ACT Board & Staff

ACT Board of Directors

Chair - Lauren Stack
Vice Chair - Daniel Rogers, Grant Thornton
Secretary - Jane Downing Knops, Neighborhood Health
Treasurer - Molly Dahl, Congressional Budget Office

Chair Emeritus - C. Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute

Caren Camp, HelmsBriscoe
Lynnwood Campbell
Debra Collins, City of Alexandria
Lisa Collis, Collis-Warner Foundation
Mimi Conger, St. Clair Partners
Brooke Curran, The RunningBrooke Fund
William Euille
David Frantz, Conlon, Frantz & Phelan LLP
Magaly Galdo-Hirst
Val Hawkins
Trip Howell, JLL
Kurt Huffman, Alexandria City Public Schools
Chris Lewis, Alexandria School Board Member and Federal Communications Commission
David Markley, Northwestern Financial Mutual Network
Lori Morris, Bruhn-Morris Family Foundation
Neil Parent
David Speck
Paul Stevens, ICI
 

ACT Advisory Council

Leslie Ariail
Bill Babcock, William L. Babcock, Jr. PC
Kathy Barsness
Mary Ann Best, Bernstein Global Wealth Management
Andrew Blair, Colonial Parking
Robert Calhoun, Redmon, Peyton & Braswell, LLP
Cathy Carney-Peters, Grant Thornton
Lyles Carr, The McCormick Group, Inc.
Allison Cryor DiNardo, King Street Wireless
David DeJesus, The Potomac School
Rob Dugger, Hanover Investment Group
Allison Erdle, Washington Forrest Foundation
Kimberly Fiske, Fiske & Harvey, LLC
Harry Hopper, Columbia Capital
Amy Liu, Brookings Institution
Phil Kangas, Grant Thornton
Brian Kennedy, USAA Wealth Management
Rev. Pierce Klemmt
Joyce Manchester, Congressional Budget Office
Lori Murphy, Miller Nash LLP
Alice Paik, Brown Advisory
Scott Price, Office of Senator Mark R. Warner
Emily Rothberg
Stephen Rideout, Judicial Consultant
Phil Sunderland
Cathy Thompson
Jean Traub, Capital One
Jonelle Wallmeyer
Rob Whittle, Williams Whittle
 
 
From Left to Right: Top Row: Lyles Carr (Advisory Council), Rev. Pierce Klemmt, Allison Cryor DiNardo (Advisory Council), Neil Parent, John Porter (President and Chief Executive Officer), Val Hawkins, Trip Howell, Rob Whittle (Advisory Council), David Frantz, Lynnwood Campbell, Caren Camp, Lauren Stack (Chair). Bottom Row: Joyce Manchester (Advisory Council), Mimi Conger, Emily Rothberg (Advisory Council), Gene Steuerle (Chair Emeritus), Jeannie Shaughnessy. 
 
Not pictured: Board of Directors: Mary Ann Best, Chatrane Birbal, Debra Collins, Lisa Collis, Brooke Curran, Molly Dahl, Bill Euille, Magaly Galdo-Hirst, Tammy Ignacio, Jane Downing Knops, Chris Lewis, David Markley, Lori Morris, Dan Rogers, David Speck, Sean Walsh. Advisory Council: Leslie Ariail, Bill Babcock, Kathy Barsness, Andrew Blair, Robert Calhoun, David DeJesus, Rob Dugger, Allison Erdle, Kimberly Fiske, Harry Hopper, Amy Liu, Phil Kangas, Brian Kennedy, Lori Murphy, Alice Paik, Scott Price, Stephen Rideout, Phil Sunderland, Cathy Thompson, Jean Traub, Jonelle Wallmeyer. 
 

ACT Staff

John L. Porter, President and Chief Executive Officer 

John Porter has served as the President and CEO of ACT for Alexandria, Alexandria’s community foundation, since 2009 after retiring from the Alexandria City Public Schools.  During his time with the school system, he served in various teaching and administrative capacities and is best remembered for his twenty-two years as principal of T. C. Williams High School.

John’s position with ACT allows him to continue his civic work on behalf of others in the community working with a cadre of others to address issues impacting the city.  He is most proud of the successes of the many students with whom he worked during his years in education and for the opportunity to continue this all important type of work, positively impacting the lives of others. 

john.porter@actforalexandria.org
703-299-8440

Brandi N. Yee, Chief Program Officer

As the chief program officer, Brandi Yee oversees ACT’s philanthropic and community investment initiatives including the Capacity Building Grants Program, IMPACT: Innovation + Philanthropy, LEAD, and Spring2ACTion.  She is passionate about strengthening the nonprofit sector and advising donors on strategic and effective philanthropic giving and engaging them in the work of local nonprofits. 

Prior to ACT, she worked with Workforce Organizations for Regional Collaboration (WORC) and Goodwill of Greater Washington, opening the Arlington Career Campus of Goodwill that offered bank skills and hospitality skills job training programs, English classes and GED courses on-site.  Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Brandi worked with undergraduate students as a career consultant at the George Mason University School of Management and as a recruiter with User Technology Associates, Inc., a government contractor. 

Brandi has an M.S. in Organizational Learning from George Mason University and a B.A. in Rhetoric & Communication and Sociology-Organizational Studies from the University of California, Davis.  Brandi is a member of the Diaconate of Grace Presbyterian Church-DC, serves on the Advisory Council of Food for Life, and is a founding board member of Girls on the Run – DC.

Brandi loves baking, hosting theme parties, spending time at the barre (ballet barre!) and visiting her family in California.   

brandi.yee@actforalexandria.org
703-739-7778

 

Betsy Micklem, Director of Development

Betsy Micklem joined ACT for Alexandria at the beginning of 2017 as Director of Development. Betsy spent 20 years with Morgan Stanley and predecessor Dean Witter Reynolds as a financial advisor and certified financial planner before taking leave to focus full-time on managing the Micklem household and raising three wonderful children. While raising her family and since, Betsy has also served in numerous volunteer capacities, primarly for the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (including the Alexandria Great Strides Walk), The Alexandria Hospital and The Twig (including chairing the Historic Alexandria Homes Tour), and St. Stephens and St. Agnes School (including as President of the Parent Teacher Association.) Betsy currently serves on the Alexandria Hospital Foundation Board. 

Betsy and her husband Mark are long-time members of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House. They are also long-time members of the Belle Haven Country Club, where Betsy is active in BHCC's tennis and golf programs and is currently chairman of the Ladies Nine Hole Association. Betsy received her B.S. degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia in 1980. 

Betsy hopes to utilize her deep roots in Alexandria to benefit ACT for Alexandria and help widen ACT's reach into the donor and professional advisor community. 

Sally Bolger Gardner, Operations Associate

Sally Bolger Gardner joined ACT in September 2017, returning to Alexandria, her hometown, from 11 years in the Northern California town of Grass Valley. Sally’s background is primarily in office administration and human resources with minor detours for graduate school and raising two children, Sam and Clara, whom she and her husband, Gary, adopted from Bolivia.Sally is looking forward to working with the ACT team and re-rooting herself within the Alexandria community.  

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