutch cheeses and sudderlapjes (braised beef). The concert was followed by a silent auction, dinner and dancing on the Kennedy Center’s Roof Terrace. Thanks to the Netherlands partnership, the room was decorated with realistic replicas of Van Gogh’s artwork on loan from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam as well as larger-than-life prints of his work, creating an artgallery atmosphere.

Bethann Siegel, Katie Capana and Shannon Corey

55

Carole Feld Nicole Dowd and Chloe Bensahel

Performers

Patricia and Lloyd Howell

TRANSFORMER AUCTION & BENEFIT PARTY The Corcoran School of the Arts & Deisgn | PHOTOS BY BEN DROZ

Paul Smedberg and James Alefantis

Deidra Darden and Sheldon Scott

Maggie O’Neill, Christy Schlesinger and Dominique Fierro

LOCAL ART RULES: Since its inception, Transformer Art Gallery has been lifting up the voices of emerging artists by providing a platform for audience engagement and dialogue surrounding experimental art concepts. In celebration of its ongoing mission, supporters and friends gathered for a festive art auction and party to raise funds for the 2019 exhibition season. Carole Feld, Dana Rooney and Greek Ambassador Haris Lalacos and his wife Anna Michalopoulou chaired the event. Spirited guests examined 175 works on display from contemporary artists while enjoying entertainment from DJ Underdog and DJ Native Sun. After the auction, die-hards were spotted partying at the Line Hotel.

Amy Sherald and National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet (Photo by Paul Morigi/AP)

Holly Bass, Chuck Close and Philippa Hughes

FACE FORWARD ARTIST PARTY National Portrait Gallery | PHOTOS BY BRUCE ALLEN WHAT’S IN A FACE?: A festive group of more than 500 guests gathered to celebrate the museum’s 50 years of dedication to telling the American narrative through portraiture. The National Portrait Gallery’s director Kim Sajet sported a tall sparkly “NPG” headband as she mingled with several of the big named artists in attendance including Chuck Close and Amy Sherald, who became a household name last year with the unveiling of Michelle Obama’s official portrait. Guests enjoyed jamming to music from DJ Ayes Cold and violinist Joe Kye, visiting caricature stations and viewing the museum’s new exhibition “Eye to I: Self Portraits from 1900 to Today,” which remains on view through Aug. 18, 2019.

56

Byron Kim and Laura Peebles

Michael and Catherine Podell WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Diana Prince

Bridget Gummere, Kate Myers and Brigid Myler WL SPONSORED

WASHINGTON WINTER SHOW Katzen Arts Center, American University PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Helen Bragg Cleary and Helen Curtin

Wayne Fortune and Katharine Weymouth

Carol Joynt and Ellen Charles

Jocelyn Linke and Rosemarie Bogley

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Johanna Howe and Marilouise Avery

IN WITH THE OLDE: The “Cave Dweller” crowd wouldn’t dream of missing the Washington Winter Show preview party even if they do have to delay annual jaunts to Palm Beach and Lyford Cay to get first crack at the Chinese porcelains, Duncan Phyfe settees and 19th-century prints on display before the show opens to the public the following day. “”My children love old things. I’m the one who likes modern!” longtime patron Diana Prince said—a brave attempt at dispelling any notion that Millennials turn up their noses at brown furniture and silver tea pots, to say nothing of dear great grandmama’s 12-piece Wedgewood service for 20 guests.

Patrons browsed 40 dealers’ booths before, during and after hitting the bars (raw, cocktail, dessert), dining on Susan Gage-catered fare and peeking at a special exhibit of objets illustrating George and Martha Washington style of hospitality at Mount Vernon, presidential residences in New York and Philadelphia and the General’s many Revolutionary war headquarters.

Monaco Amb. Maguy Maccario Doyle

57

AROUND TOWN

Rebecca Magnuson’s ‘She Sings’ Empowers Abuse Survivors The one-woman musical show premiered at the Atlas Performing Arts Center.

BY AARON ROYCE

58

Ten percent of ticket sales from “She Sings” benefited the charity Knock Out Abuse.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

B E N

things are really bleak, but we must get up, speak out and help each other.”

After successful shows in the District and Nashville, Magnuson plans to expand “She Sings” nationally. Positive international reactions to her soundtrack have been especially encouraging. “I’ve gotten responses from women thanking me, telling me how empowered they feel, that the music gives them a voice,” she says, “and I want to bring a voice to the voiceless.”

Ultimately, Magnuson hopes guests will find healing and build their own abuse awareness from “She Sings.” “When we endure abuse we often isolate, shut down, and are embarrassed,” she says. “My goal is for people to leave shows feeling empowered and able to leave these situations, because they see there is a beautiful peace when that abusive person is out of their lives.”

B Y

“I’ve been writing and performing for years, and it has sustained me,” says Magnuson, who found solace in close friends. “My Nashville girlfriends supported me and opened up to me about situations they’d endured and when I began ‘She Sings’ I found myself in a position to give them this platform. It has themes so many women have experienced or know someone who has, and represents multitudes of women.”

After movements like #MeToo have grown, “She Sings” seems especially timely for the current social climate, a coincidence not lost on Magnuson. “What we see in today’s news is discrimination, harassment and narcissism and it is present every day,” she says.

“The only way to end this is to speak about it, and I am so fortunate I can get a message out there that’s an art form.”

“She Sings” helped Magnuson find inner power.“It was music that gave me strength,” she says.“I want every woman to know that anything is possible, and whatever your art form is, keep doing it.There are times when

P H O T O

ocal singer-songwriter and concert pianist, Rebecca Magnuson, premiered her one woman musical, “She Sings,” to a packed house at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC on November 16.

Her show also premiered in Nashville two weeks later, and is headed for Los Angeles on March 14 at The Zephyr Theatre on Melrose Ave. “She Sings” has attracted attention from Broadway producers, and she is currently in talks regarding options for a New York performance. Magnuson wrote and directed the show, and co produced a 13 track Original Cast Recording with Grammy winning producer, Jim Kimball. It is available at www.SheSings.com, Amazon and CD Baby.

