Executive Director
Carin Ruff. Contact: staff@clevelandparkhistoricalsociety.org
Board of Directors 2017-2018
President: Nick Netchvolodoff, Quebec Street (second term exp. 2019). Contact: president@clevelandparkhistoricalsociety.org
Hadley Debevoise Allen, 34th Place (second term exp. 2020)
Myra Best, Quebec Street (second term exp. 2020)
Polly Ghazi, Ordway Street (first term exp. 2020)
Mary Jane Glass, 34th Street (first term exp. 2019)
Tom Hester, Porter Street (first term exp. 2019)
Christine Hobbs, Norton Place (first term exp. 2019)
Stefan Hurray, Tilden Gardens (second term exp. 2019)
Shaun Jones, Newark Street (first term exp. 2019)
Valerie Leonard, Quebec Street (first term exp. 2020)
Roberta Mathews, Macomb Street (second term exp. 2020)
Rick Nash, Newark Street (first term exp. 2020)
Shannon Penberthy, Porter Street (first term exp. 2019)
Abigail Porter, 35th Street (second term exp. 2019)
Jonny Sultoon, Quebec Street (first term exp. 2020)
Frank Swain, Newark Street (first term exp. 2019)
(See the bottom of this page for board biographies.)
COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD:
Executive Commmittee: Nick Netchvolodoff, President; Myra Best, Vice-President; Hadley Allen, Treasurer; Shannon Penberthy, Secretary; Mary Jane Glass, Chair of Preservation Task Force.
Preservation Task Force: Mary Jane Glass, chair; Stefan Hurray, Christine Hobbs, Rick Nash, Frank Swain. The Preservation Task Force makes recommendations to the board on matters of ongoing concern that are not covered by the Architectural Review Committee’s project review mandate, such as advocacy with DC Council and agencies, prevention of demolition by neglect, Connecticut Avenue corridor issues, etc. Contact the PTF at preservation@clevelandparkhistoricalsociety.org.
Architectural Review Committee 2017-2018
ARC members include current and former CPHS board members and other CPHS members with relevant professional expertise. We will be adding ARC member biographies shortly. The ARC conducts project review for alterations to properties in the Cleveland Park Historic District when they are referred by the DC Historic Preservation Office. Visit this page for more information about preservation design review and the ARC’s work. Download the ARC’s operating guidelines here. For ARC-related business, contact Carin Ruff at staff@clevelandparkhistoricalsociety.org.
Win Brown
Ana Evans
Phil Eagleburger
Christine Hobbs
Stefan Hurray
Danny Ince
David Kay
Tina Mead
Ron Ngiam
Lois Orr
Anne Weir
Board Member Biographies:
Hadley Debevoise Allen (34th Place)
Hadley Allen and her husband, Bradley Allen, moved to Cleveland Park in August 2013 when they purchased their first house. Hadley was born and lived her early childhood on Porter Street, just a few blocks away from their current house on 34th Place. Hadley also attended NCRC, Beauvoir and National Cathedral School so she feels Cleveland Park has always been a home for her. Hadley works in real estate on the Morrell-McCormick-Roth Team at Compass. She has a master of science in real estate and is a LEED Accredited Professional. She adores her hometown of Washington, and after a few years of living in New York, she and Bradley are so happy to be back living in Cleveland Park with their daughter Milly and rescue dog, Daisy.
Myra Best (Quebec and 36th)
Myra moved to Quebec Street with her husband, Fred Bellemore, and daughter, Margot in November, 2011. A native of North Carolina, since her arrival in Washington 17 years ago, Myra has been an active member of citizens organizations in and around Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan. Before that, she lived in Taiwan as a language student and in Italy for twelve years, where she enrolled at the Università degli Studi in Florence and later taught Italian language and literature at Trinity College’s Rome campus. In addition to her graduate research (she has a PhD in Romance Studies from Cornell University) and teaching, during this time Myra coordinated volunteer services at refugee centers in both Florence and Rome. After returning to the United States, she volunteered as an ESL teacher in Adams Morgan, helped manage a lively community garden near Dupont Circle and served as President of her Adams Morgan-based coop. As a Vice President at Meridian International Center, Myra designs public diplomacy projects for the State Department on a range of topics, including human rights, sustainable development and civic activism.
