About Us
MISSION
The mission of the Hillsboro Preservation Foundation is to preserve, protect and honor the legacy and future of the greater Hillsboro region—its rural heritage, its iconic landscapes and farmlands, and the community and people who inhabit it.
The Hillsboro Preservation Foundation was formed in 2005 when plans for rampant development threatened some of the most historically important and environmentally sensitive farmland, forests, mountainsides, and open spaces in the Hillsboro area. Through organization and education, the HPF helped to forestall from development and ultimately protect hundreds of acres of land that has been placed into permanent conservation easements. The HPF continued during the past decade to be a leading advocate for preservation of land and landmarks, most notably raising funds for the ongoing restoration and preservation of Hillsboro’s Old Stone School.
Board of Directors
EXECUTIVES
MEMBERS
History
IT STARTED WITH A NEED
At the start of the 21st century the Hillsboro area was under imminent threat from development on Short Hill Mountain, encroaching on the town’s outskirts and on sensitive lands. Concurrently, Hillsboro and historic Charles Town Pike (Route 9) were being inundated by a growing torrent of thousands of commuters, overburdening the two-lane highway and severely impacting the historic town, and the quality of life of all those along the corridor.
In response, the Hillsboro Preservation Foundation was formed in 2005 as a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the historic Town of Hillsboro and saving the historic and rural integrity of the surrounding homes, farms, open spaces, landmarks, and the forests of Short Hill Mountain. Through preservation, restoration and education, the organization seeks to ensure that historic Hillsboro and its environs continue to exist and provide succeeding generations with unique insight and understanding of life in an early-American community.
The original HPF board members included:
| Patric Copeland, President | Roger Vance |
| Belle Ware, Vice President | Gregory Burnside |
| Maura Walsh-Copeland, Secretary | Mhairi Ginzburg |
| Maureen Tucker, Treasurer | Matt Parse |
| Matt Danielson | Nan Schramm |
| Ben Lenhart | Sherry Vance |
The HPF identified land, farms, and structures in the area that were at risk from development and worked cooperatively with property owners and land trusts to offer economically competitive alternatives to traditional residential development through conservation easements. The organization supported the efforts of local residents to forestall the development efforts on Short Hill Mountain and supported the Town’s project for traffic calming on Route 9 through Hillsboro, which was completed in 2021.
The HPF has continued to educate about land conservation and during the past decade has been a leading advocate for preservation of land and landmarks, most notably raising funds for the ongoing restoration and preservation of Hillsboro’s Old Stone School.
Historic preservation, environmental preservation and community preservation were the original HPF goals and continue today through its mission to preserve, protect and honor the Hillsboro region’s rural heritage, landscapes and farmlands and community by preserving landmarks and landscapes, promoting arts and culture and serving neighbors in need.
Marking the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, Hillsboro area residents published Hillsboro: Memories of a Mill Town. That book’s final, prescient paragraph continues to guide us today:
“Chance has preserved the Hillsboro area up to now; in the future we will have to work at it. There is much here to delight the eye and soothe the spirit, but only the interested, informed, and watchful citizens, planning together, can save it for the future.”
James Fraser
Coming Soon.
Marybeth Muir
Marybeth Muir was raised in the center of Hillsboro where, with her parents, she raised national champion Nubian dairy goats. She attended school in Hillsboro’s Old Stone School and after studying mining engineering at the University of Arizona, began a banking career working for several financial institutions, including Bank of America, where she served as senior vice president of brand and communications. Returning to Virginia, Marybeth completed coursework in historic preservation and became executive director of the Loudoun Museum. She has served as senior vice president of marketing and strategic planning for Middleburg Bank and is currently senior vice president overseeing the Marketing, Home Equity and Trust divisions at locally owned Presidential Bank. In 2007 Marybeth purchased Patent House Farm in Lovettsville and is restoring its 1757 log and stone farmhouse and outbuildings, and producing pears for local wineries, breweries, and distilleries. Marybeth has two sons and five grandchildren, is a master weaver, and has volunteered in various organizations focusing on agriculture, historic preservation, and mental health.
Nicki Bazaco
Robbie Thompson
Alta Jones
Alta is the co-owner/operator of two businesses, AltaTerra Farm Bed and Breakfast and AltaTerra Vineyard in Loudoun, Virginia. She was a financial services industry executive working for mortgage subsidiaries, primarily for Wells Fargo and GMAC-RFC in roles as Chief Financial Officer, Risk Management and Strategy & Acquisition. She served as a past Board Chair for Loudoun Habitat and as treasurer at the State level for Virginia Habitat for Humanity. A native Virginian with stints in Des Moines Iowa and Minneapolis Minnesota, she has served as past Chair and member of Loudoun Rural Economic Development Council, founding member Greater Hillsboro Business Alliance, Treasurer for the Town of Hillsboro and an executive committee member of Loudoun Bed and Breakfast Guild. She has worked on numerous local ad hoc and advisory groups projects.
Dr. Chip Beck
Kathalynn Beck
Kathalynn Beck has been an artist-in-residence for the National Parks and currently serves as one of Western Loudoun Art and Studio Tour artists. For many years she created traditional paintings, quilts, and embroidered art, and now combines these methods to create unique works using only fiber and thread. With a nod to the past and present, she constructs these pieces by hand but often embellishes them with computer-generated designs, with the finished art appearing to be a painted canvas but without any paint—only fiber.
Todd Cummings
Cathy Cummings
Eusebio Cantone
Phil Foltman
Phil Foltman holds degrees in engineering and business/arts and has more than 25 years of program and contract management experience in client contract development, proposal development, marketing, and special projects oversight for construction and design. He also provides Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services, specializing in mediation, to parties in the construction, architecture, and engineering fields. He has been supporting Federal customers in the Intelligence Community for the past decade. Phil and his wife Kelly moved to a restored 1790’s farmhouse and small horse farm just south of Hillsboro in 2010, and operate The Cottage at Dunthorpe Farm Bed and Breakfast.
