Andy is the former Washington Post ombudsman and is an award-winning journalist and news industry leader who has been a reporter, editor and Washington bureau chief during a career that spans five decades.  He was a longtime board member of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which helps foreign journalists who have been subjected to attacks, arrests and harassment by repressive regimes.  After his time in newsrooms, Andy was a Visiting Professional at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, his alma mater, where he taught journalism ethics and helped foster media innovation and entrepreneurship.  Andy serves as a volunteer editor of Foothills Forum articles and meets every other week with the nonprofit’s journalism committee, comprised of Foothills journalists and the Rappahannock News team, to consult on reporting projects. He is married to Beverly Jones, an attorney, consultant and author. 

Reach Andy at [email protected]

Stephen was an attorney in New York where he practiced public interest, government and private law and led multiple efforts to support legal assistance for low-income people.

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Ed, a resident of Castleton, is a former naval aviator, former government official, author, and columnist. The holder of a BS from the US Naval Academy and an MBA from Cornell, Ed also graduated from the Senior Officer “Top Gun” course and was a Marine fighter pilot in Southeast Asia, earning two Vietnam Campaign Medals. He later served as a professional staff member for the U.S. House Committee on Rules and as a Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ed is the author of six books, including “Year of the Rat,” a New York Times bestseller for 22 weeks, and the editor of Defense.Info, a global national security publication. He also serves as a volunteer board member of the Vietnam Children’s Fund, which has built 52 elementary schools in Vietnam.

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Steve has had a 40-year career with several nonprofit entities in Washington, D.C., most notably 26 years with the National Geographic Society where he was Vice President of Financial Operations. Steve holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the College of William & Mary and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Richmond. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Steve and his wife Libby purchased property in Rappahannock County in 2004, and currently enjoy time at their farmhouse in Slate Mills.

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Jay, a partner with Ballard Spahr LLP, has been representing news and entertainment companies in First Amendment and related matters for almost three decades, including in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state appellate courts, and trial courts around the country. His clients have included The New York Times, The Associated Press, CBS, and Fox.  Jay possesses a B.A. from the University of Minnesota, an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.  He has lived full-time in Rappahannock County since 2006.

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Cindy has been an entrepreneur for over 40 years. In 2001, she opened a fitness studio in the heart of Portland, ME, as a personal trainer and instructor. A family move to Virginia eventually brought her business, currently known as Mountainside Pilates, to Rappahannock County where she has served the community for the last 15 years.

Her home is located near Mountain Run Lake in Culpeper. She loves the outdoors, various active sports, especially long distance road cycling.

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Berni has both worked extensively in the nonprofit world and operated her own successful business. She is currently executive director of the Rappahannock Benevolent Fund. Previously, she served in capacities including associate director of the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust in Wardensville, WV and proprietor of Ginger Hill Antiques in Washington, VA.

Additionally Berni spent four years as a social worker for the Hospice of the Rapidan in Culpeper and was vice president of Sign Language Associates, Inc, a firm providing interpreting services to deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the Washington, D.C. area.

Among Berni’s local volunteer activities are those as a Certified Virginia Master Naturalist, board member of the Rappahannock Animal Welfare League, market coordinator of the Christmas in Little Washington Artisan Market, and President of the Businesses of Rappahannock.

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Al is an attorney and publishing executive. He served as Minority Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during the late 1970s, at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1981 to 1986 and was in private practice of law in Washington until 2003. He was president and publisher of Regnery Publishing, Inc., an independent book-publishing firm from 1986 until 2005 where he published over 200 titles including 23 New York Times bestsellers, and was president and publisher of the American Spectator magazine from 2005 until 2012. He is chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington, DE, and chairman of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund in Alexandria, VA, where he is also currently employed, and serves on several other nonprofit boards. His writings have appeared in many national publications and websites. He has been a resident of Rappahannock County since 2012.

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Tac has spent much of the last 20 years focusing on public health advocacy. He was the cofounder of Smokefree DC, the advocacy organization that spearheaded the campaign to eliminate smoking from all D.C. workplaces, including bars and restaurants. The law became effective in 2007, after a five-year campaign, and he continues to be involved with public health and technology. In addition, Tac is a longtime supporter and sometimes board member of various D.C.-based nonprofits: Jews United for Justice, Guatemalan Human Rights Commission, Stone Soup Films and Avodah, the Jewish Service Corps. Tac also founded MicroTac Software, Inc. – one of the first companies responsible for bringing non-professional translation tools to the consumer market. He lives in Sperryville with his wife, Ana Murillo.

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Cathy is Chief Engagement Officer and Senior Vice President for the nonpartisan Freedom Forum, the national nonprofit dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms. Previously, she was Vice President of Exhibits and Programs for the Newseum, the museum of news and journalism in Washington, D.C. An award-winning journalist, she is a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the Detroit Free Press. She co-authored the critically acclaimed book “Running Toward Danger: Stories Behind the Breaking News of 9/11.” She also was the founding director of the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

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Bill, who died at the age of 96 In the fall of 2023, was a former teacher, principal and dean who entered philanthropy in 1970 with the Rockefeller family serving as Executive Vice President and president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund from 1970-87. In 1987 he established a consulting practice that became Dietel Partners in 2007 when his daughters joined the firm. Bill had 50 years of experience networking people and organizations, and consulting with foundations, families and individuals about philanthropy. He served as chairman of the Child Care Learning Center (CCLC), as a member of the Headwaters Foundation Investment Committee and lived in Rappahannock County for 34 years.  Read Tim Carrington’s remembrance of Bill here.