Skip to header Skip to main content Skip to footer
Helpful Village logo
Donate Now
Add me to your mailing list

Foggy Bottom West End Village

Lend a Hand, Stay Connected, Live Well at Home

Board Leadership

 

 
 
Board of Directors:
  • Mark Budd, President and Treasurer
  • Pat Kellogg, Secretary
  • Judith Eaton
  • Myrna Fawcett
  • Ricki Gerger
  • Phyllis Kramer
  • Ris Lacoste
  • Wendy Wagner
  • C.B. Wooldridge
 
 
Founding Board Members:    
  • Beverly Gyllenhaal
  • Jackie Lemire
  • Monroe Wright
  • Rebecca Coder
  • Lorna Grenadier
  • John Seichter
  • Susan Haight
  • Carl Vacketta
  • Mary Bernstein
  • Myrna Fawcett
  • C.B. Wooldridge
 
 
Board Bios

Pat Kellogg

Pat Kellogg - Retired Internist

As a long term resident of Watergate West (25 years) and a retired internist (after 39 years in practice), Pat Kellogg has both a personal and professional interest in “aging in place” and the mission of the Village.

She is a born and bred New Englander who moved to Bethesda after college. Then followed a career in medicine in Bethesda and Rockville while raising her family. She retired from the practice of General Internal Medicine last summer. Now she enjoys classes at Georgetown University and OLLI in Art History, understanding ballet and classical music. Her longtime hobby is reading fiction with her book club. 

Phyllis Kramer

Phyllis Kramer - Retired Therapist

In nearly 30 years in private practice, Phyllis Kramer has counseled scores of clients working through isolation and illness and depression and dysfunction. As a therapist, Phyllis focused on areas of treatment particularly relevant to Village members – social isolation, grief and caregiver counseling.

Although retired, Phyllis is active in Foggy Bottom area as a Board member for St. Mary’s Court and she teaches a course in professional development at GW’s School of Medicine. She holds several certifications, among them gestalt therapy, family therapy and hypnosis for specific disorders.

Phyllis and her husband James M. Banner Jr. have traveled widely in Europe and Asia, but especially enjoy walking near their home along the banks of the Potomac River. Phyllis also enjoys the area’s museums, and is an avid theater-goer and movie buff.

 

Myrna L. Fawcett

Myrna L. Fawcett - Elder Law Attorney

Myrna specializes in Elder Law and representation of adults with special needs. She is a member of the board of many prominent Washington and national organizations. She has participated in multiple programs on issues involving hoarding, advanced directives, bioethical issues and financial options for seniors.

Why she supports FBWE Village: I always want to be engaged and vital within my community. FBWE village will offer me that support as I grow older.

Ris Lacoste

Ris Lacoste - Award-Winning Chef

Village members may already know Ris from her namesake restaurant RIS at 2275 L Street NW, where she and her staff serve seasonal American cuisine. But fewer members may be familiar with Ris’ long professional path to her own concept that wound its way from her hometown New Bedford, Massachusetts through San Francisco and then to Paris. Paris was a life-changing move that led her to work at the famed La Varenne École de Cuisine, where she was hired to type and edit recipes, then eventually earning a culinary degree. After a stint as a sous chef in Burgundy, Ris returned to the states where she worked with celebrated chef Bob Kinkead beginning in 1985, helping him open 21 Federal in Nantucket, MA, and Twenty-One Federal in Washington, DC.

Ris has earned numerous awards as well as a nomination from the legendary James Beard Foundation, and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) named her "Chef of the Year" in 1999 and awarded 1789 Restaurant its "Restaurant of the Year" prize in 2000.

Ris is a Board member for several local organizations, including the RAMW, where she is a member of its Education Foundation. She is also a member of the Board of DC Central Kitchen and she is on the Advisory Board of the Hospitality High School of Washington, DC. Ris was also the first recipient of the Village’s Torch Award for Community Spirit for her service to the community. It is this service that she hopes to extend further as a new Board member for the Village, promoting Village services, and of course the benefits of great food and drink and her love and connection to cooking.

 

 

 

Mark Budd

Mark Budd - Retired Healthcare IT Consultant

My first encounter with the FBWE Village was seven years ago as a volunteer driver taking members to medical appointments.  From that time, my volunteer activities have expanded to include grocery shopping, changing light bulbs, putting furniture together, assisting with a move to a new apartment, and delivering meals.  Additionally, I have enjoyed conversations with a wide range of talented and experienced members.  I grew up in small towns in the Midwest where helping neighbors was a common practice.