Polly Ghazi (Ordway Street)
Polly Ghazi is a self-employed sustainability writer, editor and communications strategist. A British citizen, she is the former Environment Correspondent of the Observer, the Sunday version of the Guardian. Since arriving in Washington, DC, 17 years ago, she has worked for the World Resources Institute and Context sustainability communications consultancy, as well as freelance. She has also authored three books on environmental and work-life topics, published in the UK. Polly and her husband Allan, a founder of Greenpeace, have been Cleveland Park residents for 11 years and have raised two children in the neighborhood. Jessie is a rising college junior and Grace is a 4th grader at Eaton Elementary.
Mary Jane Glass (34th Street)
Mary Jane moved to Cleveland Park in 1992 with her husband, Robert, and their four daughters. She has been a member of the CPHS board before, when she organized the first garden tour. She has been active in the Cleveland Park Club, John Eaton School, and other neighborhood organizations. She also worked in the development department of Washington National Cathedral.
Tom Hester (Porter Street)
Tom Hester has lived on Porter Street since 2000. He and his wife Kim previously lived in Shaw and Woodley Park, after moving to DC from Chicago in 1993. Their two daughters attend the National Cathedral School. A lawyer by trade, Tom currently works for the Legal Services Corporation. He has a longstanding interest in architecture and historic preservation.
Christine Hobbs (Norton Place)
Christine is a long-time resident of Cleveland Park and her children grew up on Norton Place. She is currently the co-chair of CHHS’s Architectural Review Committee, and previously served on the CPHS Board. Christine was the Director of Targeted Affordable lending in the Multifamily Division of Freddie Mac, and prior to that, the Director of Freddie Mac’s Low-income Housing Tax Credit Program. She has also worked for the National Cooperative Bank. Christine currently serves on the boards of Sarah’s Circle and the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home, both providers of housing and services to low-income seniors in Washington. She also serves on the board of Cinnaire, a community development financial institution headquartered in Lansing, MI. She is a past president of the Affordable Housing Investors Council, an association of corporate investors in Low-income Housing Tax Credits and a past board member of the Washington Area Community Investment Fund. Christine has a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning.
Stefan Hurray (Tilden Gardens)
Stefan Hurray has been a resident of Cleveland Park for 4 years in Tilden Gardens but has worked in the neighborhood for over 10 years with Barnes Vanze Architects. Originally from Pittsburgh, Stefan received his degrees in architecture and architectural history from Carnegie Mellon University. 10 years ago he founded the blog ArchitectDesign to share his interest in architectural history and design. In his spare time Stefan enjoys travel, interior design, and playing the piano. As a CPHS board member for the past three years, Stefan has worked on collaborative projects with the Art Deco Society of Washington, including the landmark nomination for Sedgwick Gardens and the Art Deco tour of Connecticut Avenue.
Shaun Shelby Jones (Newark Street)
Shaun and Michael along with their three children moved to Cleveland Park in 2006. They purchased their home from the estate of Carolyn Bennett Patterson, the first female Senior Editor of the National Geographic Magazine, in December 2003, which began a two-year remodeling project on 3607 Newark Street (the oldest house in Cleveland Park apart from Rosedale and Twin Oaks). Both Michael and Shaun are natives of Shreveport, Louisiana. Shaun graduated from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. She worked in Human Resource both in Louisiana and in Washington, DC. After law school, Michael proposed and accepted a job offer to work at Kirkland and Ellis, LLP. Shaun and Michael moved to the Washington Metropolitan Area and purchased their first home in Fort Washington, Maryland where they lived for seventeen years. After their first child was born, Shaun became a stay-at-home mother in 1989. Shaun and Michael remain members of their church, Ebenezer A.M.E. Shaun is also a member of Jack and Jill of Washington, DC, where mothers focus on providing their children with opportunities to assist others through community service and leadership development. Jack and Jill partners with organizations such as Martha’s Table, ThriveDC, Reading Partners, and local Libraries where the children may prepare or serve food, read to and interact with children, donate books to local schools and libraries, and assist local schools in need of repair by painting and cleaning to maintain a beautiful setting for learning. Prior to living in Fort Washington, Shaun and Michael lived in the Grosvenor Apartments in Rockville. They loved driving through Cleveland Park seeing the beautiful homes as they drove into Washington, DC to work. They placed Cleveland Park as a place they would love to live and in June 2006 their dream came true when they officially moved into our home. Their family loves Cleveland Park and all it has to offer: friends, school, restaurants, entertainment, and great neighbors. Their daughters love coming home. Maria visits from Emory University and Lori from University of Chapel Hill Medical School. Michael Jr. is a St. Albans student who enjoys having his sisters come home.