After a difficult 17 year marriage and seven year divorce ending in June 2015, Rebecca began writing “She Sings,” not only for her own healing, but to bring awareness and empowerment to those who have endured verbal, emotional and/or financial abuse.

P E R F O R M A N C E

L

D R O Z

Rebecca Magnuson performs at the “She Sings” premiere

PARTIES PARTIES PARTIES

IT’S A WOMAN’S WORLD Celebrating women leaders in business, journalism and politics.

VIEW ALL THE PHOTOS AT WWW WASHINGTONLIFE COM

WOMEN RULE SUMMIT [FOUR SEASONS] P H O T O S B Y T O N Y P O W E L L

Elena and Robert Allbritton hosted a reception on the eve of the 6th annual Women Rule summit, a full day program showcasing powerhouse women and actionable talks focused on “how women are running, leading, earning and building.” Among the speakers were actress Felicity Jones, Uber vice president Rachel Holt and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Elena and Robert Allbritton with Susan Molinari

Stephen Kay, Hannah Linkenhoker, Patrick Steel and Piper Perabo

Alethia Jackson and Molly Ryan

Ami Aromson and Michelle Freeman

Anna Palmer and Amy Brandwein

Cindy Jones with Damir and Amra Fazlic

Jack Quinn and Dana Bash

Masih Alinejad and Melanne Verveer

Ashley Bronczek, Susanna Quinn, Candace Ourisman and Amy Baier

Betsy Fisher Martin, Daniel Lippman and Alice Lloyd

Prince Reza Pahlavi

WOMEN IN IRAN [GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY] P H O T O B Y T O N Y P O W E L L

POWER WOMEN IN WASHINGTON [QUINN RESIDENCE] P H O T O S B Y T O N Y P O W E L L

As 2018 came to an end, Glamsquad and Susanna Quinn (who recently sold her on-demand beauty app Veluxe to the company) hosted a celebration of power women in Washington. Guests departed with goody bags containing Glamsquad hair products and a copy of Quinn’s annual holiday cookbook .

SPOTTED: CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett, Gloria Dittus, JeanMarie Fernandez and Pam Stevens.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Renowned academics, policymakers and policy influencers joined for a conversation regarding the future of women in Iran, hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Actress Nazanin Boniadi, scholars Karim Sadjadpour and Afshin Molavi, author Azar Nafisi and activist Masih Alinejad, who started the online movements #MyStealthyFreedom, discussed the mobilization of women, demanding greater personal freedom and civil liberties in Iran. Margaret Brennan, moderator of CBS News’ “Face The Nation” moderated panels along with women’s rights ambassador and executive director of GIWPS Melanne Verveer.

59

Francesca Craig and Samia Farouki WL EXCLUSIVE

SPIRIT OF TOKYO GALA Mariko Mori performs outside

Dame Jillian Sackler, Sana Sabbagh and Ann Nitze

Freer/Sackler Galleries of Art | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL FANCY DRESS EXTRAVAGANZA Supporters of the Smithsonian’s Freer/Sackler Galleries donned fancy dress of an Asian motif to “globe trot” at an inaugural fall benefit featuring Japanese fashion, cuisine and music as well as exhibitions of photography and prints.

Trustees and major donors came from New York for the “Spirit of Tokyo”-themed gala, which included a VIP pre-reception featuring a performance by artist Mariko Mori that ended with each guest placing a pearl at the base of her installation. The event proved a perfect opportunity for Chase F. Robinson, the newly appointed director of the galleries, to speak of his vision for the institution’s mission to foster better understanding and cultural relations between East and West. After a buffet dinner in the Freer Gallery, guests were invited to join a younger, more boisterous band of benefactors next door at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art for drinks, dessert and dancing.

Robin Berrington

Elbrun and Peter Kimmelman

Lauren and Barbara Rapaport with Shelley and Doug Lowenstein Erich and Amanda Cabe

Steve, Tamara and Ethan Pann

JUVENILE DIABETES HOPE GALA National Building Museum | PHOTOS BY VITHAYA PHONGSAVAN FIGHTING DIABETES: Longtime Juvenile Diabetes Resarch Foundation supporters Tamara and Steve Pann chaired the organization’s annual “Hope” gala to raise more than $2 million for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Total Wine & More was honored for its support of research that has led to major scientific breakthroughs in the field. Sponsors included Clark Construction, NFP and The Meltzer Group .

60

Leigh Culbert and Devin Steward

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Wes and Lindsey Evans

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Jordanian Amb. Dina Kawar, Jennifer Isham, UAE Amb. Yousef Al Otaiba and Samia Farouki Luis Alberto Moreno and Franco Nuschese Marcy Cohen and Nancy Taylor Bubes

SEMSEM POP-UP Melany Rodriguez and Sandra Shehab

Cafe Milano | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Abeer Al Otaiba and Mayor Muriel Bowser

Mona Hamdy and Erica Jones

FRINGE RUFFLES & SEQUINS: Abeer Al Otaiba calls Washington her “home away from home,” and that compatibility couldn’t have been more apparent at her clothing brand’s first pop-up event at Cafe Milano in late October. Despite unrelenting rain, supporters of her luxury fashion label SemSem came out to celebrate the founder and creative director’s pop-up boutique. Under a tent covering Milano’s front porch and a section of its entrance, stylish guests—many wearing SemSem ensembles of course—shopped the brand’s colorful collection. Popular Australian DJ AMRIT curated tunes to match the vibe in a striped SemSem, one-shoulder number. Notable guests included BET Founder and restaurant regular Bob Johnson and his wife Samira Baraki.

Raul Fernandez, a stakeholder in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Capitals, passed around his Stanley Cup ring for guests to try on. ALSO SPOTTED: Amy and Bret Baier, Elena and Robert Allbritton and Mayor Muriel Bowser. The evening benefited the nonprofit College Track, which provides academic, financial, and social-emotional support to underserved students from ninth grade through college graduation.

