Hill Center Hires First Director

courtesy of the Hill Center

The first day on the job for each position I’ve had has been a blur. Diana Ingraham, the newly named executive director of the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, doesn’t have that luxury. There’s money to be raised; major renovations to be finished; a full roster of programs and events to plan; a café to open; a staff to hire; and the list goes on and on. And in a neighborhood where politics is a pastime, where everyone has an opinion about what’s best for the community, and where panties get in a bunch about the perennial issues of parking and liquor licenses, Ingram –who cheerfully describes herself as a neutral third party lucky to be involved with such an initiative that has inspired such neighborhood commitment and energy– is game and looking forward to the variety of opportunities that lie ahead.

Ingraham and Nicky Cymrot, president of the Hill Center’s board of directors, are focused on what it’s going to take to make sure the center’s doors open in June. There are $2 million remaining of the $12 million budget to be raised. Construction is on track, and in five short months, they anticipate the doors to the restored and rejuvenated former Lincoln-era hospital to open its doors, showing off classrooms, a teaching kitchen, art and music studio space, meeting rooms, rental event and office space, a café, a variety of gardens. They’re building a curriculum of classes and events, which was helped significantly thanks to more than 800 enthusiastic responses to the survey distributed this summer. Responses came from schoolchildren to senior citizens, and dreaming big meant everything from film programs to language lessons to nutrition classes.

Ingram comes to the job with executive, development, fundraising and strategic planning experience, and most recently ran a consulting company for national and international independent filmmakers. She is the founding organizer of the international film and media conference that accompanies the annual AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival.

Ingraham and Cymrot don’t take community concerns about parking lightly, nor do they deny the center will have an impact on the neighborhood. They do expect most visitors to the center to be community members, savvy enough to know parking near Barracks Row is a perennial challenge. The largest events will host up to 120 guests. Cymrot anticipates large events will require valet parking and says the center will apply to the ANC and the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration for their liquor license like any other entity. The café, to be located in the carriage house, will have one license; the Hill Center’s license will allow individuals and organizations to host events without the added expense of obtaining their own licenses. The income from the event rental space and café are key parts of the plan for the Hill Center to be self-sustaining.

Community members have already stepped up with more than $1 million in pledges and gifts. Frager’s Hardware, Chuck and Susan Parsons, National Capital Bank of Washington, and Stephanie and David Deutsch have all made sizable donations and sponsor some of the center’s grand spaces. Many other rooms remain without sponsors, and there’s still time to help fund reconstruction of the historic fence around the property. Pieces of the fence, currently being restored and recast in Baltimore, are “up for adoption” and range from $1,500 to $15,000. You too could have your name engraved and displayed on the grounds. If you’d like to organize some neighbors to pool your funds, and leave your imprint on the Hill Center, Cymrot says they’d be thrilled to come out and chat you up.