Bethesda Magazine: July-August 2023 Digital Edition

450+ PHYSICIANS 59 SPECIALTIES IN

WHAT ONE E.R. DOC WOULD NEVER LET HIS OWN KIDS DO THE SKINNY ON OZEMPIC

What if my cancer spreads?

I can’t recover?

I can’t make it to my son’s wedding?

What if you can?

World-leading treatment is closer than you think: right in your community. Where trailblazing teams of cancer specialists and scientists work together to ask “what if”— discovering how cancer grows and new ways to treat it; bringing 50 years of research and expertise at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center closer to your home. So your path forward has fewer questions…and the answers you need.

World-leading cancer care in your community. Sibley Memorial Hospital • Suburban Hospital hopkinscancerdc.org

IMAGES: MICHAEL KRESS PHOTOGRAPHY, C. GAUTHIER PHOTOGRAPHY

Ana dreams

of being a firefighter.

Our dream is to make it possible.

To us, a child’s dream is as precious as their health and at the core of all we do. Exploring every medical possibility. Imagining. Teaching. And always moving forward. For Ana. For our children.

Forward. For our children. HopkinsChildrens.org/Forward

Sound Judgment: By Choosing Montgomery College, Student Discovers Career Connection

While in 10th grade at Sherwood High School, MICHAEL ADCOCK ’16 had a clear vision for his future: he was going to become an assistant state’s attorney in Montgomery County. Always a strategic thinker and planner, he took classes at Montgomery College while still in high school. After graduation, he continued at MC, where he received an Alumni Association Scholarship and access to a mentor through the Alumni Association Mentorship Program. His mentor, Judge Debra L. Dwyer, is an MC alumna and was formerly an assistant state’s attorney.

After graduating cum laude from the University of Maryland, Michael like his mentor studied law at the American University Washington College of Law.

“It’s not lost on me where it all began, and how this scholarship and mentoring program has impacted my professional career. How this one seed, this one relationship I fostered with Judge Dwyer has blossomed into so much more. And, of course, how, without Montgomery College, I know I would not have achieved the success that I have today.’’

—Michael Adcock, Esq.,’16 Law Clerk for the Honorable Debra L. Dwyer ’80

BECOME A MENTOR: MAKE A LASTING DIFFERENCE

Join others who support Montgomery College as scholarship donors and career mentors by contacting Joyce Matthews at joyce.matthews@montgomerycollege.edu or 240-687-0654.

Debra Dwyer ’80 and Michael Adcock ’16

THE HEALTH & WELLNESS ISSUE

88 Top Doctors

Looking for a doctor? Here are 450+ physicians in 59 specialties, all nominated and voted on by their peers, in Montgomery County and Upper Northwest D.C. (ZIP codes 20015 and 20016).

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY TONWEN JONES, COLAGENE, CREATIVE CLINIC

DOCTOR PHOTOS BY JOSEPH TRAN

COVER DESIGN IN COLLABORATION WITH FOVNDRY

Pain-medicine specialist Peju Adekoya is one of this year’s Top Doctors.

Photograph by Joseph Tran

FEATURES

136 Allies in the Fight

In the latest wave of antisemitism sweeping Montgomery County, church leaders, civic groups and “upstanders” are showing their support for the Jewish community

BY AMY HALPERN

142 Welcoming—and Managing—the Rain

Rain gardens and conservation landscaping help homeowners and communities beautify their spaces and promote biodiversity

BY AMY BRECOUNT WHITE

152

The Bethesda Interview: Mo Rocca

The Bethesda native on the art of comedy, relishing the obituary beat and singing with Ketanji Brown Jackson (yes, the Supreme Court justice)

BY MIKE UNGER

160 Winning Words

The short stories and essays that took the top prizes in our annual writing competition

Nick (left) and Cindy Onder in their Bethesda backyard next to their rain garden

A new high-e ciency cooling and heating system from Constellation Home will help keep your home comfortable all year long. Plus, our 100% satisfaction guarantee is backed by hundreds of certified, professional technicians. When it comes to total home comfort, we’ve got you covered.

MD HVAC #10605, MD Master Electrician #13060, MD Master Plumber/Gas Fitter #89794, Balto. Co. Master Plumber/Gas Fitter #MP-11256, WSSC #72758, MHIC #2273

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DEPARTMENTS

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FROM TOP LEFT: PHOTO BY DEB LINDSEY; GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY PHOTO

PAGE 82

The joys of Opal, a charming American bistro now open in Chevy Chase, D.C.

PAGE 24

Get up to speed on Maryland’s new marijuana laws.

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Top of the Docs

PERHAPS WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR BIOLOGY I.

You know, where humble animals—or their synthetic substitutes— revealed their inner workings for our edification. That freshman-year class and its dissection labs taught me that I lacked the guts for a career in medicine—and instead helped seal my fate in journalism. Biology I also likely introduced many future physicians, including those listed as Bethesda Magazine’s Top Doctors, to the basics of mammalian anatomy.

It’s all for the best, knowing these physicians are saving lives, curing cancer, mending bones, allaying pain, restoring sight and delivering the next generation of babies into the world, while my team and I can tell our community about them. (If their ancient inspiration is Hippocrates, ours is Hermes.)

Every edition of Bethesda Magazine by MoCo360 features health reporting that provides information to help you care for yourself and your loved ones.

And once every two years we spotlight the region’s Top Doctors. This issue focuses on the professionals most esteemed by their peers, and the list of physicians is vetted to ensure they meet licensing requirements and are in good professional standing.

We also tapped some of these physicians to address timely topics such as Ozempic and probiotics. And we invited a few to share truths they wish their patients knew.

Even if you’re not shopping for a doc, it’s an enlightening read.

We hope you’ll enjoy spending time with these professionals and the rest of the edition. Please share your thoughts. You can reach us at editorial@ moco360.media as well as on social media.

Sincerely,

ANNE TALLENT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR

BACKGROUND: Lindsey, a Bethesda native, is a freelance photographer. She does it all—but mostly food, portraits and events.

IN THIS ISSUE: Photographed rain gardens, as well as ice cream treats for Table Talk and the buzzy new Opal for the restaurant review.

FAVORITE MONTGOMERY COUNTY HANGOUTS: “I’m spending a lot of time at Pike & Rose right now.”

FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR

DEB LINDSEY POTOMAC LEENIKA BELFIELD-MARTIN LAUREL

BACKGROUND: Belfield-Martin is a Marylandborn journalist and waitress. “When I’m not writing, I’m off dancing somewhere. I also like to do Pilates and yoga.”

IN THIS ISSUE: Selected items for the Shopping page on maximalist fashion.

HER PERSONAL STYLE: “Girly and casual.”

PHOTOS COURTESY DEB LINDSEY AND LEENIKA BELFIELD-MARTIN

SMART MOVE

Planning a later-in-life move can be an overwhelming and stressful experience. Capital Senior Solutions—a division of Brito Associates of COMPASS—is here to help. Accredited by the Seniors Real Estate Institute as Certified Senior Housing Professionals™ and Certified Senior Downsizing Coaches™, our experts have been voted a Bethesda Magazine Top Producer Team year after year. Our senior-approved services—including community tours and guidance, home preparation, downsizing success plans, and more— keep you informed through every step of the home buying, selling, and moving process.

n Downsizers Club Monthly Meeting: July 7, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. via Zoom

n Using Technology To Stay Connected: July 12, 10 – 11 a.m. at Ring House Rockville

n Downsizing Made Easy: July 19, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Lakewood Country Club

n Downsizing Made Easy: August 9, 10 – 11 a.m. at Ring House Rockville

n The Aging Brain: August 16, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Lakewood Country Club

202-656-3410

“Dr. Strangelove. For the satire—not for medical advice.”

CEO & PRESIDENT Scott Copeland

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“Doc Martin. I love the brash-butbrilliant British doctor. The show’s Cornwall scenery is a bonus.”

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F I N E C U L I N A R Y A R T I S T R Y f r o m P A R I S T O D C

CHÂTEAU

T h e c r o w n j e w e l o f L a C o r n u e h a s a r r i v e d i n N o r t h B e t h e s d a

M a d e t o o r d e r e x c l u s i v e l y i n t h e S a i n t - O u e n l ’ A u m ô n e w o r k s h o p o u t s i d e P a r i s , e a c h r a n g e i n L a C o r n u e ’ s C h â t e a u S e r i e s i s m a d e b y h a n d , n u m b e r e d b y t h e c r a f t s m e n ; t h e e m b o d i m e n t o f a s p e c i f i c o w n e r ’ s v i s i o n I m m e r s e y o u r s e l f i n t h e c u l i n a r y a r t i s t r y o f t h e C h â t e a u w h e n y o u v i s i t t h e D C m e t r o a r e a ’ s f i r s t l i v e d i s p l a y w i t h i n t h e A B W A p p l i a n c e s N o r t h B e t h e s d a s h o w r o o m . S c h e d u l e y o u r p r i v a t e a p p o i n t m e n t o r c o n t a c t a n A B W L a C o r n u e S p e c i a l i s t

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2 6 N i c h o l s o n L a n e , N o r t h B e t h e s d a , M a r y l a n d

The BSO continues its tour of the State of Maryland, visiting eight counties this summer!

TICKETS AT BSOMUSIC.ORG

Thanks to our generous partners and patrons like you, most Music for Maryland concerts are available at “pay-what-you-wish” pricing!

Leadership support provided by: The State of Maryland

Supporting Sponsor: PNC Bank

Summer with the Symphony Supporting Sponsor: Sandy Spring Bank

Questions on recreational marijuana, answered

33

Secrets of a county fair toilet-decorating champ

GO EXPLORING BY MOONLIGHT / MS. MOCO / BEST BETS / TEENS TO WATCH

PHOTO BY LOUIS TINSLEY

Filmmakers Brandon, left, and Lance Kramer had a film-centric childhood in Bethesda. PAGE 38

AS OF THIS WRITING, THERE ARE NEARLY 20 LICENSED MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. Highly ranked faves include Rise and HerbaFi in Silver Spring, Bethesda’s Health for Life, Curaleaf in Montgomery Village and Rockville’s gLeaf; all boast mind-boggling selections of flowers, concentrates, pre-rolls, edibles, topicals and vape cartridges. As the state continues to approve new dispensary licenses, expect to see more pot shops popping up.

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT STARTING A SIDE HUSTLE LIKE NANCY BOTWIN FROM WEEDS. It’s illegal to sell pot unless you have a dispensary license. However, you can share cannabis with other adults as long as it doesn’t exceed the legal weight limit and no money (or any other form of compensation) changes hands.

YOU CAN’T GET WEED DELIVERED…YET. The new law has a provision for businesses to apply for a micro-dispensary license to run a delivery service, but the first licenses for them won’t be awarded until Jan. 1, 2024. Once they’re open, you’ll be able to order cannabis to be delivered just like a pizza. (Pro tip: For a good time, order both.)

The FYI on THC

Last fall, voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of recreational marijuana in Maryland. Before toking up, here’s the lowdown on the new rules about reefer.

BY NEVIN MARTELL

STAY IN, SPACE OUT. Do your vaping or smoking at home or at a, well, bud’s house—it’s illegal to toke up in any public spaces, including parks, restaurants, indoor places of employment, and on the sidewalk. Listening to Phish bootlegs and hotboxing in your car is also verboten, because getting high in any motor vehicle is illegal. And don’t forget: Cannabis continues to be illegal on a federal level, so it is illegal to spark up or even possess weed on federal property, including national parks.

YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN WAY. If you’re 21 or older, you can cultivate up to two cannabis plants out of public view (think an indoor grow box or in a backyard garden surrounded by high fencing). Two caveats: Landlords can bar tenants from growing pot, and only two plants are permitted per household, regardless of how many people live on the property. Medical marijuana cardholders can grow up to four plants per household.

01 02

ADULTS ONLY, PLEASE. If you’re 21 or older, starting July 1, you can purchase recreational marijuana from a licensed dispensary without obtaining a medical marijuana card. You’ll just have to present a government-issued ID to prove your age.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS. You can’t possess more than 750 milligrams of THC at a time, though it can be spread out across a variety of products. One additional restriction: A person can only possess 1.5 ounces of flower (the dried buds of the plants) or 12 grams of concentrated cannabis at a time.

PERCENTAGE OF U.S. ADULTS WHO SAY MARIJUANA...

59 %

SHOULD BE LEGAL, FOR MEDICAL AND RECREATIONAL USE

POT STILL HAS LEGAL CONSEQUENCES. Possessing between 1.5 and 2.5 ounces of flower can score you a civil fine of up to $250, court-ordered drug education programming and a referral for assessment and/or treatment of substance use disorder. Possessing more than 2.5 ounces, but less than 50 pounds, could result in up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $1,000. It’s illegal to drive while under the influence of marijuana, so order a Lyft after enjoying edibles. And crossing states lines with cannabis is against the law, so smoke everything you’ve got before taking that trip to the Outer Banks.

30 %

SHOULD BE LEGAL, BUT FOR MEDICAL USE ONLY

10 % SHOULD NOT BE LEGAL

Source: Pew Research Center

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Serious Moonlight

Make the most of those summer nights with stargazing, a nature hike or an after-dark photography lesson

BY MEG DRENNAN

Moonlight transforms the familiar into the magical. That certainly should be the case when the moon waxes big and bright during this year’s supermoons—the closest a full moon comes to Earth—on July 3, Aug. 1, Aug. 31 and Sept. 29. Here are three ways to make the most of moonbeams all summer long.

Visit the Montgomery College Astronomical Observatory in Rockville for a lesson in celestial navigation. Professor Carrie Fitzgerald begins these evenings in a classroom with an orientation to the night sky. Then she takes you up to the science center’s roof, where you can view the moon and stars through one of the observatory’s massive telescopes. “I prepare a set list of objects in the sky. It is constantly changing,” Fitzgerald says. “The moon is an anchor for everyone, a familiar object to orient

themselves to the constellations.” And it’s undeniably romantic—she has hosted two first dates that turned into marriages, she says. The observatory holds free guest nights every two weeks; check website for dates. Registration required. 51 Mannakee St., Rockville, 240-567-5415, mcobserva tory.blogspot.com

Bethesda’s Locust Grove Nature Center hosts Full Moon Fridays on July 7 and Aug. 4, with a naturalist guiding visitors through the woods toward the moonrise. “After the hike, we have a campfire and roast marshmallows,” says Christina Johnson of Montgomery County Parks. “We talk about the names of the moon and why there are different ones each month.” The $8 hikes are 6:30 to 8 p.m. Registration required. 7777 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda, 301-765-8660, locustgrovenature.org

For a twist on viewing the monuments at night, try a photography lesson with Washington Photo Safari . Learn how to use your camera to take clear pictures of the moon, not something that looks like a white dinner plate, as it rises over the nation’s capital. Designed for beginners and advanced photographers alike, workshops focus on developing specific skills, like correct shutter speeds, composition and lighting. Don’t expect a jaunt past all the usual historic sites and monuments, though—led by professional photographers, the safaris are technical workshops, not tours of D.C. Depending on the timing and direction of the moonrise, the instructor will share photo-blending techniques to create one image of the full moon over a monument. Meeting locations vary for the $99 class. 202-669-8468, washington photosafari.com

A moonrise is captured next to the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

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Hot Topics

But this isn’t a Tennessee Williams play, and I’ve got kids who need a little more activity than that. Luckily, there’s so much to offer.

A few ways to occupy yourself and your kids without melting into oblivion:

Hike Sugarloaf Mountain. Just south of Frederick, the trails are shady in parts, cooler up top and just challenging enough to make it interesting, with craggy rocks to climb. Plus, you can reward everyone with a trip to the Waffle House in nearby Urbana. Make it extra adventurous with my husband’s trick, a coin flip to determine the extent of fixings on your hash browns: scattered (on the grill), smothered (with onions), covered (with cheese), chunked (with ham), topped (with Bert’s chili), diced (with tomatoes) peppered (with jalapeños), capped (with mushrooms) and/or country (with sausage gravy). It’s fun for all ages.

BY RACHEL POMERANCE BERL

I can’t deal with the heat here—is it true D.C. was built on a swamp?—and I need new activities for my kids. Other than pools, splash pads, libraries and the Smithsonian, what are some other places I can take my kids this summer?

Turns out Washington, D.C., was not built on a swamp, despite popular proclamations otherwise each summer, when Operation Steam Bath rolls in and we roll up our sleeves to fight shirt stains, untamed hair and general ennui.

When I moved here after college for a summer internship at a shoestring publication, my editors ordered lunch in rather than venture into the thick air over Dupont Circle on particularly oppressive days. At the time, my kooky cousin had grown out his kinky hair and invoked a mantra: “Embrace the curl.” Genius, I thought, and decided I’d “embrace the heat.” I summoned the strength of my Southern heritage (Mom grew up in Vidalia, Georgia) and let the heat waves roll over me on walks to get a cheese-and-avocado sandwich from the corner deli. Turns out the idea only works when you’re about 21. As does that diet. Now I’m channeling more of the fanning-oneself-on-the-porch sort of steel magnolia.

Take a joyride on the Circulator bus. Stay with me. I’m Ms. MoCo, not Ms. Loco. If your kids are really little, they’ll love it. It’s bright, tall and free, and can take you from Old Georgetown Road to Bradley Boulevard. When my son was obsessed with “Wheels on the Bus” (what is it about that song?), we took a loop aboard a Ride On bus, whose driver actually broke out in song for a 2-year-old’s dream come true. You won’t be alone on your Circulator joyride. Ridership dropped below 1,000 passengers per month that first COVID summer, but now it’s up to 10,500, according to the Bethesda Urban Partnership. On a recent weekday afternoon, I took two jaunts, both of which were decently populated, mostly with seniors, except for one Goth couple.

And speaking of simple pleasures, check out Maryland’s minor league baseball. The games are less overwhelming for kids (and many adults), and supply that wholesome sense of community so needed these days. Make sure to bring one of those handheld spritzer fans. The kids will laugh at you until they want to borrow it.

But whether your kids are in town, or still live at home, I beg you this: Remember the grace of summer nights. Jacketless evenings, open-toe shoes and balmy weather—this is the potion for dreamlike moments when the light of day meets the mystery of night. Sip a drink on your front porch and meet the neighbors. Step back in time and go square or swing dancing at Glen Echo, or barhop in downtown Bethesda. You can take the Circulator.