Mike Peabody and Bruce Ross-Larson WL EXCLUSIVE

Libba Stribling, French Amb. Gérard Araud, Bobbie Brewster and Joan Carl

FRENCH HERITAGE SOCIETY SOIRÉE ÉLEGANTE French Ambassador’s Residence | PHOTOS BY JENNY LEHMAN

Miguel Innis with his mother, Susan Pillsbury

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

VIVE LA GLOIRE!: “We are grateful for your contributions and the spirit of friendship that brings you here tonight,” French Ambassador Gérard Araud told guests at the French Heritage Society’s annual dinner at his residence, noting—only a few days after the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day—that his countrymen will never forget American help during World War I, especially from volunteers prior to the U.S. declaration of war. Such assistance continues via the society’s continuing mission, event organizer Bobbie Brewster added, listing the Abbey of Mont Saint Michel and the Orangerie in the Bois de Boulogne as well as the statue of Rochambeau in Newport, R.I. among sites that have been restored with funding from the group.

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

John Henry and Leslie Gordon 61

Colorectal Alliance CEO Michael Sapienza and Carole Randolph

Cathy Reilly, Timothy and Patricia Trudeau and Ed Reilly

Dr. John Ferguson and Ben Stein WL SPONSORED

CANCER ALLIANCE LUNCH Cafe Milano | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Marsha Muawwad, William Eubanks, Charo Abrams and Gwendolyn Russell

Christina Harper, Bill Von Hoene and Kim Hassan

Linda Awkard and Faye Rokni

PREVENTION AND CARE: A Palm Beach theme ran throughout the annual Colorectal Cancer Alliance Lunch at Cafe Milano, with food and wine pairings inspired by the city and guests in town from Florida including interior designer William Eubanks and realtor Ben Stein. Co-chairwomen Marsha Muawwad, Patricia Trudeau, Charo Abrams and Gwendolyn Russell announced that they would be hosting a winter fundraiser in support of the cause in Palm Beach in December. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance was founded by Michael Sapienza to support much-needed research into causes and prevention of the disease.

Emmanuel Bailey, Pedro Alfonso, Meena Karithanom, Wendell Johns and Shaun Meyers

Vincent Orange

DC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GALA Marriott Marquis | PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Tiffini Greene, Angela Alsobrooks, Brett Greene and Aisha Braveboy

62

Guy Rohling, Kathryn Lavriha and Judy Jenkins

COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS: The 80th annual Chamber’s Choice and Awards Gala honored local businesses including Ben’s Chili Bowl and The LINE DC for their positive community impacts. MGM Resorts International, Stanley Black & Decker, and Goya Foods Inc. were also regognized for their efforts in job creation.”These award recipients and finalists exemplify the way businesses are a force for good, and it is an honor to recognize businesses who have made significant. The reception included performances by Big Daddy Kane and MC LYTE.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Jayesh Panchal, Vicki Panchal and Munzer Mushahwar, Amy Mushahwar, Jeff Snyder and Joseph Schramm

John Martinez, Amanda Merrell and Jaime Martinez

Kristie Nardini, Lorie Nierenberg and Erin Buck

WL SPONSORED

WHITE HAT GALA Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium PHOTOS BY A E LANDES PHOTOGRAPHY

BETTING ON KIDS: More than 250 cyber security professionals gathered at a “Casino Royale”-themed gala to support Children’s National, one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals. Chaired by John Martinez, Jeff Snyder, Kelly Parker and Joe Schramm, the event featured a moving appearance by Amanda Merrell, a local high school student and athlete who was treated at Children’s National for Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Guests capped off the night in an after-hours lounge, where they played table games and networked with fellow members of the cyber security community.

Mellon Auditorium

“Killing Reagan” Director Rod Lurie and Novelist Kyra Davis Jack Norton and Jean Case

Stefanie Brown with Paul and Heather Innella

Zoe Loo, Katherine Neigh, Alison Kim and Kasumi Nunomora WL SPONSORED

KIROV BALLET RECEPTION & RECITAL Jeff Goldman and Timothy Holland

Pamela Gonzales de Cordova and Tatiana Moon

The Kirov Academy of Ballet PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Svetlana Kractsova and Irina Wunder

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Kim Clark, Debra Josefchak, Howard Goldman and Ilana Goldman

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE: The first dance school in the world outside of Russia (and the only one in the United States) that carries the prestigious “Kirov” name is here in Washington. The school, known for its academic as well as artistic standards, celebrated the holiday season with a weekend of classical ballet performances. Executive Director Pamela Gonzales de Cordova and President Tatiana Moon welcomed VIP guests at the opening night reception. The academy is currently developing an expansion that will bring instruction in piano and violin to the school.

63

Parties, parties, parties

in case you missed it ...

View all the photos at www.washingtonlife.com

Roxanne Escandar and Andre Amni with Ali and Tabandeh Sizdahkhani Jonathan Weinberger, Elizabeth Dole and Morgan Ortagus

bark ball [Washington hilton] P H O T O S b y v i th aya pho n g s ava n

Erica and Max Scherzer with John Walsh and Bob Dole

Melissa Mejias and Katey Scott

Animal advocates and their four-legged friends flocked to the only black-tie event in the city that allows guests to bring their dogs. Silent and live auctions and a seated vegan dinner followed a reception complete with doggie treats to benefit the Humane Rescue Alliance. Supporters included Emanuel J. Friedman Philanthropies and Louie and Ralph Dweck.

Bumble X Young Nelson Society party at The Washington International Horse show [capital one arena] P hotos b y b e n droz

Equines took center stage at the Washington International Horse Show where the Young Nelson Society teamed up with dating app Bumble to host an event. Equestrian enthusiasts enjoyed cocktails and bites in the owner’s suite and departed with bags of Bumble swag.

