Northwest Neighbors Village is a volunteer-based, community-first non-profit.
For years Stephanie was attracted to the grassroots Village model for its effectiveness in championing positive aging and fostering a community that values older adults. In 2016, she jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the growing Village movement. Stephanie found a natural fit between the Villages’ culture of empowerment and her professional commitment to improve the aging experience. Stephanie has been working in the field of aging for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience that began with work as a certified home health aide. Stephanie has a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Stockton University and a Master’s in Social Work from Fordham University. Having dedicated her career to aging services in the District of Columbia, Stephanie previously ran a local non-profit care management program and has worked in all areas of senior living.
Heather Hill is a licensed social worker by training and has been the Member and Volunteer Services Coordinator at NNV since 2019. Heather previously worked as a Money Management Program social worker at Iona Senior Services where she helped older adults with memory loss with their finances, and as a clinical social worker at the National Institutes of Health. Heather has a Bachelor's in Anthropology from the University of Virginia and a Master's in Social Work from Catholic University. Heather's partner, Carey Smith, has been providing weekly solo jazz guitar concerts via Zoom during the pandemic. Heather brings experience and empathy to her role here at NNV.
Leslie Pace joined the NNV office in 2019. She has a varied background including librarianship, information management, web design, and retail sales. As a native of Northwest DC, she has been delighted to come back into contact with NNV members whose children she knew in school. Leslie has a Bachelor’s in Anthropology from Franklin & Marshall College and a Graduate Diploma in Information Management from the University of New South Wales.
Steve Altman is returning to the board after being "term limited" out for a time during which he served as our informal legal counsel. Steve retired from the Department of Justice in 2003 and from his mediation practice in 2024. He continues as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown Law Center and spends time coaching high school runners at GDS. Steve adds to our Board's deep non-profit experience having been President of the DC Jewish Community Center and Vice President of Adas Israel Congregation among other board roles. Steve lives with his wife Amy in the Chevy Chase neighborhood.
Richard Avidon is a volunteer at NNV and is excited about getting more deeply involved in its mission. He teaches at Georgetown Day School, where he has been a member of the high school faculty since 1988. First trained as an attorney, he left the practice of law after two years, looking for something more satisfying. At GDS, his main areas of teaching have been US and European History, Political Philosophy, Economics, and Constitutional Law. Nine years ago, Richard went part-time at the school and has since spent time taking care of financial and other matters for his mother and mother-in-law, giving him a deep understanding of the issues facing older adults.
Jamie Butler has a long and deep history of volunteerism including visiting older persons in assisted living to her own personal experience helping family members with challenges as they age. Her other volunteer efforts have included leading the Social Action Committee at Adas Israel Congregation, serving on its Board and Bereavement Committee, and doing hands-on volunteer work with area non-profit organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness. Jamie taught low-income children at For Love of Children (FLOC) in Washington, DC and managed projects using the arts to educate children with disabilities through a Kennedy Center affiliate organization. Most of her professional life was as an educational diagnostician and consultant, completing evaluations to help children, their parents and teachers be successful. Jamie has Masters’ Degrees in Elementary Teaching and in Special Education. She co-founded the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) Ward 3 Congregations Affordable Housing group and is active supporting affordable housing in Ward 3 and across the District. She also currently serves on the Board of Friendship Place, which provides housing services for people experiencing homelessness.
Shanti Conly has been an NNV volunteer since 2019. She contributed to NNV’s Communication Plan and enjoys building relationships with the members she supports. Shanti is retired from a career working internationally on HIV/AIDS and reproductive and adolescent health. She previously held leadership positions in HIV prevention within USAID and the PEPFAR program, working extensively in Africa and India. Shanti has also volunteered with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Food and Friends.
Morgan Gopnik joined NNV as a volunteer in 2014 and has been helping members with a variety of tasks ever since. Morgan was elected to the board in 2018, helped shape the Village’s future as part of the Strategic Planning Committee, and served as Vice-President in 2020. Previously, she worked for 25 years in environmental science and policy, with leadership positions at the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and the Ocean Conservancy. Morgan’s understanding of our members’ needs, paired with her demonstrated leadership and commitment to our Village’s mission, are invaluable to the organization.
Ann Livingston Ingram, born almost 92 years ago in San Francisco, where I lived until moving to San Diego in 1954 with my newly acquired husband, John Ingram. After 14 years and the birth of three children, we moved to DC in 1967 where my husband had been hired for the newly formed Mayor/Council Government of DC (at that time appointed by Congress) as Assistant to the Deputy Mayor. I worked as a substitute teacher in DC’s then Junior High Schools for two years then became Director of Volunteer Services for The Travelers Aid Society, where I worked at National and Dulles Airports and Union Station for 20 years. Having graduated in Psychology from Stanford, I probably ended up working more closely to my major than many women of that era! I don’t remember what year I signed up with NNV, but it was at a desk presided over by an enthusiastic NNV member at New Morning Farm’s truck on a Saturday morning. Am I happy I did! I was a volunteer and supporting member until knee surgery encouraged me to become a full member and take advantage of the many services offered to non-mobile members!
Gretchen Jennings is a museum educator, administrator, and exhibition project director who worked at the Smithsonian for almost 15 years. She was a project director or senior staff member on the traveling exhibitions Invention at Play and Psychology, both of which received American Alliance of Museums awards of excellence. Since retiring from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in 2007, she has been an editor of museum publications, founded a consortium called the Empathetic Museum www.empatheticmuseum.com, and taught museum studies in India. She continues to work on issues around race and inclusion in museums. Gretchen enjoys gardening in Cleveland Park Community Garden, lives in the area with her husband Jim Fallon, and has family here in the city, in the Southwest, and in Montana.
For over 40 years Linda has been an advocate for older adults and the services that support them. She is a former licensed clinical social worker and former licensed nursing home administrator, preceptor, and mentor. She has extensive experience in aging services and has held several positions in executive management, the last as Chief Operating Officer for a large senior living and health care organization. Linda has served on state association and non-profit Boards and currently is a volunteer and Supporting Member of Northwest Neighbors Village.
Lenore Lucey joined NNV in 2014 and began volunteering in 2019. A New York architect, her career took her from private practice to architectural association management, then into construction management and ultimately to heading the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards here in DC. With early knowledge of the Village movement, she encountered NNV while volunteering at Forest Hills (back when it was still The Methodist Home) and looks forward to when in-person volunteering will resume for both organizations.
Sam Smith became a volunteer for NNV in 2018. He is both a Chartered Accountant and a CPA. He worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and was the Chief Financial Officer for several companies, including 14 years at the National Contract Management Association, a membership-based not for profit. He retired in 2017 and NNV is fortunate to have his financial expertise in their corner.
Bill Willis joined the NNV Board in 2025. He is a retired architect who practiced in Washington, DC for 45 years. He initially worked with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and later was a founding partner of his own architectural practice. He then served on the developer’s team for the Ronald Reagan Building and later was a consultant to the Federal Government for the ATF Headquarters and the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters at the St. Elizabeths West Campus. Bill was involved with the non-profit DC Stoddert Soccer League in the 1990’s and served as the volunteer Board Chair for two years. He is a member of the non-profit Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame and serves on the Hall of Fame Committee. He is the director of the annual VA-DC Soccer Hall of Fame Golf Tournament.