How to not be lazy during those hazy, crazy days of summer.

Ask Ms. MoCo.

BANTER MS. MOCO

Culture Counter

BY CARALEE ADAMS

PODCAST/BOOK

Deborah Kalb is a media triple threat: blogger, podcaster and novelist. She has interviewed hundreds of authors for her blog (deborahkalb books.blogspot.com). In May, she launched the podcast Rereading Our Childhood, on which she and D.C. writer Mary Grace McGeehan discuss favorite books Kalb’s first novel for adults, Off to Join the Circus, is slated to be published by Apprentice House Books in July. “It’s about an overly enmeshed, neurotic Jewish family in Bethesda,” Kalb says.

TV

Young Mazino, who was raised in Silver Spring, landed a breakout role in the Netflix dark comedy series Beef The show is premised on a road rage incident that sparks a feud between two strangers, Amy Lau (played by Ali Wong) and Danny Cho (Steven Yeun). Mazino plays Danny’s 20-something younger brother, Paul. The Korean American actor grew up playing music and performing in school plays and graduated from Sherwood High School.

BOOK

As a child, Qin Sun Stubis experienced hardship including famine and the imprisonment of her father during the Cultural Revolution in China. The Bethesda writer recounts her family’s saga and journey to the United States in her memoir, Once Our Lives (Guernica Editions, June 2023). Stubis says she felt like a “sacred guardian” of her family’s stories and compelled to share them before they were lost. “They’re full of humanity— very ordinary people living through extraordinary times,” Stubis, 63, says.

TV

It was at Magruder High School in Rockville, Gbenga Akinnagbe says, that he discovered wrestling, which saved his life and helped him learn how to be an actor. He went on to compete in the sport at Bucknell University, and has made it in Hollywood, playing Chris Partlow in 30 episodes of HBO’s The Wire (2002-2008), plus other roles on Nurse Jackie and The Deuce. His latest work: portraying billionaire Ron Samuel Jenkins on the Starz series Power Book II: Ghost

Reading List Here are the most-requested books at the Montgomery County Public Library.

FICTION

1 Lessons in Chemistry | Bonnie Garmus

2 Happy Place | Emily Henry

3 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow | Gabrielle Zevin

4 Demon Copperhead | Barbara Kingsolver

5 Hello Beautiful | Ann Napolitano

6 Pineapple Street | Jenny Jackson

7 Romantic Comedy | Curtis Sittenfeld

8 The Covenant of Water | Abraham Verghese

9 Remarkably Bright Creatures | Shelby Van Pelt

10 Mad Honey | Jodi Picoult

In each edition, Bethesda Magazine will present best-sellers from a local bookstore or library. Please reach out with store recommendations or lists at editorial@moco360.media.

NONFICTION

1 Spare | Prince Harry

2 Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones | James Clear

3 The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder | David Grann

4 The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times | Michelle Obama

5 Crying in H Mart | Michelle Zauner

6 Poverty, by America | Matthew Desmond

7 The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma | Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.

8 Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar | Cheryl Strayed

9 An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us | Ed Yong

10 Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life | Emily Nagoski

JULY/AUGUST

MUSIC

July 5-Aug. 16

Live from the Lawn Strathmore kicks off its stellar lineup of free outdoor summer concerts with a performance by Oregon folk group Fellow Pynins. Bands from genres ranging from blues to Latin fusion to Afro-funk take the Gudelsky Gazebo stage each Wednesday. strathmore.org

July 7-28

Bethesda Summer Concert Series

A trio of shows for kids debuts this summer as part of the Bethesda Urban Partnership’s outdoor concert lineup. Catch the free children’s performances at 11:30 a.m. on Fridays through July 21 at the Norfolk Avenue Streetery. Local blues and rock bands take the stage for evening performances from 6 to 8 p.m. on Fridays through July 28. bethesda.org

July 13-Aug. 3

Falu

The Indian singer performs songs from her Grammy-nominated children’s album Falu’s Bazaar, which teaches kids about South Asian culture through music. The concert is the first in Strathmore’s Cool Concerts for Kids summer series. Different children’s musicians will perform each Thursday. strathmore.org

July 22

Tribute to Erykah Badu & Jill Scott

Singer Angelica Baylor sends up the neosoul songstresses in a tribute concert at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, where you can expect to hear favorites like Erykah Badu’s “Tyrone” and “On and On” and Jill Scott’s “The Way and “A Long Walk,” plus more. bethesdabluesandjazz.com

Aug. 12

Chris Urquiaga

The singer-songwriter, aka JChris, incorporates his Brazilian and Peruvian heritage

into his Latin pop compositions and explores gender and queer culture through his music. He gives a pay-what-you-can outdoor performance at Good Hope Neighborhood Recreation Center Silver Spring as part of the Bloom at Good Hope concert series. strathmore.org

THEATER

July 7-Aug. 13

Fela!

Expect to be moved by spirited Afrobeat music and energetic dance in Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center’s co-production of this musical based on the life and music of Nigerian composer and activist Fela Kuti. Performances are held at Olney Theatre Center’s Roberts Mainstage. olneytheatre.org

July 8-12

The Tempest Catch a 1980s-infused version of the Shakespearean play at three Montgomery County parks: Meadowside Nature Center on July 8, Brookside Gardens on July 9 and North Four Corners Park on July 12. The 90-minute outdoor performance is recommended for age 8 and older. mocoparks.org/shakespeare

July 20-Aug. 20

Beauty and the Beast

The Puppet Co. presents its version of a “tale as old as time.” It’s meant for audiences of all ages, but grown-ups can preview the show at the adults-only Grown-up Game Night on July 27, where you also can play board games, card games, role-playing games and storytelling games. A cash bar offers drinks and snacks. thepuppetco.org/events

FILM

July 28, Aug. 5, Aug. 11

Bethesda Outdoor Movies

The corner of Norfolk and Auburn avenues is the place to be for flicks alfresco, including Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (July 28), 50 First Dates (Aug. 5) and Top Gun: Maverick (Aug. 11). Movies begin at 9 p.m. bethesda.org/bethesda/ bethesda-outdoor-movies

Aug. 2-23

Movies in the Parks

Catch a family-friendly film at a different Rockville park each Wednesday in August during the city’s outdoor movie series. This year’s titles are Boss Baby, The Secret Life of Pets, Cool Runnings and Raya and the Last Dragon rockvillemd.gov/1755/movies-in-the-parks

Aug. 12

Movie and a Show

See stars on the screen and in the sky at a special movie and stargazing event at Observatory Park in Gaithersburg. Come for the outdoor film; stay to watch the Perseids meteor shower. gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/parks-fields/observatory-park/ skywatching-programs

Falu, the Grammy-nominated singer, kicks off the Strathmore’s Cool Concerts for Kids summer series.

Q&A GATHERINGS

July 7-Sept. 1

Zumba in the Park

Learn tango, salsa, cumbia and reggaeton steps, all while getting a great workout, at Gaithersburg’s free event each Friday evening at the Gaithersburg Concert Pavilion gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/ classes-programs/zumba-in-the-park

July 20

Yappy Hour

Bethesda Urban Partnership’s play date for dogs and people includes a pop-up dog park, food, beer and wine for sale, and live music in Elm Street Park bethesda.org

July 28

The Bee’s Knees

Phil Frank, a writer and TV pro ducer, as well as a member of the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association, talks about the importance of honeybees as part of the Foodie Fridays series at Josiah Henson Museum and Park Tickets are $10 and include the presentation, light refreshments and entry to the museum. montgomeryparks.org/events/ foodie-fridays-the-bees-knees

FAIRS & FESTIVALS

July 9

Silver Spring Arts and Crafts

Summer Fair

Artisans, crafters and small business owners sell their wares at this annual event, which also features music and food vendors in Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring. silver springdowntown.com/do/silver-spring-artsand-crafts-summer-fair--veterans-plaza

July 15

Gaithersburg SportsFest

Participation, rather than competition, is key at this celebration of all things athletic for kids entering kindergarten through eighth grade. The day kicks off with a 3K run, followed by a chance for participants to test their skills in soccer, football, track and field, baseball, basketball and volleyball. Kids also can challenge themselves on an inflatable obstacle course. It all takes place at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm in Gaithersburg. gaithersburgmd.gov/recreation/ sports/sportsfest

July 16

SenFest

July 4 Independence Day Celebrations

Takoma Park’s Independence Day parade claims to be one of the oldest in the nation. U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin serves as the grand marshal for the parade, which marches along Carroll and Maple avenues. The morning parade is followed by an evening celebration. takomapark4th.orgpa

Rockville’s July 4 celebration includes live music by Vertigo Red and a 20-minute fireworks display at Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park. rockvillemd.gov/663/Independence-Day

Live music begins at 7 p.m., with fireworks to follow, at the Germantown Glory Independence Day celebration at Germantown Recreational Park. montgomerycountymd.gov/recntgomerycountymd.gov/rec

The local Senegalese community celebrates the culture of its country and the African continent with food, music, arts and dance. Local, national and international musicians and dancers perform at the festival held at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring. sa-dmv.org

July 30

Afro Latino Festival

Live musical performances and DJs get the crowds dancing at this party at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring. The event also features food from African and Latino cultures, along with artisans and vendors. carnivalnation.com

Aug. 27

Pan, Brass and Jazz Music Festival

Carnival-style masqueraders in colorful costumes and stilts, along with calypso music, set the scene at this fest, which also features live musical performances and dance, and food vendors, at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring. carnivalnation.com

—Stephanie Siegel Burke

The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, which takes place Aug. 11-19, is known for its carnival rides and farm animals, but it also has contests in dozens of categories. Some of the quirkier include cheese carving and the annual Stang Plumbing toilet and toilet seat decorating contest, which awards cash prizes for the most comely commodes. Silver Spring artist Alexandra Slezak was the blue-ribbon winner in last year’s contest.

Q: Toilet decorating is such a quirky contest. Why did you decide to enter it?

A: I normally work in a lot of reclaimed materials, upcycling stuff like bike chains or synthetic cork, stuff like that. So when I saw the toilet bowl contest, it was just weird enough, and using reclaimed materials, that I wanted to

How would you describe your winning entry?

[It] was a toilet that was saved from the trash, but it was actually new. It’s called Octopus’s Garden, after the Beatles song, of course. It’s all painted blue with these kind of whimsical underwater flowers around it, and on the inside it has recycled glass, shells, moss and things like that. I tried to create art on the inside and the outside.

Q: Can you give some tips for people who might want to enter this year?

A: Have fun with it, go all out and use primer!

See Slezak’s artwork at looneymoons. com or on Instagram @looneymoonsarts. For details on the fair and the contests, visit mcagfair.com. —S.S.B.

ALEXANDRA SLEZAK

Summer Rocks at

LIVE LAWN fromthe

Free outdoor concert series, Wednesdays at 7pm GUDELSKY GAZEBO

FELLOW PYNINS

July 5

CHOPTEETH AFROFUNK BIG BAND

July 12

CECILY

July 19

CARLY HARVEY

July 26

Aug 2

LAKOU MIZIK

Aug 9 UKEFEST FINALE

Aug 16

Thursdays at 7pm FALU’S BAZAAR

July 13

July 20

DANCE PARTY WITH FYÜTCH

July 27

DAN + CLAUDIA

Aug 3

MUSIC CENTER

25 shows just announced! Check out the full lineup and get your tickets today!

Carly Harvey, Fellow Pynins by Justin Gordon, Live from the Lawn Live from the Lawn by Dylan Singleton, Sonia De Los Santos by Miguel Herrera

Fatoumata Diawara by Aida Muluneh, Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood, Michael Feinstein, Itzhak Perlman by Todd Rosenberg

Live from the Lawn is made possible in part through the generous support of

Where the Boys Are, Still

Burning Tree club once proudly hosted presidents and justices. But a century in, the male-only holdout now operates more discreetly

BY AMY HALPERN

One hundred years ago, when Bethesda’s Burning Tree golf club first opened, Prohibition was in full swing, Warren G. Harding was president, and women weren’t allowed on club grounds, let alone the 18-hole course. Seventeen presidents later, Burning Tree’s no-women-allowed policy hasn’t budged. That is, other than a change made in the 1990s that allows members’ wives to book appointments at the pro shop just before Christmas to buy gifts for their husbands.

Today, the club is one of about eight male-only golf clubs left in the nation, according to GolfLink, a California-based website that

connects golfers with courses near them. No other golf club in the D.C. region, or in Maryland, shares Burning Tree’s exclusionary policy. Even the iconic Cosmos Club—Washington, D.C.’s 145-year-old social club for the region’s political and business elite—has admitted women since 1988.

Legend has it that Burning Tree was the brainchild of a group of guys who were frustrated after playing 18 holes behind a slow-moving foursome of ladies at nearby Chevy Chase Golf Club. The men decided right then to create a golf course and clubhouse where women were excluded— much like the “no girls allowed” policies of countless boys and their tree houses.

For much of the 20th century, Burning Tree was the gathering place of the nation’s most influential men, including presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush, and a long list of Supreme Court justices, U.S. congressmen, foreign dignitaries and business leaders. Renowned broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow reportedly learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while on the 10th tee at Burning Tree but finished his round anyway, figuring it was probably fake news. Throughout much of the club’s history, all sitting U.S. presidents have been offered honorary membership. So had all U.S. Supreme Court justices, at least until 1981, when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor took the bench, says Susan Ness, a longtime women’s rights advocate and former president of the Montgomery County Commission for Women. O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, was not offered membership at Burning Tree, “and she was an avid golfer,” Ness says, “but she didn’t press the case.”

Still, Ness adds, “A lot of business went on at the club…and women trying to make it in the business world were at a distinct disadvantage.”

Starting in 1989, Burning Tree’s discriminatory policy cost the club Maryland’s “open-space” tax break that other private golf clubs in the state are granted. But a higher tax bill—valued then at $186,000 and now at about $1 million annually, according to insiders—hasn’t persuaded club members to open their course to women. Rather, members have chosen to pony up more in dues to cover the added cost.

Stewart Bainum Jr., chairman of the board of Choice Hotels International, who served from 1978 to 1986 in the Maryland legislature, first in the House of Delegates and then in the Maryland Senate, had hoped the loss of the tax benefit would encourage the club to change its ways. He isn’t surprised that it didn’t, Bainum says, but he is irked, nonetheless. “That irritated me. Still does,” he says. While in political office, Bainum led the charge to get Burning Tree’s open-space tax exemption revoked due to the club’s discriminatory policies. In 1983, he and his sister Barbara Bainum Renschler filed a lawsuit against the club in Montgomery County Circuit Court; Judge Irma Raker ruled in their favor. But on appeal, the club prevailed. “You [had] taxpayers… subsidizing the clubs that [wouldn’t] consider them for membership,” Bainum says.

The club and its supporters were so powerful that it took Bainum six years of court challenges, legislative proposals and

cajoling to get Maryland’s laws amended to strip Burning Tree of its preferential tax treatment. “It was a who’s who of wealthy and politically well-connected people,” Bainum says. “Members from all over the country…flocked to Burning Tree.”

The club has long welcomed Black members, but it has kept a low profile in recent years as the nation’s moral compass has shifted toward inclusion of all people—not just women and those of different races and religions, but also of the LGBTQ+ community. Over the past few decades, most mentions of Burning Tree in the news have involved high-level politicos who turned down invitations to join. The list includes presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

It’s unlikely that presidents Donald Trump or Joe Biden are Burning Tree members either, says golf journalist Todd Kelly, who has written extensively about U.S. presidents’ golf preferences. “I would be shocked if Biden…has ever even stepped foot on the property there,” says Kelly, the assistant managing editor at GolfWeek. “Just playing one round there would raise thousands of questions about equality and equity. ... And Trump was always flying Air Force One to one of his properties to play.” (Neither presidents Trump nor Biden’s camps returned Bethesda Magazine’s emailed requests for comment.)

Burning Tree “has a longstanding policy of refraining from public comment,” wrote Charles Briggs, the club’s longtime general manager, in an email to Bethesda Magazine, responding to a request for an interview. That’s a far different stance than during the club’s heyday, when stories about President Dwight Eisenhower’s golf rituals on Burning Tree’s fairways and visits to the club from heads of state regularly made headlines.

One notable exception to the club’s current fly-under-the-radar posture: In 2019, Fox News’ chief political anchor Bret Baier told Global Golf Post that he is not only a Burning Tree member, but also that he’d won the club championship the year before. (Baier could not be reached for comment.)

While pressure on Georgia’s iconic Augusta National Golf Club—home of the famed Masters Tournament—was so intense that the club succumbed more than a decade ago and now boasts a handful of female members, pressure on Burning Tree to do the same has mostly fizzled out.

Ness says Augusta was crucial in the fight for women’s rights because it has “the preeminent golf competition…that attracts so much attention,” while Burning Tree has become more of a local golf course with a storied past. “I don’t think anybody talks about Burning Tree” anymore, she says. “It just doesn’t have that panache.”

Former President Dwight Eisenhower and former Vice President Richard Nixon at Burning Tree golf club in August 1961

Shooting Stars

Documentarians Brandon and Lance Kramer got the filmmaking itch growing up in Bethesda

BY RICHARD HARRIS

For two filmmakers, like American cinema, 1999 was a transformative year. Movies such as The Matrix, Fight Club and The Sixth Sense weaved anxiety and excitement as the country nervously headed into the brave new world of Y2K.

Brandon Kramer, 12, sat mesmerized at the Bethesda Theater Cafe, watching one of the year’s groundbreaking films. “Being John Malkovich changed my life,” he says now. “It was so imaginative and threw out every single rule about the world, about film. There’s nothing as powerful as creating an entire world and experience in 90 minutes.”

For brother Lance, 15, it was Magnolia. “It was the bible of all the emotions a human could experience that I had not yet experienced,” he says. “Since then, there’s been no film that’s created quite that sense of awe in me.”

Now 36 and 39, Brandon and Lance Kramer are documentary filmmakers, and their latest, The First Step, is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. As we talked at a Starbucks in April, the brothers realized we were between their second homes during their film-centric childhood: the old United Artists theater and the long-shuttered Bethesda Avenue Blockbuster video store.

When their sons watched the same films 10 times, Mark and Marjorie Kramer recognized the difference between a fleeting interest and obsession. So they bought the boys a camera and sent them to film camp. Their basement regularly served as a screening room where friends gathered to take in their early filmmaking.