Caroline Elia, Candace Ourisman and Juliet Ourisman

64

Kate McCleary, Nara de Sa Guimaraes, Libby Rasmussen, Austin Cagley and Heather Theunissen

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 | washingtonlife.com

Zarin Muhammad, Rick England, Alejandra Jimenez, Lynsey Wood Jeffries and Thalia Washington

HIGHER ACHIEVEMENT ‘GOING PLACES’ GALA [WARNER THEATRE] P H OTO BY W I L L K I R K

The annual event benefited Higher Achievement’s work to close the opportunity gap for middle school students in underserved communities via after-school and summer academic programs. This year businessman Richard England was honored for his commitment to education.

Russian Amb. Anatoly Antonov, Wynton Marsalis, Susan Carmel, John Beyrle, Igor Butman and Rev. Mark J.A. Farr

SUSTAINED DIALOGUE AWARDS [U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE] P H O T O B Y I M AG E L I N K

The Sustained Dialogue Institute (SDI) and gala chairwoman Susan E. Carmel hosted a memorable celebration with performances by jazz legends Wynton Marsalis and Igor Butman. The two musical greats received the National Dialogue Award for their mutual interests towards greater cultural understanding, cooperation and dialogue between the U.S. and Russia.

ITALIAN CULTURAL SOCIETY GALA [EMBASSY OF ITALY] P H O T O S B Y DAV I D C I E L S I KO W S K I

The Italian Cultural Society’s “L’Italia e Il Cinema”-themed gala celebrated the excellence of Italian culture. Screenwriter Francesca Marciano and filmmaker Max Bartoli were honorary guests with Marciano taking part in an on-site interview with producer Carola Mamberto. ICS Awards were bestowed for scholarships in both Italian and classical languages, science and piano. Guests enjoyed an elegant Italian dinner, a silent auction and a musical performance.

Chiara Gastaldi, Francesca Casazza, Luigi De Luca, Francesca Baldanzi, Cristiana Fabiani and Carola Mamberto

FAIR CHANCE BUTTERFLY BASH [WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL] P H O T O S B Y V I T H AYA P H O N G S AVA N

Former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez was honored at the Fair Chance’s annual fundraising bash emceed by NBC4’s Eun Yang and co-chaired by Elisabeth Cohen, Donnell Kearney and Scott Provinse. More than 700 guests enjoyeed cocktails and dancing in support of efforts to improve the lives of children and youth.

Eun Yang and Amanda Marshall

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Ryan Zimmerman

Erika Gutierrez Sheridan, Carlos and Edi Gutierrez and Karina Gutierrez

65

ENVENTU ‘THE ENTOURAGE’ PARTY [SOCIAL TABLES] P H OTO S BY S H AU G H N CO O P E R

EnventU, a local nonprofit educational initiative for teens that gives event industry professionals the opportunity to help cultivate the next generation of caterers, event producers and floral designers, hosted a party to celebrate alumni, welcome new students and introduce others to the program.

Work experience with EnventU helps young people “build confidence, encourages leadership skills, and provides a motivational boost that carries over into other aspects of their academic and personal lives,” said Latoya Lewis, the organization’s founder and executive director.

Joseph Valerio of AVIXA, Chalice R., EnventU founder Latoya Lewis, Keiri S. and Ranisha J.

Bill Homan of Design Cuisine, and BizBash CEO David Adler

Ruth Sorenson, Dania Fitzgerald, Malina Jadeja and Catherine Pickard

Ash Banerjee, Patrick O’Connor, Susan Prosnitz and Rima Banerje

CITYDANCE DREAM GALA KICKOFF RESIDENCE]

ST. JUDE’S GOLDEN GALA

P H O T O B Y M A R L E Y

[EMBASSY OF FRANCE]

[LINDA POTTER

Patricia Howell

66

H A M B O U R G E R

P H O T O S B Y J AY S N A P

Linda Potter hosted guests to kick-off the annual CityDance DREAM Gala, which will take place on May 19, 2019. CityDance students shared personal stories and taught guests how to do the Wobble dance. The event supports the organization’s Center for Dance, which provides academic support and college prep in addition to dance training.

Treatments at St. Jude have helped increase cancer children survival rates more than 80 percent since its 1962 opening, which continued at its third annual Golden Gala to help affected families cover hospital expenses. Parents and teens celebrated the hospital’s mission at the event, which included live and silent auctions, a dessert reception and student-led entertainment.

Leah Melrod, Sophie Fragoyannis and Katelyn Foreman

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

CHEFS FOR EQUALITY [WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL] P H OTO S BY B RU C E A L L E N

Felicia Beefeater and Nycci Nellis

David Hagedorn, Simon Rathle, Melany Robinson and Ashley Zink

The surreal feeling of being in a world renowned cathedral celebrating the rights of the LBGTQ community was ehhanced by rainbow colored lighting and drag queens mingling in the crowd. The Human Rights Campaign’s seventh annual event, chaired by food writer David Hagedorn and Christopher Vazquez and Rick Davis of Amaryllis Floral + Event Design, welcomed guests to sample dishes and cocktails from dozens of the city’s best dining destinations. Crowd pleasers included braised short rib from from Westend Bistro and Le Diplomate’s foïe gras.

HALFWAY TO ST. PATRICKS DAY [AJAX DC] P H OTO BY B RU C E A L L E N

The Washington, D.C. Young Leaders convened for a “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” Celebration hosted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

The annual event honored Emmy-winning “West Wing” actor Richard Schiff with the Ireland Fund’s Irish Spirit Award and actress Melissa Fitzgerald with the Community Service Award. Both spoke fondly of their heritage and connections to Irish culture. Guests enjoyed ESA’s virtual reality set and video games as well as cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The event concluded with a live auction that included trips to Chicago and Napa Valley.

