OFFICERS
Eileen McGuckian, President (At Large)
Mary Reardon, Vice President (At Large)
Sandra Heiler, Treasurer (Brookeville)
Judith Christensen, Secretary (Gaithersburg)
Eileen McGuckian guided Peerless Rockville for 35 years to rescue and protect city landmarks and promote its heritage, retiring in 2008. A former teacher with graduate degrees in Liberal Arts and American Studies, she is the author of six books on Rockville history, including Rockville: Portrait of a City. Eileen led the creation of the preservation commissions in Rockville and Montgomery County, chairing both in their early years, and continues to assist efforts at local and state levels. Eileen also helped oversee the restoration of the historic B&O Railroad Station in Silver Spring. She currently serves on the boards of non-profit associations that promote preservation, govern burial sites, and protect historic places.
Mary Reardon is a founding member of Silver Spring Historical Society. For several decades she played key roles to preserve major sites in Silver Spring, including affordable garden apartments. Her activities included research, preparing testimony and fact sheets, lobbying, and organizing community support and expert testimony. Mary has over 30 years of professional experience in writing, editing, public affairs, and media relations – as Communications Director for policy in a credit union trade association and as a Public Affairs Specialist at the Economic Research Service of USDA. She earned a BA in History at Notre Dame of Maryland University, and graduate credits in History and Demography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sandra Heiler, Treasurer of MPI, is a former Preservation Maryland Board Member. She served on the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission for 13 years, including as Vice Chair and Chairman. Earlier, she was a member of the Sudbury, MA Historic District Commission and worked as a historic property researcher and curator of a house museum. She has published and given talks on the War of 1812 in Montgomery County and co-produced a documentary on the subject. During COVID, she co-produced and directed films to celebrate MPI’s annual awards. Sandy has a BA in Mathematics and an MA in Architectural History and Historic Preservation from Boston University. After a 38-year career as a Computer Scientist, she retired from Verizon Laboratories.
Judith Christensen is a historian and retired municipal planner in historic preservation. A long-time resident of Gaithersburg, she witnessed its growth from a city of 7,000 to nearly 70,000. After earning an MA in Art and Architectural History from American University, Judy contributed to a history of Gaithersburg, and worked as a preservation planner for the city of Rockville and for Montgomery County. As a free-lance architectural historian, she prepared numerous architectural resource surveys. Judy also served on the boards of the Gaithersburg Historical Society, Heritage Montgomery, and the historic King Barn Dairy MOOseum near Germantown. She currently volunteers for the MOOseum as a historian.
STAFF
Brett Riley, Administrative Coordinator
John Sery, Station Rental Manager
Sandra Heiler, Awards Coordinator
Wendy Woodland, Events Manager
Susan Soderberg, Newsletter Coordinator
Wendy Woodland serves on MPI’s Building Committee at the historic Silver Spring B&O Train Station and as Events Manager for MPI. She organizes popular Saturday Open Houses at the station and helps to plan for MPI’s annual preservation awards. Wendy is a former employee of the City of Gaithersburg Department of Parks, Recreation & Culture, where she served as an arts programmer and recreational aide. For seven years, she was Museum Coordinator for the newly-formed Gaithersburg Community Museum, located in the historic B&O Rail complex in Olde Towne and housed in the Freight House. Wendy continues to volunteer at the museum.
Brett Riley is a public historian and Montgomery County native. She studied History and Public History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in 2020. Brett has served as the Administrative Coordinator for MPI since January 2022. Brett maintains and updates the website and performs other administrative support tasks in this role. Besides working with MPI, Brett works part-time with the City of Gaithersburg Department of Parks, Recreation, and Culture at the Gaithersburg Community Museum as a Museum Assistant.
DIRECTORS
Karen Burditt, At Large
Susan Soderberg, Germantown Historical Society
Diana Kohn, Historic Takoma
Nancy Pickard, Peerless Rockville
Jerry McCoy, Silver Spring Historical Society
Marcie Stickle, alternate, Silver Spring Historical Society
Jean Findlay, Historic Medley District
Kate DeWitt, Kensington Historical Society
Carol Ireland, Capitol View Park Historical Society
John Sery, At Large
Karen Burditt is a Silver Spring resident and registered architect with 33 years of experience covering a wide variety of building types, including historic preservation projects, specification writing, and construction administration. She is currently the sole proprietor of an architectural consulting firm. In 2019, Karen was appointed to the County’s Historic Preservation Commission and now serves as Vice Chair. Her insights and expertise have been instrumental in navigating the physical effects of the Metropolitan Branch Hiker-Biker Trail on MPI’s historic Silver Spring B&O Railroad Station. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Catholic University of America and is a member of the American Institute of Architects.