The Kramer brothers are fourth-

generation Washingtonians. Their greatgrandfather Isadore led the family migration from Russia early in the 20th century and started the butcher shop Kramer & Sons in the original Union Market. Over the years, Kramer family members owned a plumbing business, hardware store, liquor stores and a chain of car washes. There’s a political branch, too. Their great-uncle, the late Sidney Kramer, served as Montgomery County executive. His son is Maryland state Sen. Ben Kramer, and daughter Rona Kramer was Maryland secretary of aging.

Marjorie Kramer has taught kids with learning disabilities. Mark Kramer is a residential architect and artist whose steel sculpture Lyrical Lady sits outside the Bethesda Metro station. He also designed the 13 red aluminum B sculptures that are sprinkled around Bethesda’s arts and entertainment venues.

PHOTO BY LOUIS TINSLEY

The Kramer brothers, Brandon, left, and Lance, grew up in Bethesda. Their father, Mark Kramer, designed the 13 aluminum B sculptures that pop up around the community’s arts venues.

The First Step, the most recent film by the brothers, follows the efforts of Van Jones as he pushes for bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation.

Seeing their father “build a business and raise us off of art” inspired the boys, Brandon says.

After several jobs post college, some film-related, the brothers returned home and discovered a supportive filmmaking community in the District. They started Meridian Hill Pictures in 2010, and in 2015 released City of Trees, an official selection at more than 20 film festivals. The documentary follows two years in the lives of trainees and staff at a federally funded green jobs program.

In The First Step, the brothers accompanied liberal activist Van Jones as he crossed the political divide and got the support of Jared Kushner and his fatherin-law, then-President Donald Trump, to pass rare bipartisan criminal justice

reform legislation. In 2021, the movie had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and debuted in the D.C. area at AFI Docs. It won best documentary feature at Boston GlobeDocs and at the Oxford and Bozeman International film festivals.

Jones appreciated the persistence of the Kramer brothers and said in an interview, “I admired their desire to try to use media to show messy nuance and truths to bring people together at a time when so many documentaries seemed to polarize people.”

For The First Step , the brothers took a page from the filmmaker they most admire, the late Robert Drew, a father of

cinéma vérité, ensuring their film about policymaking in Washington, D.C., didn’t overshadow the real people in West Virginia and South Los Angeles who were affected by the policies.

“We grew up in the center of politics, but with a deep exposure to art, community and education,” Brandon says. “A lot of filmmakers are making films about big political issues, but not that many are tackling politics in this very emotional, complicated and personal way. That’s a direct result of being raised in Bethesda, into the family that we grew up in. That’s what actually gave us the DNA of our storytelling.”

Bright Young Things

Watch for these faces someday on a Fortune magazine cover, Wheaties box or Oscars broadcast

BY DAWN KLAVON

“There are opportunities if you want them,” says Buildgirls member Lila Rosenberg, 17. “It’s really important to be spreading this information.”

ACE executives emphasize the necessity of the organization. “It absolutely needs to be done,” says Susan Hecker, an executive vice president at Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services and a Buildgirls advisory board member. “To see what Buildgirls is doing, starting at a younger age, it’s so important—I think what they’ve accomplished is nothing short of extraordinary.”

Sisters Doing It for Themselves

Construction is a predominantly male field, but not if the Goldsteen sisters have anything to say about it. In 2022, the Bethesda residents—Sami, 17, Kenzie, 15, and Emmie, 13—founded Buildgirls, a nonprofit educating high school girls about women in architecture, construction and engineering, or ACE.

The idea came during COVID, when students worked remotely and the sisters used their father’s desk at home for schoolwork. Their dad, who works with infrastructure companies, had many presentations from businesses across the industry sitting on his desk. One day, Sami noticed all his team slides had one thing in common—they were all pictures of men.

“I was able to learn firsthand that women only represent less than 10% of

the entire ACE fields,” says Sami, who goes to Holton-Arms School in Bethesda (her younger sisters attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.). “They make up less than 2% of those leadership roles.”

So the sisters started their femalecentric organization to offer a variety of opportunities at the high school level. Buildgirls now has more than 250 members in 18 states and three countries. The Buildgirls team records and posts video and audio interviews on buildgirls.org, highlighting accomplished women in ACE professions.

The group also holds “discovery events,” putting members face-to-face with leaders in the field. The Goldsteen girls are all considering careers in an ACE field, and Buildgirls offers excellent chances for all of its members to make inroads.

The Teen Making a Splash

Swimmer Toby Barnett, 18, stroked his way into the record books this past school year, completing his quest to break all 11 Rockville High School swimming records. A swimmer since age 8, Barnett embarked on that journey during his freshman year but says he never really thought it was possible. His high school and swim club coaches, though, saw potential.

“I said, ‘I basically want to see you do things in the pool training-wise that I’ve never seen anybody do,’ ” says Dave Kraft, a coach for the Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club, for which Barnett swims. “He became

COURTESY PHOTO; PHOTO BY MARCUS CHEN; COURTESY PHOTOS

Sami, Kenzie and Emmie Goldsteen

Toby Barnett

a top eight finisher at Junior Nationals in all four strokes, which is really rare.”

It was full steam ahead during Barnett’s senior year at Rockville High School, and the dynamo sealed the deal by breaking the five remaining Rams records that he hadn’t yet conquered. But he didn’t stop shattering high school records. At the Maryland State Swimming Championships in February, Barnett added three more state titles to the two he already holds. After setting the state record in the 200 IM (individual medley) during his junior year, Barnett set the 500-yard freestyle record during his senior year. Barnett’s next goal is swimming at the Olympic trials level, Kraft says, and this summer he will continue training in hopes of making the cut.

Now preparing to begin his freshman year at Indiana University on a swimming and academic scholarship, Barnett says the journey for him is the destination.

“I’m enjoying swim right now, and I don’t want to lose the passion I have for the sport,” Barnett says. “The biggest thing is just to make sure I’m enjoying it.”

Documentary Now!

Nimay Sharma and Parim Shah, sixth graders at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Germantown, won the $5,000 grand prize in C-SPAN’s 2023 StudentCam documentary competition. They beat out almost 3,000 other students—representing 40 states, the District of Columbia, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates—with their six-minute documentary, Where’s My Data? Data Privacy and its Real World Impact. For the competition, students were tasked with creating a documentary themed, “If you were a newly elected member of Congress, which issue would be your first priority and why?”

“Privacy issues are sort of universal, and they impact so many different domains, like health care, social media, elections,” Parim says. “We wanted to dive into that because there’s so many different interests that we could pursue with data privacy.”

The contest was announced last September in their humanities class at school. Their teacher, James Dempsey, assigned students the project for their class, and

ifornia Rep. Sara Jacobs, Washington Post tech policy reporter Cat Zakrzewski, and Vox senior tech reporter Sara Morrison, who embraced participating in the video.

“I’m happy they won but not surprised,” Morrison says. “They made a great case for why digital privacy is important and why we should care about it—I’m honored they included me in their video.”

gave them the option to enter the C-SPAN contest if they wanted.

“We did research, and then we had to film it,” Nimay says.

“We spent a lot of time on scripting—we wanted to make that the best possible,” Parim adds. “And then editing probably took the most effort and time.”

The students’ video includes interviews with Democratic Cal-

Parim Shah, this photo and below (right) with Nimay Sharma

BOLD MAXIMALIST STYLE / FIELD TRIP TO TAKOMA PARK / FULL-CIRCLE WEDDING

Play with perception at the Museum of Illusions Washington

PAGE 52

The observation tower at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware

Functional art at The Clay CoOp

BY LEENIKA BELFIELD-MARTIN

Fired Up!

When it comes to ceramics, Rockville artist Chris Landers can dish it out

BY DAWN KLAVON

No smears of clay or pools of wet paint blot Chris Landers’ workspace, at least when it’s not in use. The ceramics artist owns and operates The Clay CoOp in Rockville, and he keeps every inch of the expansive industrial area clean, organized and usable. It’s all about the pairing of function and aesthetics. In the same way, Landers’ handmade line of small-batch tableware presents beautiful, understated products to use on a daily basis.

“As long as it’s in use, that’s sort of my goal,” Landers, 38, says of the products he turns out.

Each piece carries its own story and unique characteristics, with the mission of introducing high-quality heirloom objects into everyday life. The ceramic products are intentionally durable and elegant; dishwasher- and microwave-safe, appropriate for both commercial and residential settings. Landers says he is often commissioned to create one-of-a-kind tableware for restaurant use, but his line of bowls, plates, cups, platters and more appeals to the general public as well.

“My whole kitchen is filled with his dishes,” says Lynn Brown, an amateur ceramics artist and frequent customer from Potomac. “I cook a lot, and it’s nice to have something beau tiful to display your efforts with.” Brown once sent Land ers a photo of her dishwasher full of his plates, cups and bowls, telling him, “Even in the dishwasher they look great!”

Landers, a Gaithersburg native, has long been drawn to ceramics. As far back as his days at DuFief Elementary School, he loved playing with clay, and growing up, he took as many art classes as possible at Robert Frost Middle School and Wootton High School. “I’ve always gravitated toward clay—this tactile material [with which] I could make things without many rules,” he says. “There’s always more to learn, and it’s engaging enough to keep you hooked for a lifetime.”

A match striker is one of the unique items he has created in his quest to make useful products. The small ceramic match holder is glazed on all sides but one, so you can use the coarse unglazed section to strike and light the A vase made by Landers

Chris Landers in his Rockville studio, known as The Clay CoOp

FROM TOP: PHOTO BY JUSTIN TSUCALAS; COURTESY DAWN KLAVON

match. One side of the container keeps unused matches at the ready, and the other compartment holds those to be discarded.

“I think that the match striker is a really interesting object because whenever you’re striking a match, you’re sort of doing something ceremonial—you’re lighting a birthday candle, you’re lighting a fire in your fireplace,” Landers says. The context, he muses, is generally warm and positive.

Creating his pieces at the CoOp takes time, generally about three weeks from start to finish. Steps include shaping the wet clay, leaving it in plastic for seven to 10 days to dry slowly, bisque-firing each object to 1,657 degrees to change it from clay to ceramic to make it more durable, glazing it, and then firing it in the kiln again to 2,260 degrees for completion. Landers usually does a batch of 10 to 20 similar objects at a time for each stage.

The Clay CoOp itself is a work of art. Landers opened the 2,400-square-foot space in 2016 to provide a collaborative professional working and educational environment for himself and other clay enthusiasts. Classes range from beginner skills to advanced techniques, providing wheels, kilns and private instruction. At any given time, around 75 students are enrolled, he says.

Landers has a background in art and graphic design, with years of teaching and ceramic production. He sells his creations at theclaycoop.com and through the enterprise Shop Made in DC. Landers also holds five to seven sales each year, either online or in person, but he prefers to present products to customers face to face.

“If you don’t have the story behind it, you don’t know that it’s made in your community,” Landers says. “It’s all made by hand; all the marks on there are my fingers, my touch—and it takes that story to sell the work.”

His most popular products are match strikers ($38) and a small serving plate ($68) with three connected circles, typically used for appetizers or snacks.

All of Landers’ tableware is white, creating a blank canvas to display food and drinks. “It’s supposed to be a part of your daily life, not to be a star,” he says. “I think about my plates as being kind of unfinished until food is on it, so whoever is using it gets to finish the piece of artwork.”

With more than 20 locations across North America, Great Wolf Lodge’s template typically includes a lazy river and waterslides (opposite page)

Swim With the Wolves

BY CHRISTINE KOUBEK FLYNN

Dodge summer rain and sunburns with an indoor swimming, sliding and climbing adventure. The 700-room Great Wolf Lodge Maryland, which was expected to open in late June as the chain’s largest water park resort, brings an Aspenlike lodge spirit to its Perryville property (compared with the more rustic log-cabin look of its mid-Atlantic sister resort in Williamsburg, Virginia).

Drop four stories before spinning down the Coyote Cannon waterslide, or race your family on the toboggan-style Mountain Edge Raceway. Otter Cave Waterworks, a tree house, includes toddler-friendly slides and toys, while the Hot Springs’ multiple alcoves are ideal for a warm soak. All are part of a 126,000-square-foot indoor water park that also offers raft rides designed for siblings and families to enjoy together.

The 57,000-square-foot Great Wolf Adventure Park—a dry fun zone that feels like a cruise ship on land—is where you’ll find an arcade, duckpin bowling, mini golf and a ropes course, as well as the resort’s signature MagiQuest, a liveaction journey through a fantasy forest that you navigate with a magic wand to become a “Master Magi.”

Family-friendly suites, many with design elements inspired by the site’s Great Wolf Pack stories, come in a variety of styles and configurations. Some include cozy bunk-bed rooms with character theming. Many can be connected for large families or to form multigenerational abodes.

Visit the in-house Dunkin’ for morning fuel. Other fun eateries serve pizza, salads, sandwiches, tacos, burgers, ice cream and

drinks, including adult beverages. Barnwood is good for a seafood-andsteak night with the kids. And don’t miss Story Time for a bedtime tale around the fireplace in the lobby.

Rates begin at $249 per night and include waterpark admission.

Great Wolf Lodge, 1240 Chesapeake Overlook Parkway, Perryville; 888983-9653, greatwolf.com/ maryland

Play With Perception

Opened in December, the Museum of Illusions Washington continues a concept first launched in Zagreb, Croatia, in 2015. As the 40th of its kind, the Washington, D.C., location is a playful place to test your perceptions while learning science, math and mind-bending tidbits.

Hang upside down (seemingly) in a subway car, walk through the Vortex Tunnel (for those with a strong constitution) and discover what your head would look like on a platter. Illusionistic rooms challenge your sense of size and space, and “illusion experts” stationed throughout are happy to offer fun photo assists. A playroom with games and puzzles, and a museum shop selling take-home brain teasers round out the offerings.

The museum is located in CityCenterDC, an area that’s also home to cafes, restaurants and chic shops such as Chanel, Gucci and Ferragamo. Walk-ins are welcome, but to avoid a potential wait—and lines to get into each exhibit—buy tickets in advance and visit at off-peak times. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets: $23.95 for adults; $18.95 for ages 5-12; $21.95 for seniors (65+), military and students; free for children younger than 5.

A Beuchet chair (above) and the Kaleidoscope Room

Escape to the Beach

Located just blocks from Bethany’s boardwalk and shoreline, pet-friendly Hotel Bethany Beach completed a propertywide transformation in the spring of 2022. The hotel exudes a coastal vibe, combining sea blues, saffron and sand tones with weathered wood accents. The spacious lobby, good for a relaxing break from the sun, has wicker lounge chairs, a surfboard coffee table and handblown glass pendant lights that evoke beach glass.

The 100 upgraded guest rooms and suites include fresh furnishings, comfortable beds (either a king or two queens) and nautical bedside lamps designed with rope, plus a sofa or cozy lounge chair, microwave, mini refrigerator and Keurig coffee maker. Suite 401 features a beach shack-inspired kids sleeping area with surfboard and wave art, and a sunset wall mural.

Summer guests can enjoy locally sourced ice cream from Hopkins Farm Creamery (for sale in the hotel’s graband-go pantry); a complimentary round at nearby Nick’s Mini Golf; and 10% off at Mickey’s Family Crabhouse (either at the restaurant or via in-room dining during select hours).

Other perks include complimentary breakfast and afternoon refreshments, an outdoor pool, a fitness center and board games. Delicious cookies are served upon arrival, along with a complimentary “orange smash” cocktail for adults, courtesy of Devils Backbone Brewing Co.

Summer rates begin at $378 per night. See the hotel website for pet policies.

Hotel Bethany Beach, 39642 Jefferson Bridge Road, Bethany Beach, Delaware; 302-541-9200, hotelbethanyde.com

Clockwise from top: Coastal-cool Hotel Bethany Beach’s pool, a guest suite and the lobby

Arthropod ’s Deligh t

Lewes, Delaware, keeps us—and the horseshoe crabs—coming back for more

BY SUSAN ANSPACH

It’s a seaside town that’s been attracting top chefs, COVID rebound vacationers and the notice of anyone paying attention to President Joe Biden’s comings and goings. But all of that is background noise in Lewes, Delaware. The biggest draws are the things that don’t change much: the beach. Bicycles. The mighty horseshoe crab.

Speaking of said critter with its Darth Vader-like armor: It’s the star of the “touch tank” (essentially a petting zoo for sea creatures) at the Cape Henlopen State Park nature center, where visitors are quick to learn that the Delaware Bay has the largest concentration of spawning horseshoe crabs in the world. That their 445 million-year-old fossils lend proof that the species predates dinosaurs. And that their blood— “something of a medical marvel,” per park staff—is used to test human vaccines for contamination (yes, including those vaccines). If you turn your head and squint at just the right angle, the 10-eyed buggers might even convince you of their charm, or something approximating charm.

Beyond the touch tank, there’s no squinting needed to appreciate tiny Lewes’ charm. The town’s delights are evident at first glance, from its sleepy canal and neighboring sand-duned state park to its walkable downtown lined with boutique shops, bike racks, cafes and Victorian architecture. Positioned at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, less than half a day’s drive from Washington, D.C., Lewes is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the peninsular arm of Cape Henlopen. The calm waters that result are a lure for families more concerned with sandcastle construction than adrenaline production.

Given its scale—fewer than 3,500 people claim permanent residency in this beach town spanning 4.4 square miles—Lewes doesn’t attract the party swarms found in nearby Rehoboth and Dewey. But the popularity contest is relative, says Betsy Reamer, executive director of the city’s chamber of commerce. As COVID waned, stir-crazy families filled the town’s hotels and rental properties, she says, and new sea-to-table restaurants opened. The place can hardly be characterized as “undiscovered.”

p The touch tank at Cape Henlopen State Park nature center

t A horseshoe crab heads toward the ocean.

Bikes are one of the best ways to get around, with an evolving and well-maintained network of trails that link Lewes to neighboring towns and beaches. President Biden occasionally drops in on Marine One for a stay at his vacation home in nearby North Shores, posting Instagram evidence of his own two-wheeled excursions.

Downtown Lewes, however, is best navigated on foot, if not for the shopping and pocket-size parks, then for a closer look at its rich past. The town was established in 1631 as a Dutch whaling post—as chronicled in the Zwaanendael Museum—and saw wartime action disproportionate to its size in the War of 1812. (Front Street’s appropriately nicknamed “Cannonball House” still displays in an upstairs exhibit how it got that name.)