In November 2022, I was asked to join the FBWE Village board and accepted as I was completing my 12th and final year as a member of our condominium board.  My education is in Economics and Math (BA), Systems Engineering (MS), and Business (MBA).  Career-wise I was an information systems management consultant, delivering and fixing troubled IT business units, setting up and managing large IT software development projects, developing efficient business practices, and addressing customer needs. My leadership style is based on operational excellence and collaboration; anticipation of and timely response to issues; and transparent decision-making. 


My wife, Gita, and I moved to the DC West End in 2007.  We enjoy our neighborhood, and consider ourselves Washingtonians

C.B. Wooldridge
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ricki Gerger

C.B. Wooldridge - Meeting/event manager

C.B. is a professionally trained social worker, (MSW), who came to Washington to join Health and Human Services to write national welfare policy. He later managed regional offices.He’s now an independent meeting professional, managing meetings and special events. C.B. is very active with St. Paul’s Episcopal Parish, especially active with services for and involving seniors.

Why he supports FBWE Village: “I see it as a multi-pronged opportunity: to honor and respect our older citizens; to celebrate and give back to our special community; to be a voice on the Board for us “renters,” and hopefully, encourage us savvy seasoned seniors, sages and seers to stay engaged, active and involved.”

 

 

 

 

 Ricki Gerger - Retired Real Estate Broker

Ricki came to Washington in 1971 on the staff of the newly-elected Congressman from her home District in Houston, Texas. She wrote his speeches, did his press work, was his gatekeeper, and handled his business matters back home – and yes, she was indeed on his personal payroll for that part. Sadly, as so many people do, she worked in the Congress one year too many. She then sold residential real estate for 2 years, and spent the next 36 years opening and managing a number of residential real estate offices (not all at the same time) in DC and Bethesda, for a variety of real estate companies. She's always enjoyed travel, especially in Eastern Europe, and has been to countries that don’t exist any more, like Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany. Since retiring in 2014, she’s travelled to China, Spain, and Croatia, among other interesting places. She’s a life member of the Board of Directors of Adas Israel Congregation, where she served as President from July 2017 through June 2019. She’s also on the Board of the Capital Jewish Museum, which opened June 9, 2023. There she’s part of a 3-person team that will be developing – with the Board – a strategic plan.

She moved to the Westbridge Condominium in 2003, and she’s honored to be on the FBWEV Board. 

Judith Eaton
 
 
Wendy Wagner

Judith Eaton - president emeritus of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation

Dr. Judith S. Eaton is president emeritus of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a Washington-based association of degree-granting colleges and universities that provides national coordination of U.S. quality assurance and accreditation in higher education. She has also served as chancellor of a state system, president of two community colleges, president of another higher education association and held a number of academic and administrative positions as well as serving as a full-time and part-time faculty member in both a university and a community college. 

Judith has authored several books and monographs as well as numerous articles on many dimensions of higher education. She has a history of “firsts” during her career – the first permanent president of CHEA, the first permanent chancellor of the state higher education system in Minnesota, the first woman president of a public higher education institution in Pennsylvania and the first woman president of a higher education institution in Nevada.

Judith has served on a range of governing and advisory boards in the United States and internationally. She currently serves on several boards, including two universities, a nonprofit association focused on assessment in higher education and the cooperative at which at which lives. She has lived in Washington for many years and especially enjoys international travel. 

 

Dr. Wendy Wagner - Director of Community Engaged Scholarship in GWU’s Honey W. Nashman Center

Dr. Wendy Wagner is the Director of Community Engaged Scholarship in George Washington University’s Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. She supports campus-community partnerships that engage faculty and students with community organizations in mutually beneficial initiatives.  Wendy’s scholarly background is in college student learning and development, particularly facilitating leadership development through community-engagement experiences. She is best known for her work on student development of socially responsible leadership competencies and values.

Wendy has been involved with FBWE Village for over a decade, regularly connecting students in GW courses with opportunities to serve directly with Village members, and providing capacity building support to Village leadership, such as social media support, graphic design work, event planning, and business-related projects. 

 
 
 


:: Foggy Bottom West End Village: 
2430 K Street, NW : Washington, DC 20037 : 202-333-1327 ::