Building Project
Building Committee
Douglas Lapp, Chair
Doug received his undergraduate degree in engineering physics from the University of Illinois, a Master’s degree in biophysics from the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His professional calling is in the field of science education, working to improve the teaching of science both in the U.S. and developing countries. His interest stemmed from his time in the Peace Corps, teaching physics and chemistry in a Roman Catholic high school in Cameroon; he later returned to Africa to create a science curriculum center at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
Upon his return to the U.S., he served for 15 years as the science coordinator and, later, director of program development, for the Fairfax County Public Schools. In 1985 he was asked to help create the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), a science education center operated jointly by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences; he then served for 16 years as founding director of NSRC. While at the Smithsonian, he was responsible for overseeing the design and construction of three NSRC facilities on the National Mall. After retiring from the Smithsonian in 2001, he has been working closely with a builder and construction workers in Rappahannock County, Virginia, to restore an historic property in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Doug came to St. Alban’s 20 years ago to join the Senior Choir. He continues as a member of the choir; he also has helped raise support for the homeless shelter and been involved in the African Forum. This year he became a member of the Vestry, and was asked to serve as Chairman of the Building Committee.
Doug Lapp at 202-333-4938 or dlapp@starpower.net
Gordon B. Avery
Our own “Doctor in the house,” Gordon received an undergraduate degree from Harvard and an M.D. and Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania, the latter in experimental embryology. He did his internship and residency at the US Naval Hospital in Bethesda. From 1963-1998 he served in a number of senior positions at the Children’s National Medical Center, D.C. He continues as Emeritus Professor, GWU School of Medicine, 1998 to present.
He is married to Penny Glass; they have six children between them and five grandchildren. He and Penny joined St. Alban’s in 1989. He has given broad service to the Parish, being a lay reader, member of baptism orientation, head usher at 11:15, Vestry member 1993-1997, and participating in the music program at Washington Home and Hospice. Recently he served three years as Junior Warden before being elected Senior Warden in 2004.
Gordon Avery at 703-820-3134 or gavery123@hotmail.com
Ann H. Bissell
Annie has long been associated with Washington and with St. Alban’s Parish. Her forty years of experience in design has given her exceptional experience in the field, focussing on such areas lighting design, space planning and construction management. She now heads her own firm, Associated Designers. Ann did her undergraduate work at St. Lawrence University and received her graduate degree in design from Yale. She then returned to Washington and worked for more than 15 years for several well-known art galleries. Clients of her present firm include Gallaudet College, St. David’s Episcopal Church, Peat, Marwick & Mitchell, Washington Hebrew Congregation, J.W. Marriott Hotel, Mobil Oil, and Versace Newmann Architects, to name only a few.
Annie has served on the Board of Trustees of Sidwell Friends School, from which she graduated, and has always been an active volunteer for many school activities. Her long association with the Parish began at about age 8, singing with all the choirs and continuing until she left for college. She attended St. Alban’s occasionally after returning to the city, and in recent years has been a very active member. She and her firm have helped Ron Hicks with repair, lighting and construction jobs, both small and bigger, on campus, including the children’s space this summer. She also is particularly interested in theological book groups, and in cooking for Christ House (dinner for 60, please) which she does at least once a month.
Annie Bissell at 202-363-2867 or assodes@bellatlantic.net
Richard S. Dirksen
A native Washingtonian, Rick grew up in Bethesda, and graduated from St. Albans School. He received a B.A. degree in International Relations from George Washington University. Rick attended his first services at St. Alban’s Parish in 1952 when lower school classes had chapel at the Parish. He has attended services here most of his life and, since 1988, has been a member of the Senior Choir.
For 33 years until his retirement in June, Rick served as Chief Financial Officer of National Cathedral School (NCS). During his long tenure at NCS, Rick was integral to the strategic planning and administration of both the school and the Cathedral Foundation. He managed the financial and construction elements of several major building projects, including the restoration of Hearst Hall and the construction of the $25 million underground athletic facility completed in 2002. In this process he developed an inter-active planning model which enables policy makers to hypothesize and project the long-term financial implications of key capital and operational decisions. This model has been adapted for use by St. Alban’s Parish and was demonstrated to the Vestry at their 2004 retreat.
In recent years he has served as a board member and meeting presenter for numerous independent schools on strategic financial planning and compensation systems. He presently works as a private consultant to independent schools on strategic financial planning and compensation systems. Rick has served the Parish for many years in a variety of capacities including a recent term of the Vestry, and currently chairs the Parish Finance Committee.
Rick Dirksen at 301-530-6429 or rdirksen@comcast.net
Marc Fetterman
Marc is an architect whose association with St. Alban’s Parish began in the mid-1960’s while he was a member of Boy Scout Troop 5, which met in our buildings. At the same time, he was developing an appreciation of the Cathedral and learning to ring its peal bells. Marc did undergraduate work at Syracuse University, where he received an A.B. in Medieval Studies and a B Arch. in Architecture; and he earned a M.S. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. During and after college Marc worked at the Cathedral for their architects and for the Clerk of the Works, the office in charge of construction. It was there that Nancy and he met and they were married in the Cathedral.
