The Hill is Home

To contact The Hill is Home please write thehillishome [at] gmail.com. You can also reach us on Twitter @theHillisHome.

Kate McFadden, a web professional “in transition”, got her first writing assignments “years ago” from the county weekly Powhatan Today — as hyperlocal as you get in central Virginia. After discovering the absence of a community blog on Capitol Hill, Kate decided it was time to turn her love of the ‘hood into a resume-enhancing and community-building activity, and TheHillisHome.com was born.  As much time as Kate spends in the paint store at Frager’s, and at Port City Java, you’d think she was drawing a hyperlocal salary. You can contact Kate at KateTheHillisHome [at] gmail [dot] com.

Elizabeth Festa is freelance reporter who has written for a wide variety of newspapers and magazines over the years but still has not learned the QWERTY keyboard. She has lived on the Hill since 1996, according to tax records, with the exception of an exciting turn of the century gig in New York, from which she has never recovered. She lives here with her two children and her husband, and for the sake of full-disclosure, is active at Maury Elementary school, runs around Lincoln Park like a maniac and buys lots o’ things at Hill shops and eateries.  You can contact Elizabeth at twodecks.liz [at] gmail [dot] com

Nichole Remmert is a professional beggar (according to her mother) or a fundraising and development professional (according to her resume). She is a semi-regular contributor to the Prince of Petworth blog, and a regular contributor to the bottom line of various watering holes around the District. Nichole is rarely seen on the Hill without her opinionated pooch Ramona, and is on the board of Hill Hounds to see to it that the pups of Capitol Hill have a nice place to romp at Kingsman Field. In the summer months, you’ll find her having drinks and playing Cornhole on her Constitution Ave. patio, and in the winter she’s usually indulging in carbs and bourbon at any number of places on the Hill. You can contact Nichole at NicholeTheHillIsHome [at] gmail [dot] com

Sharee Lawler is a recovering political junkie.  After many years of invoking the First Amendment right of a Fortune 100 company to petition the government for redress of grievances (aka, lobbying for Big Business), she got her MBA and left government affairs to start Black Lab Advisory, LLC, a business strategy and communications consulting firm geared towards small businesses.  She and her husband have lived on the Hill for 8 years, during which time she has been, variously, an entrepreneur, lobbyist, volunteer, student, gardener, jogger, cyclist and hostess of many a backyard barbecue.   Most days she can be found at her desk in a bay window on C St, NE, with her silent partner (and aforementioned Lab) Cesky.  You can contact Sharee at ShareeTheHillIsHome [at] gmail [dot] com

Claudia Holwill is a marketing and social media professional whose passion for food and love for the city got her started on her first blog, brunch and the city.  A Hill native (pictured on the left at age four in the park next to Eastern Market) who returned to her home town after escaping to New York for college used an unexpected “early retirement” (aka layoffs in a tough job market) as an opportunity to get more involved with neighborhood organizations and events.  After returning to full-time employment at a PR firm working in digital public affairs and marketing, she vowed to keep working with her favorite local groups, and to continue to contribute to The Hill is Home with the Hill Buzz series and whatever else she can make time for.  She also continues to volunteer for CHAMPS and Barracks Row Main Street. You can contact Claudia at ClaudiaTheHillIsHome [at] gmail [dot] com

Robert Pohl worked for many years as a computer programmer but recovered from that and became a full time stay-at-home dad. With his son now in school, he has expanded his horizons and become a self-taught historian. He has written books about his house as well as Emancipation in the District of Columbia.

María Carey has always liked to write, although most of her writerly efforts have ended up in crates more well-traveled than she is.  She moved to Capitol Hill in 2006, which she realizes is not being brand-spanking new to the neighborhood; but somehow “Sophomore on The Hill” just didn’t sound as catchy.  She loves looking around Capitol Hill gardens and making elaborate plans to avoid cooking just so she can go eat somewhere on 8th Street SE.  Her personal blog is A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm.  You can contact Maria at MaríaTheHillIsHome [at] gmail [dot] com

Jen DeMayo has been a waitress, an actor, a puppeteer and a writer for the Hill Rag. She is currently the Director of Communications for the Atlas Performing Arts Center which has resulted in her being a relentless H Street booster. She is originally from the New York-New Jersey area and is consequently one of the many who whine endlessly about DC’s lack of good bagels and pizza. She is the mom to two boys who attend Two Rivers Public Charter School and is thrilled that the Hill offers so many school options for our kids.  No matter what she may end up accomplishing in her life, she is sure that her obituary headline will say she was the founder of Moms on the Hill when really it was a group effort.

Tim Krepp avoids gainful employment by being a stay-at-home dad, a tour guide in DC and New York, and aiding wayward tourists with his blog DC Like a Local. He has lived on Capitol Hill with his wife since 2001, and is the father of two daughters, who fortunately are far more charming than he is. Prior to this, he spent six years, seven months, and twenty two days as a Naval Officer, being both drastically under and overpaid, often on the same day. You can contact Tim at tim.krepp[at]dclikealocal [dot] com or simply poke him with a stick from a safe distance.

Kyra DeBlaker-Gebhard was a college English instructor and part-time writer living in New Jersey when the prospect of living a new and exciting life in Washington, D.C. presented itself. Kyra walked away from her job as a teacher and with her new beau discovered all of the wonderful things the District has to offer. Six years later, Kyra is married to the wonderful guy she followed to DC, mother to their charming one-year old daughter, caretaker of a small army of cats and proud owner of an ever changing Capitol Hill home. When not tending to her human and feline family, Kyra enjoys writing for a variety of websites and blogs, renovating her hill home and attending Nats games at Nationals Park.

Jon Penndorf has been a Capitol Hill resident since 2006 but has lived in (and close-in to) Washington DC since 1995, and wonders when he can start telling people he is “from here” instead of saying he moved here for college from New York.  An architect specializing in green design, Jon works for a firm focused on design of education facilities.  He also is a part-time faculty member at the Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning.  Off-the-clock he enjoys spending time outside with his family, traveling, finding new restaurants to try, and of course writing.  He contributes to local and national architecture association newsletters on a regular basis in addition to writing for THIH.  Jon lives with his wife, daughter, dog, cat, and ten tropical fish in their SE Hill rowhouse.

David Johnson is a professor at American University’s School of Communication where he teaches courses in multimedia storytelling and interactive journalism. He is also the founder and principal consultant of Sextant Media, a communications consulting firm that works with clients ranging from Fortune 500 media companies to small, grassroots start-ups, such as The Hill is Home. Residing near Lincoln Park, he has been an active member of the Capitol Hill community for a decade and has three children who attend school on the Hill. His personal website is www.davidandrewjohnson.com.

Jake Vanderdray moved to The Hill back in ’99 after being amazed to find a real neighborhood less than a 20 minute walk from work.  He now owns a small firm doing web development.  The commute has turned into a walk from the bedroom to the office, but breaks to walk the dog up to Lincoln park, or the Capitol Hill Supermarket keep him strolling the neighborhood.

David White moved to Capitol Hill in June of 2009, and spends his weekends walking around Eastern Market, rocking with Sick Feed (a local cover band), and doing yard work (he’s an amateur tomato farmer). During the week, he’s the vice president of Keybridge Communications, a boutique public relations firm in Georgetown. Like everyone else, David moved to DC to work in politics — first as a speechwriter, and then as an editor at a political magazine. David is also an aspiring oenophile, so most of his blogging focuses on wine. He can be contacted at david.e.white [at] gmail [dot] com.