Shipcarpenter Square, a hamlet of restored 18th- and 19thcentury homes, also features a travelers’ inn transplanted from rural Sussex County, three barns, a schoolhouse, a log home, a lighthouse and a replica of a historic green.

Cape Henlopen State Park is home to Fort Miles, a seacoast fortification built during World War II to defend the Delaware Bay against German invasion.

Of course, for summer fun, there’s always the sand and the water. Choose your own adventure, whether it’s among the kids clutching boogie boards, or in the company of stand-up paddleboarders, kayakers and lazily crisscrossing sailboats.

If you’d prefer to stay dry, a simple walk along the shoreline always satisfies. Just mind your step and watch for those horseshoe crabs. They’re friendly and essential. And, indisputably, they were here first.

IF YOU GO …

How to Pronounce

It’s LEW-is. Not LOOS.

Where to Eat

A burgeoning dining scene risks turning Lewes’ sleepy reputation on its head. Gems tucked into the postage stamp-size downtown include the Victorian house-turned-restaurant Heirloom (heirloomdelaware.com), which opened its doors in 2015 and has made a splash among locals and food critics. (Patio reservations for its 30 or so outdoor seats are released day of, and they go fast.) Bramble & Brine at the Buttery (bramble-brine.com), which opened around the corner in 2021, has earned similar acclaim for executive chef Paul Gallo’s whimsical twists on seafood and seasonal vegetables.

For Mexican, you can’t go wrong with Agave (agaverestaurants.com) for margaritas, jalapeño-cheese cornbread and sweet ancho ribs. At Touch of Italy (touchofitaly.com), a destination for wood-fired pizzas with a floor-toceiling display of red wines, a pie and a glass

can be had for less than $20, but don’t skip dessert. Chubby cream puffs and eclairs beckon from its well-stocked pastry display.

Speaking of sweets, set aside at least one night for King’s Homemade Ice Cream (kingshomemadeicecream.com) , where nostalgia rules courtesy of a checkerboard floor, to say nothing of the floats, malts and packed waffle cones . Edie Bee’s Confection Shop (ediebeeslewes.com) is a feast for the eyes, with rainbow displays of rock candy and shelves stacked with candy jars that are the stuff of fairy tales.

Craving lighter fare? Tuck into coffee, avocado toast and lump-crab omelets at Eggcellent (eggcellentinlewes.com) , or hit Nectar Cafe & Juice Bar (cafenectar.com) for fresh-squeezed juices and brunch dishes. The town’s Saturday morning farmers market finds local chefs serving up cooking demos at George H.P. Smith Park. Visit historiclewesfarmersmarket.org for a list of market vendors.

Where to Shop

Independently owned shops are the pride of downtown. The Bungalow on 2nd (the bungalowon2nd.com) stocks a thoughtfully curated selection of women’s clothes, accessories and bath products, while The Vintage Underground (undergroundlewes .com) sells vintage vinyl, cassettes, CDs and fashions that warrant perusal. At Lewes Gourmet (lewesgourmet.com), the merch includes off-the-beaten-path British foods and tea sets, plus puzzles and

mind teasers. And for any items you may have forgotten, Lewes Variety (lewesvariety .com) carries hats, beach toys, umbrellas and flip-flops, along with wicker furniture and decor.

If you’ve got trunk space to spare on the trip home, the Tanger Outlets (tangeroutlet .com/rehoboth) are a seven-minute drive from downtown Lewes, with some 100 discount stores and brands such as Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Coach and Nautica.

Where to Stay

For an excellent bed-and breakfast experience, The Blue Water House (lewes-beach .com) is known for its funky decor, friendly staff, quiet rooms, porch swings and complimentary bike rentals. Just over the canal, the Dogfish Inn (dogfish.com/inn) caters to beer lovers and adventure-seekers with modern furnishings (think white linens and blond wood), backyard cornhole, an outdoor activity package and complimentary 32-ounce growlers for guests to fill at Dogfish Head brewery.

From left: A fruity dish from Heirloom; Zwaanendael Museum; a room at The Blue Water House

Beach houses start booking a year in advance. Secure a rental through Gallo Realty (gotogallo.com) or Jack Lingo (jacklingo.com)

What to Do

To know Lewes is to bike it, and a ride along the winding boardwalk of Cape Henlopen State Park (destateparks.com/beaches/ capehenlopen) is a must for wildlife sightings. In peak season, bikes can be rented for free for up to two hours from the park’s Bike Barn. At Fort Miles (destateparks.com/fortmiles), stop at Battery 519, a 15,000-square-foot fortified underground chamber housing World War II memorabilia. The park’s Seaside Nature Center is where kids can touch Delaware’s unofficial state arthropod, the horseshoe crab, while also gazing upon stocked aquariums and an osprey exhibit. The nature center organizes family-friendly events all summer long, from squid dissections (for the not-so-squeamish) to nocturnal ghost crab hikes. Register at destateparks.com.

For a change of scenery, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry (cmlf.com) departs several times a day for its 85-minute cruise to New Jersey, where shuttles connect visitors to downtown Cape May’s welcome center for $6. Those seeking more bustle can drive 15 minutes to Rehoboth Beach, home to a mile-long boardwalk teeming with arcades, taffy shops, carnival rides and a T-shirt for every person on your list.

Cape Water Tours & Taxi (capewatertaxi.com) offers dolphin-watching, full-moon tours and lighthouse excursions, all of which can be booked online. Kayaks and stand-up paddleboards can be rented at Quest Adventures (questkayak.com). There are no Jet Skis to be had, but Jet Skis have never been the lifeblood of Lewes and, with any luck, never will be.

Susan Anspach lives in Vienna, Virginia, and grew up seeing the shores of the Delaware beaches.

Cyclists ride on the Gordons Pond Trail at Cape Henlopen State Park.

COURTESY CAPE HENLOPEN STATE PARK

Takoma Park

BY RENEE SKLAREW

Takoma Park’s citizens are well known to be passionate about gardening and for their commitment to the environment. The burg is often called Azalea City for the flowering bushes that bloom there in the spring. Located in southeastern Montgomery County, the Maryland side of Takoma Park has hilly roads bordered by Crayola-colored Victorian-style homes. The main gathering place is the historic district, with dozens of independent shops, restaurants and a co-op grocery store. The streetery on Laurel Avenue is a friendly spot to meet for a meal.

As evidenced by the rainbow flags and signs, Takoma Park is passionate about social justice, and the neighborhood has been a sanctuary for Latin American immigrants since the 1960s. The meandering Sligo Creek valley cuts through the neighborhoods, providing a respite from city streets. Begin your visit near the intersection of Carroll and Laurel avenues, where you’ll meet Roscoe the Rooster. The statue is a monument to a free-range fowl who wandered around Takoma Park from 1989 to 1999. The year-round farmers market—which is celebrating 40 years this season—features an array of locally grown seasonal food every Sunday. It’s no wonder that Roscoe, the town’s mascot, is a farm animal.

EVENTS

The Takoma Park Farmers Market is open year-round, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday, at 6931 Laurel Avenue. … Takoma Park also has Crossroads Farmers Market, open on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., April through November, at the corner of Anne Street and University Boulevard East. The international market represents producersonly vendors from micro-enterprises. … The Takoma Park Street Festival is set for Oct. 1, celebrating 42 years of music, food and craft vendors. Expect 18 local bands, 150 vendors and food trucks spread down Carroll Avenue.

EAT Mansa Kunda Restaurant offers the spicy goodness of Gambian food. We still dream about the jollof rice with sweet potatoes. Divine desserts include hibiscus and Oreo cookie cakes. 8000 Flower Ave., Takoma Park; mansakunda.com

SNIFF The aroma of freshly baked muffins wafts through the door as you enter Spring Mill Bread Co. One taste of the seven-grain crunch bread or the gluten-free carrot cake and you’ll be hooked for life. 7300 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park; springmillbread.com

BROWSE The Tabletop outpost in Takoma Park is just as charming as the original location in Dupont Circle. We love the whimsical gifts, books and kids stuff, especially the patterned Maiku bags, Botanica reed diffusers, and Takoma Park map posters. 6927 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park; tabletopdc.com

GLOW Enter the magical world of The Covered Market, a boutique filled with hand-painted Turkish pottery, handwoven Ottoman-style boots and kilim bags. 7000 Carroll Ave., Ste. D, Takoma Park; thecoveredmarket.com

PHOTO BY SAM KITTNER / COURTESY VISIT

Clarksburg

Damascus Germantown

Gaithersburg

Olney

Aspen Hill Rockville

Potomac Bethesda Silver Spring

Poolesville Takoma Park

A shady spot for a summer stroll, this city lures visitors with unique boutiques and international restaurants

The Takoma Park Farmers Market is one of two in town

Tickets On Sale Now!

HIKE Check out the 1.5 acre, leafy Sligo Creek North Neighborhood Park with a covered picnic area and playground The park is located on the Sligo Creek Trail, which runs 10.2 miles along a meandering stream valley. Use caution, as the paved trail is used by both walkers and cyclists. Parking: Heather Avenue and Sligo Creek Parkway. montgomeryparks.org

BITE The tasty small plates at predominantly vegan Seoul Food DC are bursting with intense flavors. We recommend trying the Korean fried “chicken” and sampling the fine craft beer. 7302 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park; seoulfooddc.com

SHOP TPSS Co-op is a friendly market where Marylanders can find local products, including beer and wine. More than 200 items are sourced from growers and producers in the mid-Atlantic region. Some favorite items: breads from Mastiha Bakery in Rockville, Zeke’s Coffee out of Baltimore, Gunter’s Honey from Virginia, and Takoma Park’s own Civil Tea. 201 Ethan Allen Ave., Takoma Park; tpss.coop

DRESS Since 1998, Amano owners Jeff and Veronica McCandless have supplied the community with clothes and accessories that are comfortable and often sustainable. The store stocks top brands such as Dansko, Baggallini and Habitat. 7034 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park; amanotakoma.com

CAFFEINATE Whether you’re in need of coffee or cocktails, Takoma Beverage Co. can satisfy your cravings from morning until night. You’ll feel welcomed at this cafe by the expert baristas at the art decostyle coffee shop, and by the friendly bartenders in the cafe section. 6917 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park; takomabevco.com

SIP The Girl & The Vine is a multilevel cafe that also sells wines made by small producers, especially those committed to sustainable growing and manufacturing. After perusing the bins of international, national and mid-Atlantic wines, take a seat on the patio and try the vegan eggplant parm sub, gluten-free crispwich, and house-cut fries. 7071 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park; thegirlandthevine.com

July 23

Nickel Creek

Aoife O’Donovan

UB40

Maxi Priest Inner Circle

July 9

Disney PrincessThe Concert

July 12

Jurassic Park™ in Concert

National Symphony Orchestra

July 22

Regina Spektor

July 27 + 28

American Ballet Theatre Giselle

Aimee Mann

August 3

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band

National Symphony Orchestra

August 5

Mozart

Don Giovanni

August 4

Hilary Hahn plays Brahms National Symphony Orchestra

Wolf Trap Opera

August 11

Diana Krall

August 12

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Dawes

August 26

August 19

John Fogerty

Squeeze The Psychedelic Furs

September 14

...and many more!

Full Circle

A NORTH BETHESDA COUPLE’S 220-GUEST WEDDING—

AT THE SAME SPOT WHERE THEIR ROMANCE BEGAN—

FEATURED A HOMEMADE DESSERT BAR, A RETRO

TROLLEY AND A CHAMPAGNE TOWER THAT WENT VIRAL

BY DANA GERBER

THE COUPLE Kaelynn Stanton (maiden name Serena), 28, grew up in Bethesda and graduated from the Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac. She is a health and wellness coach and a podcast host. JC Stanton, 34, grew up in Potomac and attended Winston Churchill High School. He is the chief financial officer of the New York-based health care software company HHAeXchange. They live in North Bethesda with their golden retriever, Wally.

HOW THEY MET The future lovebirds first met as kids—Kaelynn took ballet classes with JC’s younger sister—but didn’t know each other well. Fast forward to June 16, 2017, when they were reacquainted at a summer party at Bethesda’s Congressional Country Club. “I see this young lady walk up to my mother and say hi,” remembers JC, who went over, reintroduced himself,

and asked a skeptical Kaelynn if they could dance later. “I’m like, I’m never seeing this guy again,” she says. But sure enough, later, when they were both on the dance floor, he saw his chance. “I kind of just reached out and was like, ‘Hey, you owe me a dance,’ ” he says, and Kaelynn was drawn to his confidence. He got her phone number and soon they went out to the (now-closed) Mussel Bar & Grille in downtown Bethesda. “We shut down the restaurant,” recalls Kaelynn of the five-hour-long first date.

THE PROPOSAL JC popped the question on Labor Day weekend in 2020, along the Georgetown waterfront. Because it was a nice day, the area was well populated, so Kaelynn’s “yes” was met with spectators cheering and boats honking. “It was way more public than I planned for it to be,” JC says. A photographer captured the whole thing, and afterward, they celebrated with friends and family at an engagement party on the rooftop of the Line DC hotel.

THE CEREMONY The couple wed on July 2, 2022, with about 220 guests present in a Catholic ceremony under the vaulted ceiling and stained-glass windows of the cha-

pel at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda. After the bridal party got ready at the hotel, a retro trolley ferried them to the church and then the reception. “I thought it was more beautiful than a bus, and more unique and fun,” Kaelynn says.

THE RECEPTION Originally, the bride didn’t have her sights set on the Congressional Country Club as the venue, but the space could accommodate their big guest list—and the “full circle” moment, she says, was the cherry on top. “It was really cool to be able to look down at the exact spot that we met,” she says.

FOOD AND DRINK The day’s wide-ranging menu began with passed hors d’oeuvres during the alfresco cocktail hour— such as bacon-and-goat-cheese-stuffed dates and Vietnamese spring rolls—and an “ode to Maryland” raw bar complete with crab claws, oysters, clams, mussels and shrimp. The main course was a choice of London broil, roasted chicken breast or a cauliflower steak, paired with a hand-picked wine selection. Alongside the wedding cake—a chocolate confection with raspberry filling and buttercream icing—the couple laid out a dessert bar filled with sweet treats homemade by loved ones for guests to take home. Toward the end of the

reception, the newlyweds did a “champagne tower,” pouring bubbly over a pyramid of coupe glasses, a clip of which racked up over a million views on Kaelynn’s TikTok account. “It’s weird, but then it’s really flattering,” she says. A build-your-own crab cake slider bar and French fry cones served as late-night bites, and when guests migrated to the Pearl Street Warehouse in D.C. for the afterparty, a breakfast taco spread kept people energized into the wee hours.

OUTFITS The bride tried on over a dozen dresses before falling in love with the sleek Ines Di Santo gown she wore on the big day. “I started to tear up when I tried it on because I envisioned myself as the woman that I want to grow into,” she says. A flowing veil and sparkly Jimmy Choo shoes finished off the bridal look. The groom sported a custom three-piece, double-breasted suit, along with Christian Louboutin shoes and an Omega watch.

THE MUSIC The 10-piece band, the bride remembers, was “so good that people, during dinner, left their seats to dance during when the salads were passed out.” After the newlyweds’ first dance to “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” by Natalie Cole and the joint parent dance to “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra, the band upped the energy with hits like Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and “Dream On” by Aerosmith. A highlight of the night? “ ‘Mr. Brightside’ comes on and they throw us to the middle of the dance floor and they put

us up in chairs,” the groom remembers—an homage to the hora, the beloved Jewish wedding tradition.

THE DECOR Luscious florals and tablescapes helped bring the couple’s black-and-white, “modern timeless” vision to life. Arrangements of all-white blooms like orchids, peonies, panda anemones and roses, some cradled in black vases, served as centerpieces, alongside an array of pillar and taper candles. White drapery curtaining the walls, a monogrammed dance floor and pops of gold from the chairs gave the ambience its finishing touches.

THE HONEYMOON Days after they said “I do,” the newlyweds jetted off to the Maldives for a 15-day trip at two resorts, where they filled their days with activities like snorkeling, yoga and meditation. “On the rainy days, we would just stay in and binge-watch Netflix and order cheeseburgers,” says the bride.

VENDORS Afterparty, Pearl Street Warehouse; band, Millennium; ceremony, the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes at Georgetown Preparatory School; design and planning, Marriage and Mimosas; dress, Carine’s Bridal Atelier; florist, Petals by the Shore; hair and makeup, JKW Beauty; hotel, InterContinental Washington D.C.–The Wharf; paper goods, Paper and Petals; photography, Asha Bailey Photography; rentals: Perfect Settings and White Glove Rentals; suit, Black Menswear; transportation, American Limousines; venue, cake and catering, Congressional Country Club; videography, Paperboys.

Dentists

Harmony Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics

HEATHER SHOLANDER, DMD, MS

MADELEINE GOODMAN, DMD

Dr. Goodman is an orthodontist and past president of the Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontists. Dr. Heather is a pediatric dentist and a Diplomat of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. They have been practicing together in the area for over 10 years.

4818 Del Ray Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814 301-664-4220

smile@harmonybethesda.com

harmonybethesda.com

Q What makes you stand out as dentists?

A Teamwork: Over the years we’ve developed a shared philosophy that treating the patient as a whole is more beneficial than the traditional specialty approach. It takes a team to help a child grow to his or her full potential. This includes not only a collaborative orthopediatric approach but also working with other specialists like speech therapists and pediatricians and most importantly, the child’s family. We strive to create an environment where we get to know each family individually and focus on their specific needs.

Q What is unique about your practice?

A Supporting others: Harmony has partnered with a wonderful non-profit called City Blossoms that develops kid-

focused green spaces that supply food, community and the opportunity to learn through creativity and play. For every new patient, we support this cause by donating plants to help these gardens grow because we believe that health starts from the ground up!

Q How do you employ new technology to help your patients?

A Innovative Techniques. We are both board-certified specialists who strive to create a standard of care by integrating technology, research and experience. We have incorporated state-of-theart technology into our practice such as a digital scanner (no more yucky impressions) and virtual appointments for Invisalign patients. We also have a fancy dental laser which allows us to fill most cavities without having to numb!

Jason A. Cohen, DDS

5530 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 560 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 cosmeticdds.com

301-656-1201

drcohen@cosmeticdds.com

Q How would your patients describe you?