John McCarthy, Melissa Fitzgerald, Richard Schiff and Cliona Doyle

LATIN AMERICA CENTER ANNIVERSARY [ARSHT RESIDENCE] P H O T O S B Y I M AG E L I N K

Former Peruvian Amb. Carlos Pareja and Fred Kempe

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

A high-powered group of ambassadors and policy makers gathered at philanthropist Adrienne Arsht’s District home to mark the 5th anniversary of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council. “Latin America is at a crossroads, making the mission of the center all the more crucial,” said Arsht. “The first five years have shaped a new conversation; the next five years will be critical for doubling down on our impact.”

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

Jason Marczak, Adrienne Arsht, Jill Cooper Ryan Zimmerman Udall, Sen. Tom Udall and Capricia Marshall

67

HOME LIFE Real Estate News and Open House I Inside Homes and my washington

;LIR ,SQI ERH 0MJIWX]PI %PMKR Boutique real estate developer Martin Ditto is finally making the best use of the Logan Circle condominium he designed and built five years ago.

BY CATHERINE TRIFILETTI PORTRAIT AND INTERIOR PHOTOS BY JOY ASICO EXTERIOR AND STAIRCASE PHOTO BY PATRICK ROSS

HOME LIFE | INSIDE HOMES

hen we reached out to Martin Ditto for this article, the timing was salient. The week prior, the 40-yearold boutique real estate developer had decided to stay in his two-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot condominium in the buzzing Logan Circle neighborhood of Northwest Washington instead of building something new. “I basically decided I don’t need anything bigger,” he explains. In an effort to resist “the societal urge” telling you to move every few years, Ditto plans to improve upon the current space to better fit his lifestyle. He bought and gutted the o historic Victorian rowhouse in 2014, transforming it into two light-filled modern condo units, the top of which he later sold.

Ditto shares the bottom two floors with his girlfriend Cami Wolff and a three year old Golden Retriever named Oslo they adopted late last year. The addition of a furry friend is just one way they have breathed new life into the minimalist modern home, which was originally decorated by designer Darryl Carter. Now there are plants with names (“Olive” and “Fern”), energy-laden crystals and a growing stack of books on consciousness and mindfulness.

The library and the rest of the condo are evolving in tandem with Ditto’s lifestyle, which has dramatically shifted in the past year. Through a variety of healthy practices including reflexology, massage therapy, infrared sauna sessions and meditation, Ditto has lost 35 pounds and gotten in touch with a better version of himself, he says. It helps that Wolff is a wellness coach who keeps him in line—as we’re chatting, she hands him a fresh glass of celery juice and a probiotic to start his day.

“Where you live and what it looks like affects how you live. That was a big deal for me. So, without even knowing it, or without my conscious knowing it, my subconscious did this,” Ditto sagely observes. “This is my

70

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

PREVIOUS PAGE: (clockwise from left) Oslo, Ditto’s three year old Golden Retriever; the kitchen counter is made of compressed quartz overlaid on a layer of corten steel. The millwork in the entrance is made of Japanese sen wood and custom created by a former designer from Bulthaup; Ditto’s bedroom is level with the backyard. The bathroom is encased in frosted glass to allow natural light in; the staircase from the living area to the bedrooms is the most interesting architectural detail in the house, Ditto says. The steps are steel posts covered in white oak. Each were individually engineered and attached to the wall, giving the staircase a comblike appearance.

THIS PAGE: (clockwise from top left) Ditto’s living room has evolved since he first moved in. He wants the space to feel “lived in.” The burnt red canvases were created by a British artist in Annapolis to reflect good energy and prosperity. A television, which rarely gets turned on, hides behind the art. Spotify speakers are built in across the house; an image of the exterior of the townhouse at night highlights floor-to-ceiling glass windows that make up a commercial curtain wall system.

Ditto sold the unit above his in 2015.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

and

OPENING PAGE: Martin Ditto with Oslo.

manifestation of the life I want to live.” He credits his subconscious for his design philosophies that center on clean lines and classically modern style, in other words an aesthetic that will stand the test of time. “I never want to do something where it will be obvious I did it in 2018 or 2019,” Ditto says. When it came to design, he enlisted architect Chuong Cao of Dep Designs to help realize his vision for a basement that didn’t look or feel like one.

They challenged odds to create a curtain wall system of glass, rarely used on residential projects due to its high cost and maintenance. In choosing materials, they focused on durability and classic design, sourcing from obscure tile and flooring companies globally.

The same principles apply to Ditto’s real estate development firm Ditto Residential, which is behind many of the city’s most ambitious projects. Similar to his home, Ditto’s work ventures maintain a level of sophistication that is hard to replicate. The company, which acquired $230 million of new business last year, recently transformed the District’s historic Buchanan School into 41 condominiums and notable upcoming commissions include construction of 44 new townhouses in Watkins Alley on Capitol Hill.

As for the continued effort to maximize his present living situation, Ditto plans to turn his second bedroom into a meditation and reading retreat and transition the dining room into an additional sitting area for entertaining.

He emphasizes the importance of the condo coming alive with guests, dogs and even kids. Though its minimalist design helps keep Ditto tidy and thoughtful about his belongings, he doesn’t want it to turn people off. “I want this house to feel lived in,” he explains. With time he is confident his home and personal ethos will align even further. “I’m coming into my own,” Ditto says. “I’m really working to make it more personal.”

71

HOME LIFE | REAL ESTATE NEWS

Pretty Penny The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area real estate market continues to boom with recent sales, all $3.5 million or more

BY STAC E Y G R A Z I E R P FA R R

James Irving sold LOWELL LANE NW in Kent to William PietragaIIo II for $6.05 million. The five-bedroom stone Colonial sits on a half acre lot and was built in 1939. The house was completely renovated by Barnes Vanze Architects to include a chef’s grade kitchen, formal living and dining rooms, a cozy family room and an extraordinary master suite with a sitting room, en-suite bath and dressing room. Other features include a wine cellar, multiple terraces and a spacious four-car garage. Michael Rankin of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty was the listing agent while Washington Fine Properties’ Nancy Taylor Bubes represented the the buyer.

