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Our Board of Directors...

Potomac Community Village is an IRS qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our mailing address is PO Box 59424, Potomac MD 20859.
You can reach us by email to info@potomaccommunityvillage.org or by phone at 240-221-1370

 

Joan Kahn, President

Joan Kahn,  photo

 

Recently retired from the University of Maryland after 36 years as a professor of Sociology, Joan’s current role as PCV president is a continuation of both her professional and volunteer lives. She joined PCV in 2013, after hearing that a new Village was forming in Potomac. She knew about Villages because of her professional expertise on population and aging, and, with a husband who was disabled, was pleased to find one that was close to home with potential to help them in the future.

Joan has served as co-chair of our Programming Team, as vice-president, and most recently, as co-chair of our Membership Team. She also built the ties we now have with the Potomac Community Center by developing a Memorandum Of Understanding with the Center and the county’s recreation department, enabling PCV to hold meetings at the Center at free or reduced rental rates.

As a professor at Maryland, Joan was a social demographer whose research focused on social changes in the U.S. related to population aging, health inequalities, and intergenerational relationships. She recently joined the board of trustees of the Population Reference Bureau, a non-profit research organization in DC which focuses on population issues both in the US and overseas.

Eddie Rivas, Vice President &
Villages Liaison

Eddie Rivas, photo

 

Retired with more than 35 years as a gerontologist at the national, state, and local levels, Eddie’s enthusiasm for continuing to serve as the Vice President of Potomac Community Village comes from his passion that Villages fulfill needed services for older Americans beyond that provided by our public and private sectors.

Eddie is one of our nation’s most effective advocates for the Villages model, as well as for the national and local rights of our elders. Eddie’s exceptional professional and volunteer commitments include current appointments to numerous boards of key Village organizations, as well as natural history work with local parks.  He founded the Vertical Village at Wildwood in Arlington, VA, was secretary of the Washington Area Village Exchange and served as Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Commission on Aging, the influential citizens’ advisory body on aging issues in our county, as mandated in the Older Americans Act. Eddie worked on the House Select Committee on Aging and was an early proponent of using the outdoors for educational activities to support individuals with disabilities. With a finger on the pulse of issues that affect each older adult, Eddie’s role as PCV Board’s community liaison is sure to bring PCV strong guidance.

Caroline Lewis, Communications

Caroline Lewis, photo

 

Caroline hopes her service as Secretary of the Potomac Community Village will fulfill her life-long interest in issues that face us as we age.  Caroline has an expertise in helping older Americans adopt technology for safety and to combat isolation, especially technology for hearing impairment. She helps create the PCV newsletter.

With a career in communications, Caroline managed publicity for a number of national public relations firms with a specialty in corporate support of the arts and entertainment. Her work helped define the birth of blockbuster exhibitions in the U.S, which attracted broader constituencies and under-served populations to our national cultural centers.  As Senior Vice President of Rogers & Cowan, an entertainment publicity firm headquartered in Los Angeles, she worked under Mabel Brandon, former White House Social Secretary, defining a modern era of museum underwriting. Subsequently Caroline founded the Washington office of The Schmertz Company (headed by Herb Schmertz, Mobil’s architect of PBS’s “Masterpiece Theatre”). Among award winning campaigns she helped create was “Look Good, Feel Better,” launched in the 1980’s with the American Cancer Society, which endures today. 

Vic Cohen, Treasurer

Vic Cohen, photo

 

PCV’s Treasurer since 2018, Vic has been a Village member since 2015.  He’s also treasurer of another local nonprofit, the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington, and says he really enjoys the bookkeeping responsibility for both these nonprofits as he improves the financial performance of both.  He’s hoping to see increased financial support for PCV this year from our local Potomac community, which he sees as enabling PCV to provide additional resources and special programming to our larger Potomac community.  

Retired from the federal government after 44 years, Vic spent most of his time there with the Environmental Protection Agency, after working at the Department of Defense.  While at DoD, he developed administrative systems and maintained the Army Material Command’s database covering 50,000 civilian employees.  At EPA, Vic was responsible for all long distance services nationwide, designed the agency’s first procurement tracking system, and helped manage the agency’s IT budget.  Now that he’s retired, Vic spends most of his time working with QuickBooks, playing golf, researching his family tree, heading up PCV’s winter-time Movie and a Meal program, working in his synagogue's kitchen to help prepare Shabbat lunches, co-chairing an annual conference on Jewish Genealogy and enjoying many of PCV’s social and educational events.

Sheila Taylor, IT Chair &
Rides Coordinator

Sheila Taylor, photo

 

Retirement provided an opportunity to become involved in meaningful volunteer work. Sheila read an article in the Potomac Almanac about the formation of a “Village” in Potomac and attended the informational meeting. When the question of maintaining the database consisting of member and volunteer data, services provided, events, and all the myriad activities that running a Village requires, she volunteered to take that on. The rest is history, so they say.

Sheila was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Temple University with a BA in Physics in 1959. She obtained a position at Philco Corporation where she was taught to write diagnostics for the Philco 2000 computers. This official job training was the beginning of a lifelong career in IT.