A “Knowledgable,” “attentive,” “gentle,” “thorough,” “caring,” “communicative,” and “actually makes going to the dentist fun” are mentioned often in our reviews. Our practice mantra is, “We Treat Your Family Like Family.” We live by that philosophy every day and our patients appreciate it. From the moment they call to schedule their first appointment, we take care of our patients as if they were our own family members, ensuring they get the most efficient, comprehensive and outstanding personalized care. From simple aesthetic bonding to complex implant dentistry, my goal is always to preserve, protect and enhance my patients’ long-term dental health and beautiful smiles through optimal care that meets their individual needs and desires.

Q How do you employ new technology to help your patients?

A Our modern office allows us to provide the safest, most relaxing dental experience using the latest tools and technology available, assuring that our patients get the best, most ideal aesthetic results from their time with us. We use digital radiography, photography and scanning with computerassisted technology to make our patients’ dental process as comfortable and accurate as possible. Additionally, my team and I are committed to continuing education, making sure we stay at the forefront of the latest developments in dentistry.

Q What is one thing your patients should know about you?

A Modern dentistry combines art and science and I truly embrace the artistry and creativity needed to craft unique smile designs for each of my patients.

North Bethesda Periodontal Group

KHALID CHOUDHARY, DDS, MS & JOAN HOWANITZ, DDS, MS

11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 407 Rockville, MD 20852 240-483-0775

contact@northbethesdaperio.com northbethesdaperio.com

Q Why choose North Bethesda Periodontal Group?

A We strongly believe in a team approach to care for our patients. Our husband-wife team of surgeons has been practicing together for 15+ years, working closely with referring restorative doctors and dental specialists to provide optimal treatment and results. Utilizing the latest technologies, including periodontal lasers and 3D imaging, we perform minimally invasive procedures whenever possible. Everything we do is guided by accuracy, safety, comfort and recovery.   At North Bethesda Periodontal Group, we understand that visiting the periodontist’s office can be stressful. We do our best to foster a pleasant, relaxing environment to help patients stay calm. We are always respectful of every patient’s unique situation and like to include them in the process of customizing a treatment plan to fit their wants and needs.

Bethesda Dental Implant Center

RAHA YOUSEFI, DDS MPH

5626 Shields Drive Bethesda, MD 20817 office@perio2implants.com 301-493-6200 bethesdadentalimplantcenter.com

Q What’s unique about your practice?

A At Bethesda Dental Implant Center, we are Dental Nerds! We love everything about dentistry and have a passion for treating people completely with care. Our team truly enjoys helping people. I strive to make a difference in every person’s life by helping them love their smile and educating them about the connection your mouth has to your overall health. Aside from dentistry, one of the best parts of my profession is that I get to meet many interesting people and hear their story.

I believe that we have the best team in the business, and I’m so lucky that I get to work with amazing individuals every day. I hope that I get to meet you soon and you get to experience our amazing team!

DC Pediatric Smiles and The Ortho Suite

AWARDS & HONORS

Voted Best Pediatric Dentist, Bethesda Magazine Readers' Poll 2023

Voted Top Dentist, Washingtonian Magazine 2023

5640 Shields Drive Bethesda, MD 20817

301-363-9026

dcpediatricsmiles.com

theorthosuite.com

Q What makes your pediatric dental practice unique?

A DC Pediatric Smiles was crafted with a vision to help kids love going to the dentist and look forward to their next visit. Our bright, coastal-inspired space is the perfect setting for a comfortable introduction to dentistry. Kids love to find their name on our chalkboard wall, pick out colorful sunglasses and begin their visit on a positive note.

Here, visiting the dentist is fun for kids of all ages. While providing a team approach to dental care, Dr. Derek Blank and Dr. Roma Gandhi channel an enthusiasm that puts children at ease and helps motivate them to establish healthy dental habits.

Our team provides positive, individualized solutions to each patient’s unique dental needs. We find it most rewarding when families who join our practice recognize our attention to detail,

clear communication and thoughtfulness throughout the new patient experience.

Q What is The Ortho Suite?

A With the success of DC Pediatric Smiles, we wanted to create the same positive, relaxed experience to help our patients smoothly transition into the world of braces and Invisalign. With that purpose in mind, we recently added The Ortho Suite, a newly built space devoted to orthodontic care for kids and adults.

Our experienced orthodontist, Dr. Robin Choi, shares our passion for positive vibes and loves learning about each family’s goals. Parents particularly value Dr. Choi’s careful, conservative approach to dental care. Let The Ortho Suite's talented team guide you to achieve your perfect smile!

DEREK BLANK, DDS; ROMA GANDHI, DMD & ROBIN CHOI, DDS

Montgomery Oral & Facial Surgery & Dental Implant Center

LEONARD A. MERLO, DMD, FACS & AMIR ITANI, DDS Offices in Rockville and Washington, D.C. 301-468-0020 | 202-223-3391

info@montgomeryoralsurgery.com montgomeryoralsurgery.com

Q What should patients know about your practice?

A For more than 20 years our practice has provided patients in the Washington, D.C. metro area with excellence in OMFS (oral and maxillofacial surgery) and dental anesthesiology. We offer comprehensive care using state-of-the-art technology, training and equipment.

Our services include wisdom tooth removal, implant placement—especially “teeth in a day” full dentition rehabilitation, sleep apnea, TMJ, jaw reconstruction, treatment of jaw tumors, complex facial trauma, and a variety of facial cosmetic enhancements including Botox and fillers to treat fine lines and wrinkles. We provide in-office IV anesthesia with a team of assistants certified by DAANCE to ensure your safety. We are committed to treating every patient with respect and compassion.

Jay Samuels, DDS

COSMETIC | IMPLANT | FAMILY DENTISTRY

11140 Rockville Pike, Suite 510 North Bethesda, MD 20852 301-881-4200 | contact@drjsamuels.com drjsamuels.com

Q What makes you different from other dentists?

A Not your average dentist, Dr. Samuels has over two and a half decades of experience, a reputation for combining cuttingedge technology and focus on personal care with attention to detail. He uses digital x-rays, intra-oral cameras and computeraided design (CAD) software to provide accurate diagnoses and create customized treatment plans. This allows patients to see their dental issues in detail and fully understand their treatment options. Dr. Samuels and his team understand the connection between oral health and whole-body health, and will help you see how oral health plays a critical role in your overall well-being. Our approach is one-on-one, personalized and compassionate, all in a comfortable relaxing environment, ensuring every patient feels at ease.

MICHAEL VENTURA

Renew 32 Cosmetic and Family Dentistry

PUJA AGARWAL, DDS

“America’s Top Dentists,” the National Consumer Advisory Board, 2020, 2021 & 2023; “Dental Excellence Award,” the National Consumer Advisory Board, 2022; “America’s Top Dentists,” the Consumers’ Research Council of America, 2017 & 2018

7201 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 310 Bethesda, MD 20814 301-986-0032

renew32.com

smiles@renew32.com

Q What made you decide to become a dentist?

A Dentistry is a unique combination of science and art, and I have always enjoyed both. A smile is the first thing you notice when you see someone. Being able to perform dental restorations that create healthier, more beautiful smiles is my passion. And seeing the happiness and self-confidence that patients feel as a result gives me the utmost satisfaction.

Q How would your patients describe you?

A My patients tell me that I’m very gentle and that they feel comfortable in my hands. Parents bring their children to me because they know I have extensive knowledge and training and am skilled in what I do. I also have great empathy for my patients, which helps put them at ease.

Q How do you employ new technology to help your patients?

A We use intraoral scanners to take 3D impressions of teeth and gums. This is much more comfortable than traditional molds: no gooey impressions, no gagging— with better outcomes. And digital radiography takes just a few minutes, so there are no long waits for x-rays.

Q What makes your practice unique?

A We offer dentistry for all ages—from pediatric to geriatric. Using state-of-the-art technology, our procedures are comfortable and pain-free—whether it’s cosmetic dentistry, implant dentistry, restorative dentistry, or teeth cleaning. Same-day emergency appointments are available with short wait times. We meet the highest standards in the industry, so there’s no need to look further when seeking a dentist serving Bethesda, Rockville, Potomac, Chevy Chase and Washington, D.C.

MICHAEL VENTURA

Scott Orthodontics

STUART A. SCOTT, DDS, CERT. ORTHO

804 Pershing Drive, Suite 106 Silver Spring, MD 20910 301-589-8191

Also located in Mitchellville: 301-390-1510 info@scottorthodontics.net scottorthodontics.net

Q What makes Scott Orthodontics special and unique?

A As a longtime premiere provider in the Washington, D.C. area, our passionate and dedicated Scott Orthodontics team delivers personalized and state-of-the-art treatments for our entire family of patients. “Our goal is to achieve exceptional results and a healthier and more confident version of yourself,” says Dr. Scott. “We have developed a high-touch practice that listens to our patients, designs a customized course of treatment with braces or Invisalign, and creates an experience that can deliver life-changing results for all ages.”

“We care deeply about each and every one of our patients and will do everything to get the best results for you and your loved ones.” Call and schedule a complimentary consultation to get started on creating “The Smile of Your Life.”

ImplantsDC

ISRAEL PUTERMAN, DMD MSD; ALAN M. LEVINE, DDS & FADI HASAN, DDS MSD

Dental Implants and Periodontics

5454 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1550 Chevy Chase MD 20815 301-652-0939 info@implantsdc.com | implantsdc.com

Q What is unique about your practice?

A We recognize that we're lucky to practice in the Washington, D.C. area, where there are many offices with lots of technology and a high standard of care. While we're happy to boast about our cutting-edge technology with 3D microscopes, digital scanners, 3D printer, Periolase and X-Guide, all designed to provide you with the greatest precision and minimal invasiveness, what truly separates us from other offices is our people. Drs. Puterman, Levine and Hasan, as well as our entire team, truly believe that treating you with the highest level of care in an easy and relaxing atmosphere is the greatest way that we can give back to our community. Read our online reviews to see what others say about us!

MICHAEL VENTURA

MICHAEL VENTURA

Dr. Jill Bruno Orthodontics

JILL BRUNO, DMD, MSED

5454 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1260

Chevy Chase, MD 20815

301-656-3310

brunosmiles.com

Q What makes your orthodontic practice unique?

A Patients often describe a visit to our office as “a walk in the clouds,” articulated by the serene and heavenly quality of our space. Adults, teenagers and children feel comfortable here, whether their treatment involves traditional metal braces, Invisalign or something in between. My goal is always to provide an exceptional experience from the moment a patient walks through the door.

We are one of the only orthodontic offices in the area to offer an Adult Treatment Suite, a space dedicated to individualized adult treatment plans using the latest technology for accelerated orthodontics and decreased treatment time.

Q What makes you different from other orthodontists?

A I’m proud to be a Diamond Plus

Invisalign provider, which means I’m in the top 1 percent of all providers in the world. In addition to offering customized treatment plans for patients, my team and I specialize in thoughtful and integrated early treatment plans for children, including those with sensory, dietary, airway or speech issues. We enjoy getting to know each patient and their family and love creating relationships that span multiple generations.

Q How are you involved in the community?

A I’m honored to be the director of Butterflies for Change, a creative nonprofit that raises funds and awareness for local organizations. To date, donations have been made to Foster the Family D.C., Suited for Change, the Sullivan Breast Center at Sibley Hospital, Ellie’s Hats and CASA for Children of DC.

MVPsmiles

AMY P. BARRER, DDS & NAVEEN, KWATRA, DDS

806 W. Diamond Ave., Suite 250 Gaithersburg, MD 20878 301-977-2200

info@MVPsmiles.com mvpsmiles.com

Q Why do patients and parents love MVPsmiles so much?

A Our success stems from our “Family First” philosophy that guides everything we do. We work together as one big family; patients, parents and our team. We’re all about building lasting relationships with patients built on trust—we’re old school in that regard—and love watching our families grow up in front of our eyes.

We provide comprehensive pediatric dentistry and orthodontics in one office. Working together under one roof, we ensure patients have the healthiest, most beautiful smiles to be proud of. We also offer orthodontic treatment for adults, so many of our parents are getting smile makeovers with their kids!

We use the highest quality materials and technologies because that's what we'd want for our families, too.

Callahan Dental

CHERYL CALLAHAN, DDS

15225 Shady Grove Road, Suite 301 Rockville MD 20850 301-948-1212 cherylcallahandds.com

Q What made you decide to become a dentist?

A I started in emergency medicine as a registered nurse and saw the connection between oral health and overall health. Dentistry gives me the opportunity to diagnose disease, teach preventive health, design artistic smiles and improve sleep and breathing. I can blend art, science and technology to create beauty and improve the quality of someone’s life.

Q How do you employ new technology to help your patients?

A We utilize digital scanning and impressions, same day crowns, soft tissue lasers, 3D imaging, Invisalign and digital models. We are constantly evaluating new materials, procedures and equipment. It is important to adopt proven options for diagnostics, treatment planning and the patient experience from care to results.

MICHAEL VENTURA COURTESY PHOTO

Taff & Levine DDS, PA

AWARDS & HONORS

Best Dentistry Group/Practice, Best of Bethesda Readers' Poll, Bethesda Magazine, 2017

7811 Montrose Road, Suite 300 Potomac, MD 20854

301-530-3717

taffandlevine@comcast.net

taffandlevine.com

Q What brings you the most satisfaction in your work?

A Voted “Best Dentistry Group/Practice” in 2017 in Bethesda Magazine's Best of Bethesda Readers’ Poll is very gratifying, as it lets us know we are serving our patients in a most exemplary fashion. We constantly strive to “wow” patients and make the experience in our office like no other. We are committed to creating an environment with state-of-the-art, full-service dental care, in a relaxing atmosphere, surrounded by caring doctors and staff. In our new Potomac office, we have created a 21st-century modern workspace. With HD TVs in every operatory, we are better able to explain and show oral issues that need attention, and our in-house CAT Scan allows for more accurate diagnostics when problems arise.

Our goal is to deliver first-class dentistry in a conservative fashion to

all who seek the best. It’s an incredible feeling to see a patient who thought this kind of dentistry was out of their reach, transform into a person with a vibrant and youthful smile! It is very satisfying to know we have built a multi-generational practice spanning over 40 years that is consistently recognized in the community.

Our new VIP Membership Plan gives our existing and new patients a way to reduce the cost of most dental procedures without compromising the needed treatment they deserve.

Let us give you something to smile and brag about! We are confident you will be as proud to be a part of our dental practice as we are to serve you.

FROM LEFT: DR. HILARI DUNN, DR. BRAD LEVINE, DR. MARK TAFF, DR. JANICE GROSSMAN

The scoop on some of the area’s best ice cream

Ten tempting ways restaurants are making the most of mango

A REVIEW OF OPAL / NEW IN TOWN: WILLIE T’S SEAFOOD SHACK / COMINGS & GOINGS

Customized gelato and yogurt pops at Fantasticks in Gaithersburg PAGE 78

PHOTO BY DEB LINDSEY

AT TOP: PHOTOS BY DEB LINDSEY, BRENDAN

M c CABE

BY AKIRA KYLES

SNACKER’S DISCOVERY

Gary Edell’s family hosts a big holiday party every year, and for years, the potato chips he made by hand in his Gaithersburg home would be the first thing to disappear. “It was always funny to watch people sort of gravitate to the chips,” Edell says.

At school and events, he says, people would ask his kids, “Where’d you get those chips?” They’d always respond with words that became the snack’s brand name: “They’re my dad’s chips.”

As his kids went off to college, where Edell sent them chips in care packages, and they shared them with their friends, the popularity of the kettle-cooked crisps grew. Edell created an LLC in 2022, and the business, My Dad’s Chips, expanded through door-to-door sales and samples.

What started as a basic potato chip has evolved into three flavors: original, barbecue, and salt and balsamic vinegar. Each chip is thinly sliced and cooked to a cracking crunch; the result is an explosion of flavor with a light saltiness.

The chips are sold at small local grocers, delis and bagel shops throughout the DMV. To really show your local potato chip love, check out the specialized merch ranging from hats to T-shirts. mydadschips.com

Fast-Casual Catch

It’s mostly surf and a little turf at Willie T’s Sea food Shack The eatery, serving the catch of the day, opened in March in Silver Spring with menu options that include grilled or fried catfish, seafood platters, lobster rolls, crab rolls and chicken tenders.

Willie T’s is decorated with a nautical theme and serves up meals on metal trays with black and white checkered paper. It was opened by Thompson Hospitality, a food service company based in Virginia, and is named after the grandfather of Thompson’s founder.

The restaurant’s only other location is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Side options include hush puppies, Willie T’s onion petals, coleslaw, mac and cheese, and crinkle-cut fries. For dessert, try red velvet cake or chocolate cake. The fast-casual restaurant also serves beer, wine and soda. 9326 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, willietsseafoodshack.com

Pinch of Wisdom:

“KEEP AN OPEN MIND. I THINK A BIG FACTOR IS EXPERIMENTING. SOMETIMES WE GET REALLY LOCKED IN ON A CERTAIN KIND OF CUISINE, CERTAIN KINDS OF INGREDIENTS. BUT ESPECIALLY IN THE DMV, THERE ARE SO MANY AMAZING MARKETS AND DIFFERENT CUISINES.”

—IRIS JIMENEZ, CHEF AT RESTAURANT 198 IN BURTONSVILLE

COMINGS & GOINGS

1

Baby Bar cafe is bringing a kid-friendly environment to the Kentlands neighborhood. The eatery will offer a youth-friendly menu for children of all ages, with options including pureed food and grilled cheese. The cafe was a relaxed take on fine dining and a performance space, opened in Silver Spring in April. 4

Butter Me Up closed at Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda in April after opening in May 2022.

