Meet The Board

Carolyn has served as a SCMAFC volunteer driver since 2019 and joins the Board to expand how she serves older adults in the McLean- Arlington-Falls Church area. Carolyn has spent her career in service to ensuring older adults can live in their communities and their homes. Currently, she is an experience design strategist at AARP and, before that, spent 20 years improving community mobility through her work at the Community Transportation Association of America. Carolyn and her husband Tim have two teenagers and have begun the college tour process for their oldest. Carolyn is a graduate of Colgate University and Georgetown University, and considers herself an eager life-long learner.

Jay was recently elected Treasurer of the Shepherd’s Center and has been a driver for the organization since 2017. He retired after 40+ years in accounting, controller and financial director positions in human rights and environmental organizations in the DC area and NYC. Jay graduated from Virginia Tech and Emory University and now resides in Arlington.  He enjoys biking, hiking, travel and attempts to keep up with his 2 adult(?) children who live on opposite coasts (in the US). Occasionally he gives tours of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.

Jan spent most of her career as a regulatory manager for the US Environmental Protection Agency. For the last 30 years she has been active with McLean non-profits: McLean Community Center Governing Board (member for 9 years, Chair for 3), McLean Rotary Club (member for 10 years, President 1 year, Treasurer 7 years, founder and chair of the McLean Chocolate Festival), McLean Citizens Association (chair of the Education Committee for 10 years), and English Empowerment Center (currently teach two ESL classes at the Lewinsville Retirement Residence and one at Homestretch). She has an MA and Ph.D. from Georgetown University in American History, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS from Kent State University in Secondary Education. Her husband Irv is also a volunteer with the Shepherd’s Center. They have two children and one granddaughter who live in the area.

Vickie chairs our Client Assessment and Advocacy Committee, which considers whether prospective clients meet eligibility requirements.  The Committee also assists current and prospective clients access community resources.

She is happily retired following a non-profit career in which she worked as a right hand to CEOs in the areas of board and staff development and planning and allocations.

Vickie has a BA from Duke University and an MA in Social Work Administration from the University of Chicago.

She splits her time between McLean, where she has lived 32 years, and Selbyville, DE.  Her hobbies include bicycling, travel, and gardening.

Carol is a long time resident of Virginia, currently residing Great Falls. She was born in Washington D.C. and lived in a suburb of Chicago for 12 years before returning to the area to attend the University of Maryland. She studied Education at UM and earned her BA from LaSalle University in Health Services Management. Carol taught preschool for 7 years, managed an Infant & Toddler Center for 3 years and was the head of school for Merritt Academy in Fairfax for 10 years. Carol also worked for Sunrise Senior Living for 20 years in Operations, with a focus on developing programs for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease. Carol retired in January 2016 and her passion for improving the quality of life for senior citizens led her to become involved with the Shepherd’s Center. She is thrilled to be on the SCMAFC Board and looks forward to contributing to the amazing work the organization does. When she isn’t volunteering, Carol and her husband spend as much time as they can with their three grandchildren who live in McLean.

Mary Highsmith has lived in the Northern Virginia area for most of her life. She graduated from The George Washington University in 1970 with a BA in Russian Language and Literature. She had a career in the Federal Government, retiring from the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2003. She is active in volunteer work, especially with Knox Presbyterian Church in Falls Church as an elder and the Receipts Treasurer, and with the Shepherd’s Center of McLean, Arlington, and Falls Church as a driver, coordinator, and board member. In this latter capacity, Mary hopes to help seniors whom we serve to believe that they have a network of helpers who are looking out for them.

Michael has extensive experience working with the federal government on environmental issues. He served as the energy advisor to two EPA administrators before leaving government work in 1974 to co-found a consulting company specializing in energy and environmental issues. During his career, he served on the Board of Temple Rodef Shalom, primarily acting as head of the Administrative Committee supervising the clerical staff. After retiring, Michael has served as secretary for an “empty-nester” book club group within Temple Rodef Shalom. He has also been active in the Chain Bridge Forest homeowners association. In addition to his volunteer work, Michael has been heavily involved in grandparenting his local grandchildren and traveling with family (including a 50th wedding anniversary trip to Disney World). He likes to stay active with swimming and biking.

Originally from Pittsburgh PA, I have been living in Falls Church since 1990. My background is in Photography and Video/Television Production. I’ve worked on Presidential Campaigns, commercials,  National Geographic Documentaries, The Discovery Networks shows, sporting teams and even movies. Over the Years I have met 4 Presidents and many Celebrities, by the way they were all very nice regular people. I also worked with the NFL doing instant replay for The Redskins for 10 years. I retired in 2017 with over 40 years experience in TV and Photography. I still Do the occasional Photo or Video job now and again. I have volunteered with Fairfax County Volunteer Solutions. I did Medical transport, grocery shopping, Meals On Wheels, Senior IT help. I went to the Shepherd Center during the Pandemic, since Fairfax county was closed to volunteering. I decided to help where I could. My motto, “We are just Neighbors helping Neighbors”