Several years later after a move to Potomac, MD, she earned a Master of Computer Science degree from the U of MD and then worked in the Intramural Program at NIH, until retiring in 2010. Her main tasks were to maintain the computers in the Program and write software to control real-time experiments.

 

Eleanor Sorbello,
Help Desk Coordinator

Eleanor Sorbello, photo

 

On any day you might find PCV volunteer extraordinaire, Eleanor Sorbello, helping coordinate a ride, looking up the best electrician for a member in Washington Consumer Checkbook, or arranging a lunch for members at a local restaurant. Highly organized and cheerful in her outreach, Eleanor wears so many hats at PCV that she can certainly be credited with helping PCV run smoothly. As a member of the PCV Board of Directors and Help Desk Coordinator, Eleanor also arranges all the Coffee & Conversation events and Scrabble get-togethers, books our popular luncheon series, in addition to logging members’ “friendly phone call” hours.

Originally from Sri Lanka, Eleanor came to the U.S. in 1979 as a graduate student/teaching assistant in biochemistry at the University of Maryland. After graduation she had a career working for the University of Maryland; Georgetown University; NIH, National Human Genome Research Institute, and the U. S. Patent Office.

As a woman scientist, Eleanor joined the Sri Lanka Association of Women in Science and the American Association of Women in Science and derived a lot of joy from helping young women in their careers. Eleanor brings this spirit of giving to PCV. “By attending PCV events and forming friendships with other members, Eleanor discovered a wealth of knowledge and experience in science and technology among our members”. Eleanor says “I hope PCV members will connect with the next generation, giving them inspiration, and that will also help retired PCV members feeling energized and valued.”

Steve Lorberbaum,
Development & Community Liaison

Steve Lorbebaum, photo

 

Steve Lorberbaum has, for many years, been an extraordinary supporter, leader, and valuable resource for our village. First joining in 2015, Steve quickly became our village guru on issues regarding health care as we age, as well as being an effective liaison with the local business community.  Steve is always generous in giving time and advice.  His depth of knowledge has helped numerous members and our Board understand aging successfully at home.

Steve is the owner of Assisting Hands Home Care, a company dedicated to providing families and their loved ones with exceptional caregiving services and support.  With 25 years of experience practicing law in both private practice and as General Corporate Counsel, Steve then opened Assisting Hands Home Care after learning from the challenges he and his wife faced addressing the care needs of their parents.

Steve has a BS in industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and his JD degree from George Washington University Law School. He has served on the board of Cupid’s Charities, an organization that supports the Children’s Tumor Foundation, and on the Board of the Grass Roots Organization for the Wellbeing of Seniors, which provides knowledge and assistance in the senior community.

Laura Bach, Member at Large

Laura Bach, photo

 

Laura is new to the board of PCV.  She enjoys helping people and making a difference in the Potomac community. As a long-time resident of Potomac, and a realtor with Compass, Laura is deeply engaged in her community and treasures the relationships she has developed over the years with her neighbors and friends. From organizing Halloween parties to Labor Day picnics to Boy Scout events, Laura’s can-do attitude is infectious. A passionate advocate for her son who has Asperger’s Syndrome, she also enjoys working out, gardening, and spending time with her husband, twin boys, and dog Jessy.

 

Arthur Becker, Member at Large

Arthur Becker, photo

 

Arthur retired five years ago after a long career as a Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist. Arthur and his wife joined the PCV two years ago, to be part of an organization that will enable them to expand their social and intellectual activities. He is interested in maintaining the PCV and helping it to grow.

Arthur was born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from The City College of New York and then graduated from the State University of Iowa, Collège of Medicine (Iowa City). He then spent nine years in the U.S.  Army Medical Corps, doing his internship and residency (5 years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center) and then 4 years as Chief of OB-GYN at two military hospitals (Nuremburg, Germany and Ft, Carson, Colorado). Arthur was discharged as a Lt. Colonel.

Arthur was in private practice in Ob-Gyn in Washington, D.C. and Bethesda from 1970 until 2018. His academic appointment was as a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The George Washington University School of Medicine. He is a Life Member of several local and national professional organizations.

 

 

Marjorie Bender, Member at Large

Marjorie Bender

 

Marjorie has been a member of our Village for well over 5 years. She joined to expand her social contacts but have become very involved in both the Elders Climate Action Committee and she regularly hosts the Village’s scrabble games.

Marjorie was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio with a large extended family. Following undergraduate school, she received a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from Ohio State University in 1970. Living in Columbus, Ohio after marriage and setting into parenthood, Marjorie became an artist-specialist in the school system. She also maintained an art studio where she worked in various media to be presented in shows and galleries.

 

Immed. Past President(ex-offico) ….. Owen Ritter
Past President (ex-offico).................Barry Perlis

Programming Co-Chairs

             Monthly Programs...........Lynette Ciervo
          Cultural Programs...........Barbara Goldberg
          Social Events.................Sheila Moldover
          Spec. Events/Outings......Ben Consilvio
          Coffees & Lunches...........Eleanor Sorbello

Membership...........................(VACANT)
Volunteers Coordinator…......... (VACANT)

Director of Engagement ..... lynetteciervo@gmail.com / (301) 775-1952