PHOTO BY KELLY MARTIN; PHOTOS COURTESY WILLIE T’S SEAFOOD SHACK; PHOTO BY JUAN MARROQUÍN

The crab roll meal at Willie T’s

10 Tastes of Mango

BY JACQUELINE MENDELSOHN

1 BLACKENED FISH SALAD WHAT Mahi-mahi atop greens with mango, tomato, jicama, avocado, red onion and cotija cheese tossed in a lime vinaigrette WHERE Fish Taco, 10305 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda; 7251 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda; 7945 MacArthur Blvd., Cabin John

2 HIBISCUS MANGO MILKSHAKE WHAT Plant-based ice cream blended with oat milk, mango, hibiscus and cane sugar WHERE Silver Diner, 12276 Rockville Pike, Rockville; 9811 Washingtonian Blvd., Gaithersburg

3 IN THE TROPICS WHAT A smoothie made with mango, mamey (a fruit popular in many Latin American countries) and coconut water WHERE Colada Shop, 7993 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac

4 MANGO AVOCADO SALAD WHAT Mango, avocado and mixed greens laced with a cumin dressing WHERE Commonwealth Indian, 11610 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville

5 MANGO SORBET WHAT A 100% organic frozen treat made with the Ataulfo mango (a golden-yellow Mexican variety) WHERE Pitango Gelato, 4901 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda

6 MANGO SELTZER WHAT An effervescent made-to-order seltzer with fresh mango puree poured over ice and garnished with a slice of mango WHERE Hello Betty, 940 Rose Ave. (Pike & Rose), North Bethesda

7 MANGO STICKY RICE WHAT A classic Thai dessert comprising sweet rice served with fresh yellow mango WHERE Ruan Thai, 11407 Amherst Ave., Wheaton

8 MIGHTY MANGO MARGARITA WHAT Silver blue agave tequila mixed with Aperol, mango puree, lime, agave and orange liqueur WHERE Gringos & Mariachis, 4928 Cordell Ave., Bethesda; 12435 Park Potomac Ave., Potomac

9 SPICY BUBBLY MANGO MARGARITA WHAT A glam mocktail that mingles nonalcoholic mezcal tequila, mango nectar, mango tropical kombucha and fresh lime juice WHERE Restaurant 198, 15540 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville

10 SUNSHINE BOWL WHAT Blended mango, banana and guava juice topped with granola, strawberries, bananas and pineapple WHERE South Block, 11803 Grand Park Ave. (Pike & Rose), North Bethesda

The sweet, juicy fruit is trending on local menus, with good reason—rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, it lends a refreshing and tropical flavor to every dish and drink it graces

PHOTO BY BRENDAN M c CABE MOCO360.MEDIA |

COLD COMFORTS

BY DAVID HAGEDORN

Fantasticks

Walk into Fantasticks with your phone’s camera ready to go, because this adorable Gaithersburg shop specializing in decorated-to-order gelato bars on a stick— or, the fanciest popsicles you’ve ever had—is an Instagrammer’s dream. The display case is a colorful sight to behold, filled with 40-some flavors of gelato, yogurt and vegan sorbet ready to be topped with goodies. Among the rotating choices are passion fruit, lime, coconut chia seed, parfait (a yogurt base with fresh fruit and granola), banana Nutella, birthday cake and pistachio.

The premise is simple: Half the gelato is plunged at a 45-degree angle into one of three sauces (caramel biscotti, dark chocolate or chocolate hazelnut). Then, up to three toppings are pressed into the sauce. Among the topping options: green

chocolate chips, mini Reese’s pieces, shaved coconut, chopped hazelnuts, gummy bears, rainbow sprinkles, butterscotch crunch, chocolate pearls and unicorn dust (adorable mix of sprinkles, gold unicorn horns and chocolate balls coated with iridescent pink, blue and green hues). Each pop is then finished with strawberry, caramel or white or dark chocolate drizzle. (Sticks: $5; sauce: 75 cents; toppings: three for 75 cents)

Fantasticks is the brainchild of Kishan Bikki, who owns the local chain with his wife, Anusha Alla. He earned a master’s degree in computer science from George Mason University in 2006 but fell into the restaurant business, working for a pizza company and dabbling in a yogurt concept during a 15-year career. Realiz-

ing the yogurt market was saturated, he came up with the idea for Fantasticks and launched it in Ashburn, Virginia, in 2019. “I’m a sweets person with a passion for food and desserts, so I wanted to be in this industry,” he says. He signed the lease on the Rio space (ironically, a former yogurt shop) in 2019 but had to put off the opening until May 2021 due to COVID setbacks. He opened in Tysons Corner in November 2021.

All the sticks are made in-house. Half the offerings are vegan, made with oat or cashew milk or fresh fruit. An assortment of gelatos by the scoop is also available. The store seats 20 inside and 10 outside.

Rio Lakefront, 215 Boardwalk Place, Gaithersburg; 301-339-8158; myfantasticks.com

These four recent additions to the Montgomery County food scene are serving up cool options for beating the summer swelter, from swanky popsicles to baklava ice cream

An assortment of customized gelato and yogurt sticks

Doki Toki Dessert Shop

There’s gold in them thar’ Gaithersburg hills, and it’s all over the brown sugar boba sundae at Doki Toki Dessert Shop, which opened in Downtown Crown in May 2022. In addition to boba drinks, cakes, mochi donuts and mochi ice cream, Doki Toki serves soft-serve milk, matcha and milk/matcha swirl ice cream in a cone or cup ($5.50 to $6.50), offered with a variety of toppings for 50 cents each: Oreo crumbs, boba, lychee jelly, corn flakes, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, brown sugar and, for $3, gold leaf.

In Japanese, doki means “heartbeat” and toki means “moment,” so the name represents a moment of excitement, explains the store’s owner, Gaithersburg resident Jeff Li. Li earned an undergraduate business degree from Penn State in 2019, but his passions have always been dessert-making and Japanese culture. He developed the recipes for Doki Toki and for Kyoto Matcha dessert shop in Rockville, which he co-owns.

The brown sugar boba sundae—milk soft-serve with oodles of gooey brown sugar caramel sauce—is utterly delicious and all the more intriguing thanks to the chewy boba bubbles. Opting to have it topped with gold leaf was literally gilding the lily; it didn’t add anything in the way of flavor, but I left Doki Toki feeling like a million dollars.

202 Ellington Blvd., Gaithersburg; 301-7816606; dokitokidessert.com

IN JAPANESE, DOKI MEANS “HEARTBEAT” AND TOKI MEANS “MOMENT,” SO THE NAME REPRESENTS A MOMENT OF EXCITEMENT, EXPLAINS THE STORE’S OWNER.

Milk/matcha swirl ice cream cone

The Scoop

When brothers Tim and Mitch Ryoo were looking to open an ice cream shop, the only potential Montgomery County landlord to respond to them was Edens, which had a property available in Cabin John Village. What made that space especially appealing is that it had been a BaskinRobbins that the brothers, who grew up in Cabin John, used to frequent. “I think there were bigger ice cream shops interested in that spot, so we offered to make some ice cream for them,” says Tim. “We met the leasing representative in front of the store with five samples. After the first bite—it was strawberry—she offered us the lease.” (Baskin-Robbins moved to Potomac Woods Plaza.)

The brothers, who attended Winston Churchill High School and earned bachelor’s degrees in business from Montgomery College, were on track to take over the family business of 20 years—dry cleaner stores— but wanted to do their

own thing. Tim was into coffee and dessert and Mitch was into cooking, so they started researching ice cream and taught themselves the craft in two years of trial and error. They make their own ice cream base from milk, sugar and cream (no eggs) and use natural flavorings.

Thirty-two flavors of ice cream and sorbet, some of them vegan, are available at The Scoop at any given time from a repertoire of about 150 flavors. The store opened in August and quickly gained a reputation for offering creative flavors in addition to standard ones, earning a spot on the annual Best of Bethesda list in this magazine in January. Look for baklava (they fold actual baklava they buy from Rockville’s Yasaman Bakery into honey, cinnamon and pistachio ice cream), blue moon (a Midwestern specialty that is neon blue and tastes like Fruity

Pebbles), ube honeycomb, mocha Nutella brownie and banana Oreo cheesecake. They also take customer submissions and develop recipes from them, such as animal cracker and Barbara’s mud pie. “Barbara is the name of the customer’s grandmother whose recipe we adapted. It’s made with coffee ice cream, Oreos, toffee and fudge swirl,” Mitch explains.

The Scoop keeps the menu simple: scoops, cones, sundaes and milkshakes. A single scoop is $4.69, plus 25 cents for a sugar or cake cone and 75 cents per topping. (Sample toppings: Butterfinger, waffle cone chips, gummy bears and M&Ms.) Sundaes: $8.99. Milkshakes: $8.29.

7909 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac; 301-2962159; thescoopice creams.com

Left (top to bottom): ube, cotton candy and pandan coconut. Right (top to bottom): mango sorbet, strawberry sorbet and Bailey’s mint Oreo

Grandma’s Ice Cream and Waffles

As Alan Weiner tells it, 12 years ago, his mother, Sharon Weiner, wanted to retire from her job in medical sales for Kaiser Permanente and do something on her own. “She called me and said, ‘Think ice!’ and I said ‘No!’ and hung up on her,” Alan recalls. “I called her back and said I was in. She deserved to do something for herself.” (Sharon says she was the one who did the calling back.) So, Alan and his parents (Sharon is “Grandma”), who all live in Olney, franchised the first of what are now four Kona Ice shaved ice trucks.

In 2022, they decided to expand into making soft-serve ice cream—adding waffles for extra pizzazz— and looked for a brick-and-mortar space that also had room to store and service their four trucks. They opened Grandma’s in February

2023, focusing on waffles as a way to set them apart from other ice cream businesses. The menu features savory items, too, but no Kona Ice—the Kentucky-based franchiser nixed it.

I flipped for the vanilla ice creamtopped waffle loaded with fresh strawberries and bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream ($13.99). Custom ice cream waffles ($7.99) with fresh fruit ($2) and various toppings ($1 each) are also available. Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, sprinkles, gummy bears, peanut butter cups, caramel syrup and marshmallow cream are among the topping options.

Alan makes all the ice cream bases and churns them in a Baylor soft-serve machine. Six flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mango and banana, are available at a time. Vegan vanilla and a vegan fruit flavor are always on hand. The 1,800-square-foot space seats 20 inside and 24 outside.

389 E. Gude Drive, Rockville; 301-545-2158; grandmasicecreamandwaffles.com

Strawberry-banana ice cream waffle

Alan (left) and Sharon Weiner, mother-and-son co-owners

Rainbow carrots with smoked whipped feta, dill and pickled shallots at Opal. Opposite page, from left: avocado tostada with grilled mustard green chimichurri and toasted sesame seeds; smoked feta spanakopita with tzatziki and harissa.

OPAL

is a GEM

Danilo Simic and chef Colin McClimans’ new restaurant is a welcome addition to the Chevy Chase, D.C., neighborhood

BY DAVID HAGEDORN • PHOTOS BY DEB LINDSEY

It’san unseasonably warm spring night and the 20 seats on the patio at Opal, the charming American bistro that chef Colin McClimans and business partner Danilo Simic opened in October, are full. Sitting beneath a forest-green-and-white fringed umbrella and sipping on a refreshing gin cocktail boosted with thyme syrup, grapefruit and lemon, I come dangerously close to making the rookie restaurant mistake my mother warned me against when I was a kid: filling up on the bread my friends and I had ordered to nosh on while negotiating menu choices. It’s two wedges of focaccia that McClimans tops with za’atar seasoning (sesame seeds mixed with herbs he grows onsite and dries), parbakes and finishes in the wood-fired oven of Opal’s small open kitchen. Served with honey butter and good extra-virgin olive oil, it’s fluffy, yeasty, irresistible and worth every penny of its $8 price tag.

Opal is the second restaurant for McClimans, 35, and Simic, 33. They opened mid-Atlantic-focused Nina May in Washington in 2019; an all-day cafe called Elena James is slated to open by the end of the year in the Chevy Chase Lake development under construction in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The two consider all their projects to be labors of love, but Opal a bit more so to McClimans. He grew up in the neighborhood and lives there now with his wife and two children and says the project has special meaning to him. “We’d go to Arucola Osteria [which occupied the Opal space from 1994 to 2019] for all our family birthdays,” he recalls. “We felt that the neighborhood was underserved and there was a

OPAL

5534 Connecticut Ave. NW, Chevy Chase, D.C.; 202-570-0289; opal-dc.com

FAVORITE DISHES: Ramp and pea agnolotti; saffron spaghetti with clams; rainbow carrots with smoked feta cheese; wood-fired oysters with tequila chile butter; seared sea scallops with cannellini beans; the Simple Summer Menu’s snacks (avocado tostada; sunchoke soup; spanakopita) and ham-and-potato croquette

PRICES: Appetizers: $14 to $23; entrees: $22 to $36; desserts: $12

LIBATIONS: Co-owner Danilo Simic created Opal’s beverage program. The wine list numbers 53 bottles (five sparkling, $40 to $188; 17 whites, $42 to $77); three rosés ($39 to $49); and 28 reds ($44 to $170). Reds and whites are divided equally into three categories: USA, Europe and the rest of the world. Fifteen wines by the glass range between $12 and $16. The 10 alcohol-based cocktails ($13 to $17) are mostly interpretations of classics, such as a caipirinha flavored with mandarin orange, a mule made with berry basil syrup and a smoked Sazerac. There are also three non-alcoholic cocktails ($7).

SERVICE: Friendly, knowledgeable and attentive

market to do a food-experience-driven restaurant there.” He and Simic looked at the space in January 2022 and made a deal with its owner, Tim Walsh, who had turned Arucola into Capital Crab seafood restaurant in 2019, closing it in 2020. They named the restaurant Opal, McClimans says, because he and Simic ran out of kids’ names—McClimans’ two children are May and James; Simic’s are Nina and Elena.

McClimans caught the cooking bug as a kid from his father, who taught him at an early age to make waffles for the family breakfast. As a teenager, he started working as a busboy in restaurants when visiting his grandparents in Ohio during summer vacation. Over the years, he worked his way up to fry cook, then grill cook, at a fine-dining French restaurant. “They had a chef’s garden and sourced beautiful things,” he says. “I was fortunate to be young and have my career shaped in a kitchen doing the right things.” He worked for a four-star resort in North Carolina after graduating from Catawba College there in 2011 with a B.S. in business administration, returning to Washington in 2012 to take a job as chef de cuisine at chef Todd Gray’s Equinox restaurant, where he worked until 2018.

Opal, which is 2,500 square feet, seats 70 on the first floor, including 10 at the bar. An upstairs private dining room seats 20. The decor is simple, with a white beamed ceiling and walls, light blue banquettes and blond wood floors and accents. A rear booth offers a bird’s eye view of the wood-fired oven, where a deft cook may be pulling out oysters bubbling with orange-hued tequila chile butter or roasted rainbow carrots. The bivalves are delectable (crush some of the housemade dilllaced oyster crackers onto them) and so are the carrots, which are glazed with black vinegar and hot spicy honey, then piled atop whipped feta cheese and crowned with pickled shallots.

The menu refers to starters as “A Few Things to Try.” Some, especially pastas, are ample enough to have as a main course. McClimans’ saffron spaghetti with clams is a fine rendition of the dish his father used to serve to impress company; its sauce of clam broth, white wine, butter, lemon and garlic confit is lick-the-plate good. Delicate agnolotti stuffed with ricotta cheese, peas and ramps and served in a buttery sauce laced with tarragon and preserved black truffle is, like most of the chef’s dishes, an ode to seasonality. Case in point: butter-poached asparagus served with frizzled leeks and gribiche sauce (a creamy vinaigrette made with hard-boiled eggs, capers, pickles and shallots—it’s the “it” sauce of the year, showing up on many DMV menus).

A smart strategy at Opal is to opt for the prix fixe menu for the table, which includes three snacks, two shared plates and each diner’s choice of entree. The abundance is a bargain at $59 per person. The snacks, in my case a mini avocado tostada with mustard green chimichurri and toasted sesame seeds, a small cup of sunchoke soup with toasted hazelnuts and pickled mustard seeds, and a flaky, diamond-shaped spanakopita topped with dollops of tzatziki and harissa (spicy red pepper sauce), are perfect accompaniments for pre-dinner cocktails. I don’t care for one of the shared plates—a mishmash riff on Niçoise salad with green beans, olives, giant capers and potatoes—but the other, a crispy ham and mashed potato croquette with aioli, parsley oil and an herb salad, is a winner. (They don’t publicize it, but diners can order prix fixe menu items a la carte.)

For entrees, don’t miss the seared scallops with cannellini beans. McClimans and staff shelled 200 pounds of beans in November and froze them so we can reap the rewards now. They’re cooked simply and slowly with carrots, bacon and butter, melding into a sumptuous stew. Ham steak is not something one sees much in restaurants these days other than at breakfast, which makes it all the more intriguing. McClimans buys pork shoulders from Virginia’s Autumn Olive Farm, drycures them for 24 hours, then cuts them into steaks that he cooks sous vide for 24 hours. They’re seared to order and

Foraged ramp and pea agnolotti with tarragon, black truffle and parmesan

A smart strategy at Opal is to opt for the prix fixe menu for the table.

served with ricotta cheese, asparagus, mustard vinaigrette and sprigs of mint and chervil that join in a springtime jig in one’s mouth. Grilled chicken breast paillard is covered with so many things—sunchokes, cucumbers, olives, fingerling potatoes and dill—that I’m inclined to summon an editor. The grilled dry-aged strip loin with peppercorn sauce and frites, by contrast, shines in its restraint.

Opal has the makings of a great neighborhood restaurant—a talented chef at the helm; affable, well-versed servers; and a (mostly) unfussy seasonal menu. Desserts, however, are a weak spot. Having sampled all three (key lime pie, tiramisu ice cream and bittersweet chocolate mousse with berry compote), I can’t recommend any of them. It’s a minor glitch that could easily be resolved by taking a cue from Buck’s Fishing & Camping, a great neighborhood restaurant a half mile down the road. They only offer ice cream and sorbet (outsourced) and a square of housemade un-iced chocolate cake with whipped cream for dessert. Sometimes, plain but good wins the day.

With You Every Step of the Way Collier Florance Van Scoy

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Pan-seared sea scallops with cannellini beans, bacon and watercress

THE CARE YOU NEED, WHERE YOU NEED IT

GROWING WHITE OAK MEDICAL CENTER CAMPUS

White Oak Medical Center in Silver Spring continues to expand its services for the community to include a nationally recognized heart & vascular program, White Oak Cancer Center, maternity care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and physician offices.

NEW HEALTH DESTINATION AT NATIONAL HARBOR

We’re opening the Adventist HealthCare Ambulatory Surgery Center at National Harbor that will offer surgical specialties such as orthopedics, bariatric surgery, interventional radiology, cardiology, and more. We’re bringing world-class care that’s near you and for you.

BRINGING MORE ACCESS TO CARE

With a growing physician network, telehealth, and imaging centers, we’re meeting you where you need us.

OPENING IN JULY!