THE DISTRICT UNIVERSITY TERRACE NW changed hands when Sarah and Heath Knakmuhs bought the property in Kent from 2948 University Terrace LLC for $3.85 million.

Mr. Knakmuhs is vice president and policy counsel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute. Mrs. Knakmuhs is vice president of Heated Tobacco Products at Philip Morris USA Inc.The 2017 château-style residence boasts an open floor plan suitable for large scale entertaining, a screened porch and a gourmet kitchen. The walk-out lower level features a media room, au pair suite and

74

exercise and game rooms. Wydler Brother’ Hans Wydler was the listing agent. Washington Fine Properties’ Nancy Taylor Bubes was the buyers’ agent.

MARYLAND Monicux Skoller sold Andres and Alexandra Lebensohn MOORLAND LANE in

Bethesda for $4.45 million. The classic sixbedroom Colonial was built in 1928 and recently renovated to include four finished levels of quality workmanship and stylish design. The 8,887-square-foot abode features a dramatic center hall, formal entertaining

rooms, a gourmet chef ’s kitchen, an expansive family room, a luxe bedroom suite with a sitting area and bathroom.Also included are an expansive lower level recreation room, a home theater and a guest suite. The back yard has a swimming pool, mature evergreens providing a privacy screen and a custom-built covered porch with a copper roof. TTR Sotheby’s International Realty’s Marc Fleisher was the listing agent; Washington Fine Properties’ Kara Sheehan represented the buyer.

VIRGINIA Manuel and Cecilia Mencia sold their nine-

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

THE DISTRICT William Andrews sold TH STREET NW, an exceptionally well restored four-bedroom residence in Georgetown, for $4.4 million to David and Jennifer Romm. The 19th century Federal occupies a large private lot and boasts a balance of sophisticated entertaining spaces, a chef’s kitchen, abundant natural light, a Hugh Newell Jackson-designed library and guest house with a full kitchen and bathroom. TTR Sotheby’s International Realty’s Michael Rankin listed the property. Washington Fine Properties’ Eileen McGrath represented the buyer.

bedroom Tudor-style residence at CHAIN BRIDGE ROAD in the heart of McLean for $4.325 million to Anthony Blinken and Evan Ryan. Ms. Ryan worked as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs from 2013 to 2017. Mr. Blinken, a former deputy secretary of state, is a global affairs analyst for CNN. The property, built in 2009 by MorrisDay, boasts hand painted stained glass, custom chandeliers, spa inspired baths and multiple fireplaces. Professional landscaping and a multitiered backyard with raised slate-surrounded pool give this classic property a Hampton-esque allure. Long & Foster Real Estate Inc.’s Fouad Talout was the listing agent. TTR Sotheby’s International Realty’s Chena Bolton was the buyers’ agent.

Jay Eisenberg purchased TH STREET NW from Jodie Mclean and Pierre Delucy for $3.5 million with the help of listing agent Greg Gaddy of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty and selling agent Russell Firestone, also of Sotheby’s. The 2015 renovation to open and expand the 1925-built house and add a two car garage was completed

by Thomson and Cooke Architects and Maux Zantzinger & Associates Inc.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

MARYLAND Laurence and Lisa Siegel sold Wen Ying BENTCROSS DRIVE for $3.5 million. A serene wooded lot provides a classic backdrop for this contemporary home in Potomac’s Falconhurst neighborhood.

Built in 1990, the property has undergone extensive renovations to blend luxurious living with sprawling outdoor entertaining space. A gated, circular driveway leads from the front entrance of the three-level residence, which features six bedrooms and nine bathrooms, a 12-seat-theater with a wet bar, a second laundry room, an outdoor kitchen, a lighted tennis court, a children’s playground, a gated, “pet-walk” area and an infinity pool. TTR Sotheby’s International Realty’s Maura Shannon was the listing agent. Hometown Elite Realty LLC’s Xuri Wang represented the buyer.

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

75

home life | real estate news

PROPERTY LINES

NEW YEAR, NEW PRICE: CEO and Chairman of Black Entertainment Television Debra Lee has dropped the price on 2815 WOODLAND DRIVE NW to $9.5 million—down from $13.5 a year ago. Lee’s spectacular Contemporary overlooking Rock Creek Park was built and designed in 2010 by Marshall Moya. The uber modern Massachusetts Avenue Heights abode is truly one of a kind with amenities that include a Space Age-esque wine cellar, 20-foot-tall great room, a mind blowing media room, an eight car garage,a luxurious pool and a guest suite. Another fun fact: the property was once the setting for a $40,000-a-plate fundraiser for President Barack Obama. Washington Fine Properties’ Marilyn Charity is the listing agent.

SEALED BID SALE: Co-owner of DC United soccer team Brian Davis and his wife Marsha are accepting bids on 2230 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE NW, which is priced at $7,999,999. On what is arguably the most coveted block of Embassy Row, this architecturally significant Beaux Arts town house was designed by famed Gilded Age architect George Totten. The 1908 “Grand Maison” is over 9,500 square feet of renovated and restored space that includes five levels of posh finishes as amenities. Hollywood Real Estate Services’ James Kazunas is the listing agent.

76

WOW FACTOR IN ROCK HALL: The daughter of the late real estate developer Wylie F.L. Tuttle is selling 6520 SWAN CREEK ROAD in Rock Hall, Md. Amanda Tuttle, whose father played a major role in the construction of what was (in 1972) one of the tallest buildings in Europe, The Paris Tower, listed the property for $4.1 million. Located on the Chesapeake Bay, Rock Hall Stud is a 240-acre property featuring a 12,520-square-foot waterfront residence built in 1986 with a swimming pool, private beach, stud farm with facilities and beautiful private acreage. An outside observation deck that spans the entire length of the home’s copper roof boasts panoramic views of the Bay Bridge and Baltimore’s skyline. Maura Shannon of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty is the listing agent.