Valerie Leonard (Quebec Street)
“I have a lifelong connection to Cleveland Park. My house was built by my grandparents in 1923, and it has always been owned by family. Long ago, I schooled one year at Sidwell (first grade) and one year at Hearst (fifth grade). I spent the bulk of my working years in Alaska where zoning was almost non-existent. That experience is probably responsible for the great respect I have for Cleveland Park’s historic preservation ethic. I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful neighborhood, and I appreciate it every day. I am retired now, and would be very pleased to serve on the CPHS board. I would particularly enjoy working on the house and garden tour event.”
Roberta Mathews (Macomb Street)
Roberta and her husband Matt moved to Macomb Street three years ago with their children. Roberta grew up in Alexandria, Virginia and gained undergraduate and law school degrees from the University of Mississippi. She spent twelve years in Australia, where she worked to restore seven landmarked properties and was president of the St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation. Most recently, Roberta restored a landmarked brownstone in the West Village of Manhattan. After eight years in Manhattan, her love of historic homes drew her to the Cleveland Park neighborhood.
Rick Nash (Newark Street)
Rick Nash and his family have lived in a 1910 house on Newark Street since 2000. Rick has longtime interests in historic preservation and conservation, and he values Cleveland Park’s walkable, vibrant “village in the city” character. Rick has been a director of the Rosedale Conservancy since 2006, and his prior board experience includes service on the boards of CPHS and the Cleveland Park Citizens Association. Rick is general counsel of Conservation International, which works to protect land and ocean areas in 30 countries through science, policy and partnerships. Earlier in his career, Rick worked in the information technology and communications sectors and lived in Europe and Central Asia. Rick and MaryAnn have a son and daughter in college and a daughter in high school.
Nick Netchvolodoff (Quebec Street)
Nick has lived in Cleveland Park since 1996. He grew up in Missouri and moved to Washington soon after graduating from Brown University in 1984. Nick worked for telecommunication companies for many years and an investment bank specializing in the communication sector. He and his wife Cathy Livingston have a son and daughter who attend St. Albans and National Cathedral School.
Shannon Penberthy (Porter Street)
Shannon Penberthy has lived in Cleveland Park (on Porter Street near 34th) with her husband Stratton since 1998. They were attracted to the neighborhood by its sense of community, diversity of architecture, excellent schools, and proximity to stores, dining, and national treasures such as the Cathedral. Professionally employed in Global Government Relations for Procter & Gamble, Shannon has served in various roles on the non-profit boards of the National Hemophilia Foundation, the World Federation of Hemophilia – USA, and the Personal Care Products Association. She grew up in North Carolina and received a B.S. in Economics and a MBA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington before moving to Washington in 1991. Shannon and Stratton have two children who attended John Eaton Elementary School before matriculating to National Cathedral School and The Field School. Their Cleveland Park home was build in 1923.
Abigail (Abby) Porter (35th Street)
Abby Porter resides just north of Rosedale with her husband David Kay, an architect, and their teenage daughter Emma. She and David have lived together in Cleveland Park since 1998; before that Abby lived in Woodley Park for twelve years. She enjoys living in Cleveland Park, with its beautiful houses and gardens, walkable streets, and tranquil village-in-the-city feel, and enjoys volunteering her time and skills to help preserve and enhance these characteristics of the neighborhood. Abby is a scriptwriter, researcher and project coordinator who has worked since 1989 on the multi-faceted and creative aspects of putting together museum exhibition projects – primarily on history, science, and cultural topics. A native of Massachusetts, she has an undergraduate degree in art and design, and a graduate degree in American Studies. Abby serves as editor of Voices and chairs the CPHS oral history committee.
Jonny Sultoon (Quebec Street)
Jonny Sultoon has lived in Cleveland Park for over five years with his family. He grew up in the UK and relocated a decade ago. He has a strong interest in all the cultural, historical, and architectural delights that Cleveland Park has to offer.
Frank Swain (Newark Street)
A Corning, NY native, Frank grew up in an 1848 Greek revival house. After many years in Washington, Frank moved to Cleveland Park in 2011. Before moving, Frank and his wife Hilary each spent quality time in Cleveland Park through many years of delivering children to Cathedral school events and to local friends’ houses. The children have dispersed, but the Cleveland Park friends happily remain. Frank is an attorney, specializing in government contract compliance and general regulatory and administrative law matters. He has been a partner with Faegre Baker Daniels for more than 25 years. Frank was nominated and served as Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the US Small Business Administration. He is a graduate of Colgate University and Georgetown University Law Center. He is a Director and for several years chaired the Metropolitan Club Preservation Foundation. He appreciates the opportunity to support neighborhood preservation priorities.
