President: Beth Purcell

Beth Purcell is serving her second term as President of CHRS. She also continues to chair the Environment Committee whose leadership she assumed five years ago. Her work on the Beyond the Boundaries project has led her to be a co-leader of several recent historic walking tours. She has also helped plant hundreds of trees throughout our Hill neighborhood as president of Trees For Capitol Hill, Inc. and has led Hill neighbors and CHRS Board members in participation in the annual bird count along the Anacostia riverfront. She has been an Orange Hat walker for over 10 years in her Hill East neighborhood. Beth researches and publishes articles on the architecture of eastern Capitol Hill. She is employed as an attorney for the federal government.

Michelle Pilliod Carroll was elected to the CHRS Board as an At Large member one year ago, and has been active in the organization for a number ofl years. She chaired the House Tour twice, and one of those years her daughter was married on that same Mother’s Day weekend. She does not recommend planning a wedding and a house tour at the same time. She has also been the major force in organizing the showcase “teas” that are a mainstay of our Mother’s Day House Tour. This year she hopes to establish the “refreshment break” as the proper name since we seldom serve tea anymore. Originally from New York, she came to DC to study at the Corcoran School of Art and George Washington University. She has owned and operated her own business, Pilliod Meeting Planning, for 15 years. She and her husband, Dennis, have lived on Capitol Hill for twelve years.

Monte Edwards was first elected to this post two years ago. The previous year he served as an At Large member of the CHRS Board. For many years he volunteered for the House Tour and has recently broadened his service to CHRS by testifying on its behalf before the City Council. His engineering and legal background has provided CHRS with invaluable expertise in formulating our position on the introduction of streetcars into the City. He has represented the Stanton Park Neighborhood Association on the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) since its inception, and has chaired the Capital Improvements subcommittee since 2000. He has served as EMCAC secretary since 2004 and, in 2000, he chaired the EMCAC Nominations, Credentials, and Membership subcommittee. Monte moved to Capitol Hill in 1984 and rented a house near the burned-out house he had purchased. He served as general contractor of the renovation, had the house gutted and restored, and has resided there since 1985.

Sharon Ivy Weiss is completing her first term in this office. She has also served on the CHRS Budget Committee and the House and Garden Tour. After working in public accounting for four years, she made a career switch to non-profit accounting and has remained in that field for 14 years. Sharon’s extensive experience in supervising the financial functions of federal grants and contracts in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer for non-profit advocacy organizations, has provided CHRS with exceptional advice and assistance. She began working as an independent consultant in 2008 and currently works for several non-profit agencies in DC.

Lisa Wilson was first elected to this position one year ago. While providing exemplary service she also managed to give birth to her first child. Her other work for CHRS has involved helping to develop the House and Garden Tour brochure from 2008 through the present. Lisa moved to Capitol Hill with her husband, Tim McCormack, in 2007 and joined CHRS the same year. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she moved to DC in 2002. She is an attorney in the Solicitor's Office at the Department of Labor which is a convenient walk from her home.

Catherine Davis, born in the District and raised in Northern Virginia, moved to Capitol Hill with her husband in July of 2007. She is presently employed at the US Department of Education as Chief of Staff for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and has previously worked as Deputy Chief of Protocol for the Secretary of Commerce. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Catherine has lived in Charleston, SC; Atlanta, GA; and Chicago, IL; and is proud to call Washington, DC home. She participated in the development of the House and Garden Tour brochure for 2008.

Shauna Holmes has served in this position for three years. As an integral member of the Historic Preservation Committee, she manages the CHRS Preservation Cafés and advises the Board on how to participate more actively in historic preservation review of federally assisted projects in the Capitol Hill area. She has also represented CHRS in project consultation, and is a member of the DC Preservation League and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Prior to retiring in 2004, Shauna managed publications, training, awards, and educational outreach for over 21 years, for the President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. She is committed to working with neighbors and community organizations to protect Capitol Hill’s historic integrity and distinctive character. She moved to Capitol Hill with her husband in 1997, joined CHRS and has been an active member ever since.

Chuck Burger is a Capitol Hill real estate agent with Coldwell Banker and has served on a variety of local and District Committees, including a stint as chair of the ABC Board.  He has served as a House Captain for the Tour for a number of years. He currently serves as Vice Chair of EMCAC and is on the board of CHAMPS and Barracks Row/Main Street.

Donna Hanousek has been an active member of CHRS for the past 12 years, serving many years on the Historic Preservation Committee and a stint as the CHRS representative to the EMCAC. She has held an At Large seat on the CHRS Board for the past four years and chairs the "Beyond the Boundaries" committee that has taken on the Herculean work of documenting historic neighborhoods just outside the current boundaries of the Capitol Hill Historic District. Previously, she served as a board director for the Friends of the Old Naval Hospital and currently is a member of the DC Preservation League's Landmarks Committee. Donna has a Master's degree in planning and graduate certificate in historic preservation. She is employed as a Zoning Specialist in the DC Office of Zoning. Her prior positions include Public Space Committee Coordinator for DDOT, Director of Brookland Main Street, historic preservation consultant, and property manager/realtor.

Dick Wolf has been a CHRS member since moving to Capitol Hill in 1964. He has been on the Board of CHRS since 1969 and has served as President since 2005. He also served as President from 1977 to 1980. His particular interests have been the DC Comprehensive Plan and zoning issues, and he currently chairs the CHRS City Planning Committee. Dick served as the last Chair of the Capitol Hill Hospital Board and was a member of the DC Solid Waste Transfer Facility Site Selection Advisory Panel and the Mayor’s Task Force on Heath Care in 2006. He currently serves on the planning and zoning committees of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City. Dick is also a member of the New Community Trust, which oversees the Townhomes on Capitol Hill mixed-income development. He is a retired Federal government lawyer.