FIELDSTONE BEAUTY: Chris Sargent of Sargent Investment Group is selling 4880 GLENBROOK ROAD NW for $6.95 million. Mr. Sargent shared the house with his late wife, Anne, who died in 2015. The Spring Valley Colonial sits on over an acre of park-like grounds that provide a one-of-a-kind setting for this six-bedroom 1929 fieldstone residence. The property features an outdoor pool and a shared tennis court. Washington Fine Properties’ Mary Grover Ehrgood is the listing agent.

TALL ORDER: The tallest player ever to have played in the NBA

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

(tied with Manute Bol), Gheorghe Mureșan, is selling 10913 BURBANK DRIVE in Potomac.

The 7-foot-7-inch retired Romanian basketball player listed the sevenbedroom, 1979-built château-style brick residence for $1.895 million.

The property sits on five-acres and was fully renovated in 2016 to include a gourmet kitchen, opulent entertaining rooms and a posh pool area. TTR Sotheby’s International Realty’s Shahab Nasrin is the listing agent.

Send real estate news to Stacey Grazier Pfarr at editorial@ washingtonlife.com.

| fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 | washingtonlife.com

OPEN HOUSE

Open House These stunning properties are move-in ready.

POTOMAC CONGRESSIONAL COURT ASKING PRICE: This stately château exudes elegance and captivates the senses $10,280,000 immediately upon arrival. It is among the finest properties in LISTING AGENT: the Capital Region, boasting over 27,000 square feet of living Fouad Talout, 703space spread across four levels of the main house, as well as a 459-4141, Long & stunning pool house.With nine bedrooms and 13 baths, including Foster | Christie’s an owners’ oasis, multiple guest suites, a ballroom, a library and an elevator set on a gorgeous two-acre landscape, this home has every luxury amenity covered.

UPPERVILLE CRENSHAW RD ASKING PRICE: Set on an idyllic five-acre parcel in the heart of Virginia’s $5,750,000 renowned horse and wine country, this extraordinary modern LISTING AGENTS: oasis is one of the Washington metropolitan area’s most Jonathan Taylor, 202inspiring listings. Offering stunning views of the Blue Ridge 276-3344, TTR Sotheby’s Mountains, this sophisticated country estate features stunning International Realty architectural details, state of the art appliances and manicured gardens that perfectly frame the outdoor pool and guest house.

CAPITOL HILL MARYLAND AVE NE This grand 1878 Capitol Hill Victorian is steps from the Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol and boasts more than 4,200 square feet.

It has original hardwood pine floors, high ceilings on all levels, five fireplaces, ornate crown molding, pocket doors and skylights.A 1,200plus-square-foot master suite includes a luxury spa steam shower and jacuzzi.The property comes with a large off-street parking space and a spacious basement with a certificate of occupancy.

ASKING PRICE: $2,300,000 LISTING AGENT: Olivia Merlino, 202-491-4103 mobile, 202-547-3525 office, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

LOGAN CIRCLE S ST NW This four bedroom, three-and-a half bath house with two-car parking has been recently renovated to preserve original details while adding modern luxury. Included are an extra deep lot with a detached garage, a lower level in-law suite, bonus office space, soaring ceilings and a southern exposure offering the very best in sophisticated urban living.

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

LISTING AGENTS: Elizabeth D’Angio, 202427-7890, Washington Fine Properties

77

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

ASKING PRICE: $1,995,000

HOME LIFE | OVER THE MOON

Thoroughly Thoroughbred Hunt Country bids farewell to esteemed horsewoman Phyllis Wyeth, the owner of 2012 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags.

BY VI C KY MO O N

ongtime members of the Middleburg community were saddened as word spread of the death of Phyllis Mills Wyeth, 78, a member of a highly-esteemed and accomplished Middleburg family. She was the middle child of the late Alice du Pont Mills, an aviation trailblazer, and polo enthusiast James P. Mills, who bred and raced Thoroughbred horses at their Hickory Tree Farm, including their champion, Devil’s Bag. A lifelong horse lover, Phyllis rode in local point-to-point races as a young woman. As a college student studying political science, she worked for John F. Kennedy in the U.S. Senate and later in the White House. In 1968, she married contemporary realist painter Jamie Wyeth, the third generation of his revered family of artists. At the time of their marriage, she was permanently paralyzed from the waist down, a result of a head-on car crash at the age of 20. He portrayed her often in his work, always seated.

Phyllis later turned to carriage driving aboard The Outlaw, a historic road coach once owned by the late Elizabeth (Liz) Whitney Tippett, mistress of the magnificent 1,100-acre Llangollen estate in Upperville. Pulled by four brown-and-white Paint horses, it was driven

by James O’Rourke. Phyllis was frequently accompanied by her husband, who had painted an-ever-so-tiny image of a swine on the door of her yellow-and-black coach as a subtle reminder of his famous “Portrait of a Pig.” An enduring love of horses led Phyllis to follow her parents into the world of Thoroughbred racing. In 2012, her home-bred, Union Rags, won the Belmont Stakes with champion jockey John Velazquez wearing her signature yellow silks. During his racing career, Union Rags earned nearly $1.8 million in just eight races.

The Wyeths were based at Point Lookout Farm in Chadds Ford, Pa. In addition to her love of horses, Wyeth

78

Phyllis Mills Wyeth in the winner’s circle a er her horse, Union Rags, won the 2012 Belmont Stakes in which the winning horse gets a traditional blanket of white carnations. Her husband, Jamie Wyeth (right) and jockey John R. Velazquez (le in her yellow silks) with his son, Michael Patrick Velazquez, front.

was an advocate for the disabled, numerous conservation organizations and art museums.

She’s survived by her older sister, Mimi Mills Abel-Smith, and younger brother, Jimmy Mills, both of Middleburg.