Susan Cooke Soderberg, President of the Germantown Historical Society, has been active for more than 40 years writing, lecturing, testifying and leading tours of historic sites. She is a retired historian with the County’s Planning Board and has written several books on state and local history. She has a BA in Art History from the College of William and Mary and an MA in American Studies from George Washington University. Susan was a researcher/consultant for the Emmy Award-winning documentary on Montgomery County in the Civil War, produced by Heritage Montgomery. She is an advisor to the King Barn Dairy MOOseum and is on the Maryland Military Monuments Commission. Her biography of Josiah Henson will be published by Georgetown University Press in early 2023.
Diana Kohn is President of Historic Takoma, previously serving as Education Chair. As President, she led in establishing HT’s headquarters on Carroll Avenue as an example of preservation and a dependable, accessible resource. The building houses the Takoma Archives, a rich collection of documents, photographs, maps, and object available for public use and viewing. Diana is co-author of Takoma Park in the “Images of America” series, as well as other books on aspects of the town’s history and architecture. She contributed regular columns for the Takoma Voice for over 15 years. Before moving to the DC area, Diana studied at the University of Michigan.
Nancy Pickard, Executive Director of Peerless Rockville, works with concerned citizens, volunteers, property owners, and local government agencies to identify and protect the city’s heritage. She has worked as a researcher/historian for Patapsco Heritage Greenway, which manages the Patapsco Valley Heritage Area in Howard County. Nancy is experienced in planning, promoting, and hosting events and workshops, and was Programs Manager for Peerless Rockville before becoming Executive Director. She holds Master’s degrees in Community Planning and Historic Preservation from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Penn State University.
Jerry A. McCoy, President of Silver Spring Historical Society, is a Special Collections Librarian/Archivist for the District of Columbia, dividing his time between the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library and the Georgetown Neighborhood Library’s Peabody Room. Since moving to Silver Spring in 1992 he has conducted research to uncover and collect Silver Spring’s history. Jerry founded SSHS to document and promote downtown Silver Spring’s history and preserve its architectural heritage. He was chief historical consultant for a local Emmy-nominated PBS documentary on Silver Spring and has published two books of Silver Spring images and commentary. Jerry holds a BA in Visual Communication from American University and an MA in Library Science from Catholic University.
Marcie Stickle is alternate representative for Silver Spring Historical Society. For decades, she has led or participated in efforts to preserve historic sites, such as the James and Macie King Dairy Barn (now the popular MOOseum) and Jesup Blair House and Park. She has conducted research, presented testimony, prepared designation nominations, and promoted media coverage. She has worked at the Bureau of National Affairs, Environmental Defense Fund, Consumer Federation of America, AFL-CIO, and House Subcommittee for Health and the Environment. Marcie holds a BA, and earned credit toward an MA, in English Literature.
Jean Findlay, a resident of Dickerson, was a statistician for 32 years at the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Before retiring, she was Chief, Operations Branch, for CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Since retirement she has worked to protect historic rural landscapes and buildings, actively participating on the Boards of Montgomery Countryside Alliance, Historic Medley District, and Sugarloaf Regional Trails and serving as Treasurer for each of them. Jean has also developed a knowledge of genealogy research. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology from the University of New Mexico.
Katherine DeWitt currently serves as Vice President of the Kensington Historical Society. Her career has been in the banking/financial industry, including as President/CEO of two banks and managing failed banks for the federal government and as Managing Partner of two joint-venture partnerships. She worked for a global IT company and owned a money management firm that specialized in serving older adults. Kate has served as Commissioner and President of the Montgomery County Commission for Women and was on the boards of a number of civic, business, non-profit, and professional organizations, including a housing community for low-income seniors.
Carol Ireland is President of Capitol View Park Historical Society and past President of the Capitol View Park Citizens Association. Since Capitol View Park was designated a Historic District in 1982, she has served on Historic Preservation Commission’s Local Advisory Panel. She edited the Capitol View Park walking tour brochure and maintains files on the history of this historic district and its homes. Carol holds a BA in Fine Arts from Cornell University and a diploma from the Royal College of Music in London, England. She has performed with the Washington Opera, taught piano, and performed concerts on the harpsichord.
John Sery, a lifelong rail fan, chairs MPI’s Building Committee to oversee the maintenance requirements of the historic Silver Spring B&O Train Station. As Rental Manager, he supervises all uses of the building. After studying film production at the University of Maryland, John worked for over 30 years at the American Film Institute as Film Booker and Technical Manager. He participated in the preservation of the train station and was production consultant for the award-winning local PBS documentary on that topic. John was involved in restoration of the Art Deco Silver Theatre before AFI moved from the Kennedy Center. He serves on the board of the Potomac Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.