Several other architectural firms, both here and abroad, employed Marc before he established his own practice in 1992. Additional projects on which he has worked over the past 30 years include the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC; restoration of Sumner School (at 17th & M Streets); embassy facilities in this country for the governments of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Turkmenistan; the new U.S. embassy in Kuwait; restoration of the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence, Tokyo, Japan; the restoration of the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and the ongoing restoration of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Foggy Bottom.
Marc and Nancy were received into St. Alban’s Parish in 1993 and their son, Graham, was an enthusiastic member of the Journey to Adulthood program until he left for college last year. For St. Alban’s, Marc designed the altar for St. John’s Chapel, and he was the architect for the recent multi-phase chancel and organ renovation project. He has also assisted the Parish on a number of other matters including stained glass conservation, an assessment of the tower, and conversion of the former Rectory’s porch. Presently, Marc serves as vice-chair of the D.C. Mayor’s committee on building codes. He is also a member of the Tudor Place Buildings and Grounds Committee, the Cathedral Foundation’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, the Cathedral’s Preservation Committee, and he chairs the Episcopal Diocese of Washington’s Church Architecture Committee.
Marc Fetterman at 202-244-2694 (h), 202-625-2525 (w) or fetterman-dc@att.net
Lee Foster-Crowder
Lee Foster-Crowder has over 25 years of experience in commercial architecture. She holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from North Carolina State University. She has practiced in the Washington area for over 20 years, now as the principal of her own firm. Her projects encompass new building design, building renovations, historic renovation and hospitality. She is particularly well-known for her ability to create flexible office space in older buildings, and for her work with color and the effects of color on people and their working environments.
Her clients include the World Bank, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Freddie Mac and the Smithsonian Institution. Lee’s primary work has been corporate headquarters, hotel design, exhibit design and color consulting. Her work has won numerous design awards and is included in the book Woman of Design profiling 33 of America’s most prominent commercial interior designers.
She joined St. Alban’s Parish in October 1998 and in the ensuing years Lee has served on the West End Committee (1999-2004), Parish Gala Chair (2004), the Jubilee Committee (2003-2004), and for the last five years has assisted with various children’s programs. Her daughter, Channing, is a 6th grader in the Junior Choir.
Lee Foster-Crowder at 202-966-9495 (w) or slfc@comcast.net
Ron Hicks
Ron, Director of Facilities, has been with St. Alban’s since June 2000. He retired from government service in 1997 after 34 years working for the U.S. Senate and the Department of the Treasury. He was received into the Episcopal Church from the Roman Catholic Church in 1958, and has served in many parishes as Sunday School teacher, Vestry member, junior warden, lay reader, chalice bearer, acolyte, usher, greeter, director of acolytes, layreaders and chalice bearers, master of ceremonies and verger.
Ron has been an Associate of the Order of the Holy Cross since 1979, and he volunteers at the Washington National Cathedral as captain of the Altar Guild’s Linen and Silver Team. He enjoys giving seminars and workshops on the Daily Office. He and his wife, Jonnie Sue, married in 1958. They have one son, two daughters and six grandchildren, and live in Arlington, Virginia.
Ron Hicks at 202-363-8286 or ronhnospam@st-albans-parish.org
Nicholas Karas
Nick grew up in Pittsburgh, but has lived in the Washington area since attending the University of Maryland. He owns and operates Hotel Furniture Sellout, Inc., a firm that liquidates, installs and warehouses hotel furniture, established in 1983. He has attended St. Alban’s since 1986 and was confirmed into the Parish in 1990. He met his wife, Jane, at St. Alban’s and they were married in the Church in 1996.
In the nearly 20 years he has been a parishioner, he has served St. Alban’s in a variety of capacities, including as an usher for eight years, the Shelter Open Co-Chair for seven years, the Baptism Committee for 10 years, and as a member of the Every Member Pledge committee for 1993-1994. He helped establish the Crossroads Shelter, has been a member of the Mentoring Committee for Teenage Conformities, and been a Board Member of St. Alban’s Early Childhood Center. Nick was responsible for the new slate roof and new sidewalk built in 1993-1995. He served as a member of the Vestry in 1995-1998. Nick has worked at the Christmas dinner for 12 years, and now serves as Chairman of the Dinner.
Nick Karas at 301-263-1095 (h), 301-853-8001(w), or karas@comcast.net
Karen Strimple
Karen has served St. Alban’s Parish in many key roles since she and her husband joined in 1968. All three of their children have attended St. Alban’s. She is a former Junior and Senior Warden and has just finished chairing the 150th Jubilee, in addition to serving on many more committees over the years. Among the more important committees she served on was Frank Wade’s Calling Committee. She was a member of the original West End Committee, which became the Renovation Committee, since reconstituted into the current Building Committee, and currently serves as Vice President of the Board of St. Philip’s Child Development Center, at one of our sister churches. At the Diocesan level, Karen was a member of the Commission on Ministry. Among her Diocesan assignments was to be Margot’s lay advisor; Karen notes that in that capacity, she thought it was her job to convince Margot to use her skills as a lay person. “You can see how successful I was with that!”
Professionally, Karen is the Director of St. Columba’s Nursery School, which enrolls 120 three and four year olds in a developmental setting. She also serves as a consultant for NAES, the National Association of Episcopal Schools, where she was on the Board for eight years.
Karen Strimple at 202-333-7234 (h) or kcstrimple@columba.org