As the frozen tundra winter has transpired, artist and writer Shonna Call is utilizing quiet time as inspiration for her latest endeavor, blankhorsefeathersandtweed.com, a tasteful collection of “things to wear, design, decorate and savor.”

Shonna, a Middleburg resident, oozes creativity. She began a year ago with vintage mother-of-pearl belt buckles she had transformed into cuff bracelets. “Easy to wear several on the wrist,” she says. “There’s barware, tableware, everything for a tailgate along with pins, clips and studs from $25 and up.”

Over in Millwood, Project HOPE, the non-profit health alliance once identified around the world by its floating hospital ship (decommissioned in 1974), has put Carter Hall, its historic 87-acre rural headquarters, on the market. There’s a conference center, facilities for 42 overnight guests and more than a dozen

structures, including a 26,000-square-foot administration building and two stone structures, now guest houses, that once served as a school and a kitchen.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register, the estate was much in the news when first lady Jacqueline Kennedy rode in a horse show there in May, 1962 on the same day that Marilyn Monroe cooed “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to her husband at Madison Square Garden.

The four-bedroom, five-bath manor house boasts 14,000-plus square feet and is listed

by Kelly Gaitten of Berkshire Hathaway in Purcellville. All it will take is $12 million.

In Upperville, there’s a plethora of properties for sale, all in the mega-estate category. Bertram and Diana Firestone have listed their 352acre Newstead Farm with Kathryn Harrell of Washington Fine Properties for $13.5 million.

Thomas and Talbot has Trappe Hill Farm, 536 acres for $6.5 million as well as the Horkan family’s 1,511-acre Cleremont Farm for $15 million. Last we heard, Sandy Lerner’s 571acre Ayrshire Farm was on the market for $30 million. Finally, the word on the back roads is that Llangollen, now owned by the Brennan family, may be next.

Stay tuned.

Carter Hall, the 78-acre Millwood estate once the Confederate headquarters of Gen. Stonewall Jackson during the Civil War, is being sold by Project HOPE, the non-profit international health organization based here since 1978.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

PHOTO BY NYRA; PHOTO COURTESY

L

MY WASHINGTON JEAN CASE Philanthropist and author of “Be Fearless: Five Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose”

MY TOP SPOTS

The National Geographic Headquarters and Museum featuring the work of National Geographic explorers, photographers and scientists and great artifacts from the last 130 years.

Capital One Arena. Steve and I are so proud of our friend Ted Leonsis and all he has brought to the city. We love attending Caps games, concerts and other fun events there.

Al Tiramisu. For more than 20 years we have enjoyed countless meals at this local institution. Chef Luigi Diotaiuti is a dear friend and we always look forward to him bringing out something special from the kitchen each time we dine with family and friends..

The Virginia countryside and backroads: From our farm in Warrenton and our winery in Madison to the countless parks and trails, to the backroads that have me humming, “Take me home,” for me, Virginia has it all..

82

TELL US ABOUT “BE FEARLESS,” WHICH WAS JUST RELEASED AND IS ALREADY A NATIONAL BEST SELLER. It’s a call to action for those who seek to live extraordinary lives. People all over the world have ideas about how to make a better world but are often held back by the belief that they don’t have what it takes. In the book, I debunk the myth that it takes something extra special to break through— such as genius, wealth or the right school— and highlight our research that uncovered five simple principles that are present wherever transformational breakthroughs take place.

I introduce readers to fearless people from all walks who have made the unimaginable possible.Their single common trait was that they were passionate about changing the world.Their stories make clear that what separates fearless individuals from everyone else is not the absence of fear, but an ability to overcome it.

HOLD THE JOB IN ITS 130-YEAR HISTORY. WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE SOCIETY DO? Each year, the Society supports hundreds of scientists, educators, innovators and storytellers around the world who are protecting and exploring our most valuable resources— from oceans, wildlife and antiquities to human origins, migrations and climate change. I write about several in my new book, including National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala who is protecting and saving some of the last pristine marine ecosystems in the world.

Enric is working with governments to establish twenty marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2020, including some of the most wild and remote pristine areas of our seas. To date, more than 19 sites have been established as new MPAs, constituting more than five million square kilometers of our oceans.

YOU ARE THE CEO OF THE CASE FOUNDATION, WHICH FOCUSES ON “IMPACT INVESTING.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? We invest in people and ideas that can change the world, and we’re in the business of catalyzing movements and constantly seeking more fearless approaches to social innovation to tip individuals and organizations from good intention to meaningful action. One new realm of breakthrough— impact investing —combines the entrepreneurial spirit and discipline of business with the important mission of making a better world. As such, impact investments are defined as investments into companies, organizations, and funds seeking to generate both social and financial returns.

MANY PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND STEVE CASE ALSO OWN A VINEYARD. Yes, we have an award-winning winery in Madison, Va., Early Mountain Vineyards. We are proud of our team who are helping forge the path of quality wine growing in central Virginia, a region that’s very much part of the evolution in American wine.

USA Today named us the “Best Tasting Room in the U.S.” in 2016 and we’ve been nominated by Wine Enthusiast as American Winery of the Year. In late 2018 we introduced our new grand wine, RISE, and we’ve been especially pleased by the reception it has received. Steve and I are so excited about the momentum of Early Mountain and the region as a whole.

YOU ARE ALSO CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, THE FIRST WOMAN TO

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| F E B R U A R Y | washingtonlife.com

P O RT RA I T O F J E A N CA S E CO U RT E SY E A N CA S E ; WA S H I N GTO N CA P I TA L S P H OTO CO U RT E SY T H E WA S H I N TO N CA P I TA L S ; V 8 R G I N I A CO U N T RYS I D E P H OTO S CO U RT E SY E A RY M O U N TA I N V I N E YA R D S ; A L T I R A M I S U D E S S E RT I M AG E CO U RT E SY A L TIRAMISU; NATIONAL GEORGRAPHIC IMAGE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS,

INTERVIEW BY VIRGINIA COYNE