TOP DOCT

Looking for a doctor? Here are more than 450 physicians in 59 specialties, all nominated and voted on by their peers, in Montgomery County and Upper Northwest D.C. (ZIP codes 20015 and 20016). They went through a rigorous screening and selection process by Professional Research Services.

Note: Doctors may appear on the list in more than one specialty. While some physicians work in more than one office, we have only listed a primary location. We included up to three hospital affiliations (listed in italics) in print. An online version of this guide, at moco360.media, includes several search filters and a complete list of hospital affiliations.

ILLUSTRATION BY TONWEN JONES, COLAGENE, CREATIVE CLINIC

DOCTOR PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSEPH TRAN

ORS 2023

ADDICTION MEDICINE

John Carr  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Paulo J. Negro  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Aditi Mohan Shrikhande  Dr. Aditi Mohan Shrikhande, M.D.  Washington; 202-320-7704

ADOLESCENT MEDICINE

Dana Kornfeld

The Pediatric Care Center  Bethesda; 301-564-5880

Holy Cross Silver Spring, Sibley Memorial

ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY

Dan T. Brody  Fishman Allergy, Asthma, ENT  Washington; 202-244-9000

Athena Economides  Institute for Asthma & Allergy  Chevy Chase; 301-986-9262

Shelby Josephs Premier Allergist  North Bethesda; 240-747-5750  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Leon Kao  Germantown Allergy and Asthma  Germantown; 301-972-3709  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Huamin Henry Li  Institute for Asthma & Allergy  Chevy Chase; 301-986-9262

Y. Howard Pung  Capital Allergy, Asthma & Immunology  Rockville; 301-770-7756  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Mark D. Scarupa  Institute for Asthma & Allergy  Chevy Chase; 301-986-9262  Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Rachel L. Schreiber  Schreiber Allergy  Rockville; 301-545-5512

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Kristin Sokol  Schreiber Allergy  Rockville; 301-545-5512

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Alicia Trotter  Fishman Allergy, Asthma, ENT  Washington; 202-244-9000

Sibley Memorial

Carla Ward  Institute for Asthma & Allergy  Chevy Chase; 301-986-9262

ANESTHESIOLOGY

Jeffrey Briggs  US Anesthesia Partners  240-826-6000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Andrei Cernea  Certified Anesthesia Services  Washington; 202-243-2280

Sibley Memorial

Melvin Coursey

US Anesthesia Partners  240-826-6000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Ali Emamhosseini  US Anesthesia Partners  240-826-6000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Michael A. Jach  Suburban Hospital   Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Peter B. Shimm  Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center

Bethesda; 301-263-0800

Reed Underwood  US Anesthesia Partners  240-637-4000

Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

BREAST SURGERY

Maureen O’Donnell  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-243-5230

Eric A. Oristian  Eric A. Oristian, M.D. Rockville; 301-942-4080  Holy Cross Silver Spring

Karen Ospina  Kaiser Permanente  Kensington; 800-777-7904  Holy Cross Silver Spring

Marie F. Pennanen  Chevy Chase Breast Center  Chevy Chase; 301-656-9010

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Holy Cross Germantown

Cynthia Plate  Maryland Oncology Hematology Silver Spring; 301-933-3216

Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

Surupa Sen Gupta  Maryland Oncology Hematology Rockville; 240-238-3566

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

Bonnie Sun

Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center Breast Surgery  Bethesda; 301-530-5151

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Pamela Ann Wright  Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center Breast Surgery  Bethesda; 301-530-5151

Suburban

Thomas G. Zorc  Chevy Chase Breast Center  Chevy Chase; 301-656-9010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

CARDIAC SURGERY

Thomas Lewis Matthew  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians  Bethesda; 301-896-7610

Suburban

WHAT I WISH MY PATIENTS KNEW DR. KRISTIN SOKOL:

“I’m on their side. They have to be patient with me, but I’m always on their side.”

What probiotics and prebiotics can do for you

CARDIOLOGY

Catherine Bennet  Cardiocare

Chevy Chase; 301-656-5050

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Harry J. Bigham Jr.

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Edward Nubar Bodurian

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology at Sibley Memorial Hospital  Washington; 301-656-4064

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Michael S. Chen

Adventist HealthCare Cardiac Associates

Rockville; 301-670-3000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Virginia C. Colliver

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Yuri Anthony Deychak

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Jack Flyer  Cardiocare

Chevy Chase; 301-656-5050

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Edward Christian Healy  Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Brian Hemann  Cardiocare

Chevy Chase; 301-656-5050

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Greg Kegham Kumkumian

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Eric Bruce Lieberman

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology

Rockville; 240-238-3760

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Mark Robert Milner

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Cardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

OUR BODIES THRIVE ON BACTERIA—AT LEAST THE GOOD KIND THAT HELP WITH DIGESTION, energy levels, healthier skin and a stronger immune system.

Probiotics help keep a healthy balance of good bacteria in the gut. (Prebiotics, on the other hand, act as food for those good bacteria, helping to control the balance of the intestinal microbiome.)

But not all probiotics are the same.

“They all have different mixtures and numbers of bacteria,” says Dr. William Stern, a gastroenterologist at Rockville-based Capital Digestive Care. And while probiotics are measured in colony forming units, or CFUs, which estimate the number of viable bacteria in a sample, that figure isn’t always clinically important, Stern notes. “It’s not so much the number of bacteria but the type,” he says.

For example, beneficial bacteria often found in yogurt include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Bifidus, while sauerkraut typically has four species of useful lactic acid bacteria with similarly scientific names.

Probiotics also come in capsules, powders, liquids and other forms. When sold as dietary supplements, they don’t require FDA approval, so

be wary—especially given that many commercial products claiming to contain probiotics have not been examined in research studies, according to the National Institutes of Health.

FOODS THAT ARE GOOD FOR GUT HEALTH

Stern points out that while there are a few conflicting studies, reputable research has shown probiotics to help with constipation, yeast infections, lactose intolerance, eczema and diarrhea caused by antibiotics and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections, among other things. Research also suggests that probiotics occurring naturally in foods, as part of a healthy diet, may be preferable to supplements containing them, Stern says.

PROBIOTICS:

Fermented cheeses

Kefir

Kimchi

Kombucha

Miso soup

Olives

Pickled vegetables

Sauerkraut

Tempeh

Yogurt

PREBIOTICS:

Artichokes

Asparagus

Bananas

Berries

Garlic

Greens

Legumes

Oats

Onions

Peas

“In general, we believe they’re very safe,” he says. “But I’d be a little more cautious in very young people and in patients who are immunocompromised. In those situations, speak to a doctor before using.”

The field of probiotics overall has advanced considerably in recent years, spurred by global interest in the human microbiome, a term for the microorganisms in the body.

Scientists studying the microbiome are trying to home in on the role probiotics may be able to play in treating infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases and psychiatric disorders.

“That’s where a lot of the scientific [interest] is,” Stern says. “I think the layman’s interest is just in saying, ‘Putting good bacteria into my gut may make me feel better.’ ”

–Robin L. Flanigan

Thomas Odar  Adventist HealthCare Cardiac Associates  Rockville; 301-670-3000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

Ramin Oskoui  Foxhall Cardiology  Washington; 202-464-5770

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Washington Hospital Center

Richard Rubin  Cardiocare  Chevy Chase; 301-656-5050

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Peter Sabia  Associates in Cardiology, P.A.  Silver Spring; 301-681-5700

Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Reza Sanai  Cardiocare  Chevy Chase; 301-656-5050

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, George Washington University

Alan Ira Schneider

Johns Hopkins MedicineCardiology

Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Daniel Judah Schwartz  Johns Hopkins MedicineCardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301  Suburban

Sameer Sofat  Montgomery Cardiology  Rockville; 301-610-4000

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist

HealthCare Rehabilitation

Shubir Sofat  Montgomery Cardiology  Rockville; 301-610-4000

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation

Joseph A. Vassallo  Cardiology and Internal Medicine, P.A.  Chevy Chase; 301-656-9070

Sibley Memorial

Erich Wedam

Johns Hopkins MedicineCardiology  Bethesda; 301-897-5301

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

COLON AND RECTAL SURGERY

Mohammed M. Kalan  Washington Institute of Surgery

Chevy Chase; 301-973-6022

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Sibley Memorial, Holy Cross Germantown

Rami Makhoul

Metro Colon and Rectal Surgery, P.C.  Rockville; 301-681-6437

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Vivek Patil  Colorectal Surgery of Maryland and Washington, DC  Bethesda; 240-487-7522

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Martin G. Paul  Johns Hopkins Surgery - Sibley Medical Office Building  Washington; 202-318-7934  Sibley Memorial

Matthew David Skancke  Metro Colon and Rectal Surgery, P.C.  Bethesda; 240-858-6764

Holy Cross Silver Spring

CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE AND PULMONARY DISEASE

Joseph A. Ball  Pulmonologists, P.C.  Gaithersburg; 301-963-2770

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation

Peter G. Hamm

Chevy Chase Pulmonary Associates  Chevy Chase; 301-656-7374  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Safy John

Ajit P. Kuruvilla, M.D., LLC  Rockville; 301-330-6982

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

Steven T. Kariya  Pulmonologists, P.C.  Kensington; 301-942-2977

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Suburban

Andrew Daniel Lerner  Johns Hopkins Medicine - Sibley Medical Office Building  Washington; 202-660-7509

Sibley Memorial

Melissa Lynn Means  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Carlos E. Picone Chevy Chase Pulmonary Associates  Chevy Chase; 301-656-7374  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Tara Roque  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Michael N. Solomon  Chevy Chase Pulmonary Associates  Chevy Chase; 301-656-7374  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

DERMATOLOGY

Melissa Abrams  US Dermatology Partners  Silver Spring; 301-681-7000

Jay Barnett  Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery  Rockville; 301-990-6565

Brenda J. Berberian  Brenda J. Berberian, M.D., LLC  Chevy Chase; 301-656-7660

Joy Y. Chen  Advanced Dermatology & Cosmetic Center  North Bethesda; 301-770-0033

Amy B. Cole  US Dermatology Partners  Silver Spring; 301-681-7000

Arden Edwards  Apex Dermatology  Bethesda; 301-985-2739

Roni W. Ford  Center for Cosmetic and Clinical Dermatology  Gaithersburg; 301-977-2070  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Walter J. Giblin  Anne Arundel Dermatology  Rockville; 301-216-2980

Lawrence J. Green  Aesthetic & Dermatology Center  Rockville; 301-610-0663

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Mark J. Jaffe  Anne Arundel Dermatology  Bethesda; 301-530-4800

Matthew Katz  Katz Dermatology  Rockville; 301-881-4124

Ann M. Lindgren  Anne Arundel Dermatology  Bethesda; 301-530-4800

Benjamin N. Lockshin  US Dermatology Partners  Silver Spring; 301-681-7000

Andrew D. Montemarano  Skin Cancer Surgery Center  Bethesda; 301-564-3131

Samuel S. Norvell Jr.  Samuel S. Norvell Jr.  Rockville; 301-738-0047

Ronald B. Prussick  Washington Dermatology Center: An Affiliate of Anne Arundel Dermatology  Rockville; 855-314-1424

Geeta Shah  Capital Laser & Skin Care  Chevy Chase; 301-798-9699

Maral Skelsey  Dermatologic Surgery Center of Washington Chevy Chase; 301-652-8081

Sibley Memorial

Elizabeth Tanzi

Capital Laser & Skin Care  Chevy Chase; 301-798-9699

Samantha A. Toerge  Chevy Chase Dermatology Center  Chevy Chase; 301-951-7905

Sunny Walia  Aesthetic & Dermatology Center  Rockville; 301-610-0663

EMERGENCY MEDICINE

Brendan James Carmody  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Brett Gamma  US Acute Care Solutions  Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center, White Oak Medical Center

Emily R. Gordon  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Barton Walker Leonard  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Andrew Markowski  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Holley Cousins Meers  USACS - Emergency Medicine  Silver Spring; 301-754-7500

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

THE THINGS I NEVER LET MY KIDS GO NEAR

Todd Templeman  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES AND METABOLISM

Shabina Roohi Ahmed  Johns Hopkins Community PhysiciansDowntown Bethesda  Bethesda; 240-235-9120

David R. Brown  David R. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., P.A.  Rockville; 301-977-9272

Michael A. Dempsey  Drs. Rodbard & Dempsey  Rockville; 301-770-7373

John J. Merendino Jr.  John J. Merendino, M.D., P.A.  Bethesda; 301-230-0300

Patricia Petrick  Endocrine and Diabetes Associates  Bethesda; 301-468-1451

Helena W. Rodbard  Drs. Rodbard & Dempsey  Rockville; 301-770-7373

Amy Rogstad  Endocrine and Diabetes Associates  Bethesda; 301-468-1451

SOME PARENTS ARE HYPERVIGILANT AND OVERLY ANXIOUS WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT they will and won’t let their kids do. Others are more carefree than perhaps they should be.

“It’s complex,” says Dr. Andrew Markowski, an emergency medicine physician affiliated with Suburban Hospital. “As humans, we’re really bad at risk assessments.”

Markowski treats enough broken bones, lacerations and abrasions to prove it. And as the father of four daughters, ages 15, 13, 11 and 8, he is constantly evaluating how to keep them safe without going overboard.

How do you assess risk in parenting?

I always frame things in terms of known risks that I routinely accept. How does this compare to my likelihood of getting into a car accident or dying on the Beltway? Then I let that guide some of my decision-making, because that’s a risk I routinely undertake with them. And if I’m willing to accept that risk, how do these others compare to that?

In what ways are you hypervigilant?

I have a really low tolerance for head injuries, which can impact you for the rest of your life. My kids always...wear a helmet when they ride bikes or go ice skating.

What should always be off the table? Kids should never touch fireworks, trampolines and ATVs—even those cute little motorized motorcycles. I’ve seen some horrendous injuries from all of the above.

So, no sparklers on the Fourth of July? Those seem like they’re safe, but they’re shooting off flaming hot embers, and it drives me crazy when they’re put up against other people’s faces. You can get eye injuries that way. This should be a no-brainer.

What’s key for celebrating summer safely? Teach pool safety early on. Unsupervised swimming is not even close to an acceptable risk. If you’re going on vacation with a pool, remember that everybody’s guard is probably down, and that’s where things can go awry. Do a safety check and limit or block access points so kids can’t wander out there and fall in.

Any other words of advice?

Adults would do well to heed my [fireworks] advice not to handle things that explode. There are professionals who can blow stuff up for you.

Stephanie A. Stein  Stephanie Aleskow Stein, M.D., P.C.  Chevy Chase; 301-941-3090

Mihail Zilbermint  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

FAMILY MEDICINE

Alec Anders  Alec Anders, M.D.  Rockville; 240-386-8379

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Kelly Cowen  Rockville Internal Medicine Group  Rockville; 301-762-5020

Joanna Delaney  One Medical  Chevy Chase; 888-663-6331

Shikha N. Deva MedStar Medical Group  Gaithersburg; 301-926-3095

Latoya Lashon Edwards  Johns Hopkins Community PhysiciansNorth Bethesda  North Bethesda; 240-314-7080

Seth Garber  One Medical  Chevy Chase; 888-663-6331

—Robin L. Flanigan

An ER doc (and dad) on what worries him most

Kevin Gil  Kevin Gil, M.D.  Rockville; 301-610-0500

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Monica J. Howard  Family HealthCare  Germantown; 301-972-0400

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Bradley J. Hunter  Bradley Hunter, D.O.  Rockville; 240-728-2378

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Uma Jayaraman  One Medical  Chevy Chase; 888-663-6331

Tiffini Lucas  Contemporary Family Medicine Associates  Bethesda; 240-223-2639

Lee Musher  Metropolitan Physicians Practice  Chevy Chase; 301-986-4774

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Carolyn Baier O’Conor  Comprehensive Primary Care  Rockville; 301-738-0300

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Swapnil Raman-Luhadiya  Kaiser Permanente - Well Friendship Heights  Bethesda; 800-777-7904

Wendy Rosensweig  Kaiser Permanente  Silver Spring; 800-777-7904

Jesse Chaim Sadikman  Jesse Sadikman, M.D.  Rockville; 301-545-1000

Rosie K. Singh  Montgomery Family & Internal Medicine Associates  Silver Spring; 301-989-0193

Eleanor Tanno  Rockville Internal Medicine Group  Rockville; 301-762-5020

Kathyann Walcott  Kaiser Permanente Silver Spring; 800-777-7904

Megan Wollman-Rosenwald  Family HealthCare  Germantown; 301-972-0400

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

GASTROENTEROLOGY

Ajay Bakhshi  Bakhshi and Gupta  Bethesda; 301-530-5142  Holy Cross Silver Spring, Suburban

Lawrence A. Bassin  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Angela Bien  Kaiser Permanente - Shady Grove  Rockville; 800-777-7904 Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Mark T. Birns  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-251-1244

Brian Ciampa  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Robert G. Finkel  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Mark S. Gloger  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-251-1244

Naveen Kumar Gupta  Bakhshi and Gupta  Bethesda; 301-530-5142  Holy Cross Silver Spring, Suburban

Dominique E. Howard Capital Digestive Care Washington; 240-737-0085

David L. Jager  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Kathryn Kirk  Capital Digestive Care  Chevy Chase; 240-737-0085

Johns Hopkins Neurosurgery in Bethesda offers comprehensive, tailored treatment for neurosurgical conditions, including minimally invasive treatments for brain and spinal disorders, and promotes personalized care before and after surgery.

Louis Chang, M.D. Youssef Comair, M.D. David Lin, M.D., Ph.D.