Emilie Moskal
Emilie Moskal was born and raised in France and has lived in the U.S. since 2000. Her background is in the performing arts and she has a master’s degree from the University of Paris 7 in Cultural Management. In the U.S. she discovered a passion for teaching the French language and culture, and her students have ranged from toddlers to adults. From 2011 to 2016 Emilie operated her own company teaching French, Spanish and Chinese language immersion classes for children. Since 2018, Emilie has taught French at Loudoun County High School in Leesburg. She became a Hillsboro resident in 2016 and has served on the Hillsboro Planning Commission since 2018.
Paul Hrebenak
Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the son of a U.S. Air Force captain, Paul Hrebenak, grew up in California’s Central Valley, where he lived up until 1990. Paul completed his schooling in Northern Virginia attending George Washington University where he studied international affairs. After college, he became a U.S Agency for International Development contractor, working in Sudan and Haiti on multiple projects. In 2007 he joined the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, where he continues to serve as a sworn law enforcement officer. Paul and his partner, James Fraser, moved to Hillsboro in 2020 and are currently renovating an 18th-century stone house, which they intend to operate as a bed and breakfast. Paul was appointed to serve on the Hillsboro Town Council in November 2021.
Rebecca Baldwin Fuller
Rebecca Baldwin Fuller lives in Lovettsville at Weatherlea Farm. Her parents became residents of Western Loudoun in the early 1990s and she and her husband and children moved to the area in 2009. She is a nurse practitioner caring for the chronic and critically ill as a Palliative Medicine specialist. She has been heavily engaged with the Hillsboro community since 2013, when she spearheaded the effort to keep a community school in the town by founding the highly successful Hillsboro Charter Academy, now in its 6th year of operation. In addition to her medical training, Rebecca holds a Fine Arts degree in Theatre and has worked in film and on stage as an actor. She is committed to preserving the rural landscape of the region and advancing the arts in Loudoun County.
Carol Lenhart
Carol Lenhart is a former tax litigator for the Department of Justice. Now retired from the legal world, she manages her farm’s horse boarding operations in Hillsboro and teaches accessible yoga at her local studio, Birch Hollow Yoga. Her additional interests include hiking, kayaking, cycling, and enjoying the natural beauty of the Western Loudoun community.
Ben Lenhart
Originally from a small town in western Ohio, Ben Lenhart is a partner at the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School. He has taught Constitutional law at Georgetown Law Center for more than 25 years, and writes a monthly column in Loudoun Now on current Constitutional issues.
He is the immediate past president of the Hillsboro Charter Academy, Board of Directors, and is board member for several Loudoun County outdoor organizations. He and his wife, Carol, are avid hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, and for the past 19 years they have lived and raised a family on an old farm near Hillsboro, VA.
Roger Vance
Roger Vance is a nationally recognized historian and journalist who served as Editor-in-Chief of the world’s largest publisher of history magazines for more than two decades. He has been elected to eight consecutive terms as Mayor of the Town of Hillsboro and is the appointed Loudoun County Planning Commissioner from the Blue Ridge District. He has long been a vocal advocate for smart growth and protection of farmland and open spaces. Born in Virginia but raised in Ohio, Roger received his BA degree in Journalism from Kent State. He was one of the founding board members of the HPF and was a founder and is a current board member of the public Hillsboro Charter Academy. He has lived in Hillsboro since 1995.
Amy Marasco
Amy Marasco is the former Vice Mayor of the Town of Hillsboro and has extensive experience with a range of public and nonprofit organizations. She was co-founder of the Marasco Newton Group, an environmental management and IT services company of more than 300 employees. She is the founder and president of the non-profit Nature Generation and has been on the boards of the Institute for Journalists of Natural Resources, National Association of Olmsted Parks, Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia and Loudoun County, Visit Loudoun, Loudoun Bed and Breakfast Guild and the Hillsboro Charter Academy. She is nationally recognized for executive coaching and facilitation. Amy grew up in New Jersey and New York and received her master’s degree in Environmental Planning from Colorado State University.
Matt Danielson
Matt Danielson is owner and Artistic Director for Electronic Ink, a publication production and graphic design company in Leesburg, Virginia. Since 1996 Electronic Ink has provided production and marketing services to a wide variety of publishers throughout the mid-Atlantic. Matt is also one of the original founders of Loudoun County’s leading locally-operated community newspaper, Loudoun Now. He has resided in Hillsboro since 1994.
Maura Walsh-Copeland
Maura Walsh-Copeland is a business management consultant with over thirty-five years’ experience in non-profit management, telecommunications, estate administration, and litigation support. Maura received her MBA in Finance, International Business and Marketing from New York University Stern School of Business. Maura is an appointed member of the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance Committee and Rural Economic Development Council Ad-hoc Advisory Boards, and Chair of the Loudoun County Conservation & Preservation Coalition Zoning Committee.
Maura was born in Virginia, raised in the northeast and Australia, and is now living on the 250+ year old Copeland Homestead Farm in Hillsboro. She is an active community member, a non-profit organization officer and board director, and a founding member of the Hillsboro Preservation Foundation.
Dr. Chip Beck
Dr. Chip Beck (CDR USNR, RET.) is an award winning cartoonist and a combat artist with experience in more than 20 wars, revolutions, and civil conflicts on four continents ranging from Vietnam (1969) to Iraq (1991, 2004), Haiti and Zimbabwe (2013). Having covered global history in the making for over 50 years, to include stints as an artist-in-residence at various National Parks, Chip is now turning his artistic attention to his new hometown of Hillsboro.