Jonathan M. Koff  Capital Digestive Care  Chevy Chase; 240-737-0085

Sibley Memorial

Jessica D. Korman  Capital Digestive Care  Bethesda; 240-737-0085

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Roderick Kreisberg  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Robert F. Musselman  Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

Eric A. Pollack  Capital Digestive Care  Bethesda; 240-737-0085  Suburban

Michael S. Schindler  Capital Digestive Care  Silver Spring; 301-593-2002  MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Amy Shah  Capital Digestive Care  Chevy Chase; 240-737-0085

Zaifi Shanavas  Capital Digestive Care  Olney; 301-593-2002

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

Ann Marie Stephenson Thomas Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

William R. Stern Capital Digestive Care  Rockville; 301-340-3252

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Michael L. Weinstein  Capital Digestive Care  Chevy Chase; 240-737-0085

GENERAL SURGERY

Jason A. Brodsky  Inpatient Surgical Consultants  Rockville; 240-403-0621

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Joshua Felsher  Inpatient Surgical Consultants  Rockville; 240-403-0621

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Mohammed M. Kalan  Washington Institute of Surgery  Chevy Chase; 301-973-6022

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Sibley Memorial, Holy Cross Germantown

Katherine Graw Lamond  Johns Hopkins Medicine - Sibley Medical Office Building  Washington; 202-318-7851

Sibley Memorial

Seema M. Patel

Chevy Chase Surgical Associates  Chevy Chase; 301-656-6700

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Sibley Memorial

Martin G. Paul  Johns Hopkins Surgery - Sibley Medical Office Building

Washington; 202-318-7934

Sibley Memorial

James Woodward Robey  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Washington; 202-318-7934

Glenn Sandler  Advanced Surgery, P.C.  Rockville; 301-251-4128

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Thomas G. Zorc  Chevy Chase Breast Center  Chevy Chase; 301-656-9010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

GENETICS

Shannon O’Connor  Maryland Oncology Hematology Germantown; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Kenneth Rosenbaum  Children’s National Hospital  Rockville; 301-765-5400

Reem Saadeh-Haddad   MedStar Health

Washington; 202-243-3491

Sibley Memorial; MedStar Georgetown University

GERIATRIC MEDICINE

Ava A. Kaufman

Johns Hopkins MedicineSuburban Hospital/Bethesda Internal Medicine  Bethesda; 301-215-8480

Lee Musher  Metropolitan Physicians Practice  Chevy Chase; 301-986-4774  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Gary B. Wilks  Premier Senior Care  Chevy Chase; 301-530-3237  Suburban, Sibley Memorial

GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY

Margaret N. Alexander  Oncology for Women  Bethesda; 301-564-4966  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

James F. Barter  Maryland Oncology Hematology Silver Spring; 301-933-3216

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Mildred R. Chernofsky  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-243-5295

Jeffrey Yen Lin  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-243-5295

Andrew Saltzman  Kaiser Permanente - Holy Cross Hospital Physician’s Office Building  Silver Spring; 800-777-7904

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Albert J. Steren  Maryland Oncology Hematology  Rockville; 240-238-3552  Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

HAND SURGERY

Richard W. Barth  Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine  Chevy Chase; 301-657-1996  Sibley Memorial

Sunjay Berdia

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: The Orthopaedic Center  Rockville; 301-251-1433

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Suburban

Mahidhar M. Durbhakula  OrthoBethesda  Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove

Medical Center, Suburban

Peter G. Fitzgibbons

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Maryland

Orthopedics Specialist Division  Bethesda; 301-515-0900

Mustafa A. Haque

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Summit Orthopedics  Chevy Chase; 301-657-9876

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Georgetown University

Michael W. Kessler  MedStar Health

Chevy Chase; 202-444-0659  MedStar Georgetown University

Alison Kitay

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Summit Orthopedics  Chevy Chase; 301-657-9876

David P. Moss

Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Chevy Chase; 301-657-1996

Sibley Memorial

George Peter Nanos III  Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center

Bethesda; 240-762-5100  Johns Hopkins

Noah Raizman

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics

Germantown; 301-456-0086  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Leo M. Rozmaryn

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: The Orthopaedic Center  Rockville; 301-251-1433

Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Harrison Solomon

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics Montgomery Orthopaedics

Chevy Chase; 301-949-8100  Holy Cross Silver Spring

Steven L. Tuck  Shady Grove Orthopaedic Associates  Rockville; 301-340-9200

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation

George L. Yeh

Potomac Valley Orthopaedic Associates

Olney; 301-774-0500

MedStar Montgomery Medical

Maryland Oncology Hematology Gives New Meaning to Personalized Cancer Care

Maryland Oncology Hematology believes in providing patients with advanced, comprehensive cancer therapies in a community setting that allows patients to receive care near their support systems. Our highly trained and experienced physicians work closely with a talented clinical team that is sensitive to the needs of cancer patients and their caregivers. Choosing an independent practice offers patients the chance to receive compassionate, affordable cancer care that utilizes the latest technologies provided by top physicians who are experts in their field. The best of care, close to home.

Maryland Oncology Hematology is a community-based practice, entirely owned and run by Maryland physicians. Our team is devoted to providing state-of-the-art patient care for hematology and oncology, working on behalf of our community for the benefit of patients. At Maryland Oncology Hematology, we believe that patients are more than a number. Each patient will have a dedicated care team by their side from diagnosis through treatment to recovery.

Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Howard County General

HEMATOLOGY AND ONCOLOGY

Frederick Barr

Regional Cancer Care Associates

Chevy Chase; 301-900-5776

Sibley Memorial

Ralph V. Boccia

The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders

Bethesda; 301-571-0019

Nicholas J. Farrell Maryland Oncology Hematology

Bethesda; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Germantown

Ari D. Fishman  Maryland Oncology Hematology

Bethesda; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Germantown

Joseph M. Haggerty  Maryland Oncology Hematology

Bethesda; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Germantown

Carolyn Hendricks  Maryland Oncology Hematology

Bethesda; 301-424-6231

Suburban

Syed Shahid Mahmood  Maryland Oncology Hematology Rockville; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Germantown

Shannon O’Connor  Maryland Oncology Hematology

Germantown; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Suburban

Victor M. Priego  The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders  Bethesda; 301-571-0019

Chitra Rajagopal  Regional Cancer Care Associates Rockville; 301-235-8715

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Frederick P. Smith  Regional Cancer Care Associates Chevy Chase; 301-900-5776

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

George Sotos  Maryland Oncology Hematology  Bethesda; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Germantown

John Wallmark  Maryland Oncology Hematology Rockville; 301-424-6231

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Germantown

HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE MEDICINE

Jaya Vijayan  Holy Cross Palliative Care  Silver Spring; 301-754-7910  Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Steven David Wilks  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Sameh Aly  Metro Infectious Disease Consultants  Rockville; 301-605-7468

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Puran Mathur  Puran Mathur, M.D.  Rockville; 301-330-6985

Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Lynette Posorske  Montgomery Infectious Disease Associates  Silver Spring; 301-588-2525

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Sibley Memorial

Ramani B. Reddy  Maximed Associates Silver Spring; 301-460-6664  MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Rebecca Shaffer  Montgomery Infectious Disease Associates  Silver Spring; 301-588-2525  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Suburban

Preethi Sural  Johns Hopkins Medicine - Sibley Medical Office Building  Washington; 202-660-5182  Sibley Memorial

Phuong D. Trinh  Montgomery Infectious Disease Associates  Silver Spring; 301-588-2525

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Suburban

INTERNAL MEDICINE

Melissa Ellen Blakeman  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians  North Bethesda; 240-314-7080

Laura Hanson Brown  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians North Bethesda; 240-314-7080

Mary Elizabeth Callsen  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians Bethesda; 240-235-9100

Sonya V. Chawla  Sonya Chawla, M.D.  Bethesda; 301-530-6000  Medstar Georgetown University

Brent Cole  Bethesda Internal Medicine Partners  Bethesda; 301-388-8858  Suburban

Dennis A. Cullen  Cullen, Umosella, Cullen & Cullen  Bethesda; 301-951-0420  Sibley Memorial

Edward T. Cullen  Cullen, Umosella, Cullen & Cullen  Bethesda; 301-951-0420  Sibley Memorial

Christopher J. Duke  Allcare  Washington; 202-975-0070

Erica W. Hwang  True Physician Care Bethesda; 301-941-3660  Suburban

Sue Kanter  Sue Kanter, M.D. Bethesda; 301-530-0400  Suburban

Tracie Lanter  Maryland Value in Prevention  Chevy Chase; 301-634-1346

Alan R. Morrison  Morrison Membership Practice Washington; 202-966-0622

Assil S. Saleh  Foxhall Internists, P.C.  Washington; 202-362-4467

Lakshmi Sastry  Bethesda Internal Medicine Partners  Bethesda; 301-388-8858  Suburban

Bradley Richard Watkins  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians Bethesda; 240-235-9100

Deidra Woods  Internal Medicine of Chevy Chase, P.A.  Chevy Chase; 301-656-9170

MATERNAL AND FETAL MEDICINE

Dennis Amini  Kaiser Permanente Kensington; 800-777-7904  Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Rita Wesley Driggers  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-537-4000

Sheri Hamersley

Maternal-Fetal Medicine Associates of Maryland  Rockville; 301-315-2227

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Kimberly Hickey

Maternal-Fetal Medicine Associates of Maryland  Rockville; 301-315-2227

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Wayne Kramer

Perinatal Associates of Mid-Atlantic  Rockville; 301-251-8611

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Thomas L. Pinckert

Greater Washington Maternal-Fetal Medicine & Genetics  Rockville; 301-279-6060

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring

NEONATAL AND PERINATAL MEDICINE

Chrys Gaitatzes

Community Neonatal Associates  Silver Spring; 301-754-7490

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Sharon C. Kiernan

Community Neonatal Associates  Silver Spring; 301-754-7490

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Angela Michele Patterson  MedStar Health Olney; 855-633-0207  MedStar Washington Hospital Center, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, MedStar Georgetown University

NEPHROLOGY

Raymond Bass  Montgomery Renal Associates, P.A.  Wheaton; 301-942-5355

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady

When facing a cancer diagnosis, you deserve innovative yet personal cancer care.

At The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, you will have access to cutting-edge therapy including over 60 clinical trials right here in Bethesda, so you don’t have to travel far to get innovative treatment options. We provide personal care by matching a patient’s cancer to a customized therapy using molecular profiling. We understand that every cancer is unique and deserves a tailored treatment plan. With compassionate care that centers around you, every interaction is focused on your experience and well-being. Your individual care is delivered by cancer experts who not only care for you but care about you.

Ralph V. Boccia, MD, FACP

Victor M. Priego, MD

Mark G. Goldstein, MD, FACP

Bruce D. Cheson, MD, FACP, FAAAS, FASCO

Multi-year Washingtonian Top Doctor honorees.

Innovative cancer care starts with the heart, not the head.

Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Steven A. Burka  Steven A. Burka, M.D., P.C.  Chevy Chase; 301-654-3803  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Fahim Malik  Washington Nephrology Associates  Rockville; 301-907-4646

Jeffrey Perlmutter  Nephrology Associates of Montgomery County  Rockville; 301-231-7111

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Gail Seiken  Washington Nephrology Associates  Rockville; 301-907-4646

Stephen Vaccarezza  Nephrology Associates of Montgomery County  Rockville; 301-231-7111

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation

NEUROLOGY

Syed Saif Ahmed Capital Neurology & Sleep Medicine   Germantown; 301-339-8027

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Suburban

Nanak Chugh  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians  Bethesda; 240-235-9100

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Ezra D. Cohen

The Neurology Center  Rockville; 301-562-7200

Peter Alexander Keszler Johns Hopkins Community Physicians  Bethesda; 240-235-9120

Sibley Memorial

C. Debbie Lin

The Neurology Center  Rockville; 301-562-7200

Gregory C. Mathews

Gregory C. Mathews, M.D., LLC Silver Spring; 301-456-5810

Omid Motabar  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians  Bethesda; 240-235-9120

Suburban

Nirjaleshwar Nikhar

The Neurology Clinic of Washington  Olney; 301-260-7600

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

Aman A. Savani

The Neurology Center  Chevy Chase; 301-562-7200

NEUROSURGERY

Joshua Ammerman  Washington Neurosurgical Associates  Washington; 202-966-6300

Sibley Memorial

Amjad Nasr Anaizi  MedStar Health Chevy Chase; 301-856-2323  MedStar St. Mary’s, MedStar

Georgetown University, MedStar

Washington Hospital Center

Louis Chang

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Camalier Building

Bethesda; 301-896-6069

Johns Hopkins, Suburban

Youssef G. Comair

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Camalier Building  Bethesda; 301-896-6069

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial

David W. Herzig

Washington Brain & Spine Institute  Rockville; 301-718-9611

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Suburban

Shih-Chun (David) Lin

Johns Hopkins Medicine - Camalier Building

Bethesda; 301-896-6069  Suburban

Nathan Moskowitz  Nathan Moskowitz, M.D., Ph.D.  Rockville; 301-309-0566

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Jay Won Rhee  Washington Brain & Spine Institute  Rockville; 301-718-9611

Jean-Marc Voyadzis  MedStar Health

Chevy Chase; 202-444-8766  MedStar St Mary’s, MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center

Joshua Wind  Washington Neurosurgical Associates

Washington; 202-966-6300

Sibley Memorial

OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY

Margaret N. Alexander  Oncology for Women  Bethesda; 301-564-4966

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Darryn Band  Capital Women’s Care  Rockville; 301-681-9101

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Maryland Surgery Center for Women (outpatient center)

Tobie Beckerman  Beckerman Women’s Health  Rockville; 301-230-1488

Karen Blackburn  Lori M. Kaler, M.D.  Bethesda; 301-897-0945

Sibley Memorial

Emily Gottlieb  Rockville OBGYN Doctor  Rockville; 301-468-4900

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Heather L. Johnson  Reiter, Hill & Johnson of Advantia  Chevy Chase; 301-654-5700

Sibley Memorial

Steven S. Maggid  Capital Women’s Care  Rockville; 301-424-3444

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Gerald Renzi  Capital Women’s Care

WHAT I WISH MY PATIENTS KNEW DR. JEAN-MARC VOYADZIS

“The majority of patients that I see, I recommend against surgical intervention.“

Good physicians share a common goal: To provide their patients with exceptional care, kindness, and compassion. At Chesapeake Urology, this singular focus has helped make us the leading urology group in Maryland. Once again, we are honored to be included in this annual list.

We are proud of our doctors who have earned the respect of their peers and the trust of their patients.

Dr. Gary S. Friedlander

Dr. Juan Pablo Litvak

Dr. Bart Radolinski

Dr. Ellen R. Goldmark

Dr. Mark Rosenblum

Dr. Michael A. Isaacson

Dr. Roberto Pedraza

Dr. Kathleen Sterling

Rockville; 301-424-1696

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Delara K. Tavakoli  Tavicare  Chevy Chase; 301-859-4400

Barbara Turner  Kaiser Permanente Kensington; 800-777-7904  Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Carolynn M. Young  Rockville Gynecology  Rockville; 301-330-7007

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

Michael A. Sauri  Occupational Health Consultants  Rockville; 301-738-6420

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

OPHTHALMOLOGY

Rosalie L. Bair  Rosalie Bair, M.D., P.A.  Bethesda; 301-571-4334

Omar Chaudhary  Champlain Ophthalmology  Bethesda; 301-493-9600

Reena Garg  Visionary Eye Doctors  Rockville; 301-896-0890 MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Palisades Surgery Center

Stephen Ross Glaser  Kids Eye Care of Maryland  Rockville; 301-330-1366

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Amy Green-Simms  Eye Physicians of Washington  Rockville; 301-770-2424  MedStar Washington Hospital Center

Holly M. Gross  Central Maryland Eye Associates  Rockville; 301-610-2020 Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Jordan Heffez  Capital Eye Care  Bethesda; 301-530-5200  Suburban

Harry Huang  Harry H. Huang, M.D., P.A.  Bethesda; 301-897-3322

Khuram Khan  Germantown Retina

Germantown; 301-366-0748  Holy Cross Germantown, Suburban

Courtney Lynn Kraus  Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute Bethesda; 240-482-1100  Johns Hopkins

Michael M. Lai  The Retina Group of Washington  Chevy Chase; 301-656-8100  MedStar Washington Hospital Center

Nicholas Robert Mahoney  Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute

Bethesda; 240-482-1100  Johns Hopkins

J. Alberto Martinez  Visionary Eye Doctors  Rockville; 301-896-0890 MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Palisades Surgery Center

David Parver  Capital Eye Care  Bethesda; 301-530-5200  Suburban

Daniel Pluznik  Eye Physicians of Washington  Rockville; 301-770-2424  Washington Hospital Center

Srinivas M. Sastry  Bethesda Retina  Bethesda; 301-896-0101  Suburban

Shameema Sikder  Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute Bethesda; 240-482-1100  Johns Hopkins

Howard Weiss  Washington Eye Physicians & Surgeons  Chevy Chase; 301-657-5700  Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington Hospital Center

Adam Scott Wenick  Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute

Bethesda, 240-482-1100 Johns Hopkins

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY

Steven H. Bernstein Jr.

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Summit Orthopedics  Chevy Chase; 301-657-9876  Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Bethesda Chevy Chase Surgery Center

Barry P. Boden

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: The Orthopaedic Center  Rockville; 301-251-1433

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Christopher J. Cannova  OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Marc D. Connell  Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine  Chevy Chase; 301-657-1996

Mahidhar M. Durbhakula  OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Sridhar M. Durbhakula  OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Eric J. Feuchtbaum  OrthoBethesda  Bethesda; 301-530-1010  Suburban, Virginia Hospital Center

Kenneth Fine

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: The Orthopaedic Center  Rockville; 301-251-1433

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Sibley Memorial

Ira D. Fisch  OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010  Suburban

Jonathan Agner Forsberg  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-660-6500

Sibley Memorial

Michael E. Goldsmith

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Summit Orthopedics  Chevy Chase; 301-657-9876

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Georgetown University

Antoni B. Goral

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Montgomery

Orthopaedics   Chevy Chase; 301-949-8100

Holy Cross Silver Spring

Hamid Hassanzadeh

Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center

Bethesda; 240-762-5100

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Alex Arden Johnson

Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center

Bethesda; 240-762-5100

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

John J. Klimkiewicz

Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Chevy Chase; 301-657-1996

Sibley Memorial

J. Stuart Melvin

Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Washington; 202-787-5601

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Craig A. Miller

OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Christopher S. Raffo

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Maryland

Orthopedics Specialist Division  Bethesda; 301-515-0900

Jonas R. Rudzki

Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

Chevy Chase; 301-657-1996

Samuel Sanders

Greater Washington Orthopaedic Group  Silver Spring; 301-547-3729

Kurt C. Schluntz

OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Suburban

Philip L. Schneider

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Montgomery Orthopaedics

Chevy Chase; 301-949-8100

Holy Cross Silver Spring

Gautam Siram

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Summit Orthopedics  Chevy Chase; 301-657-9876

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

John Michael Thompson

Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center

Bethesda; 240-762-5100

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Steven L. Tuck

Shady Grove Orthopaedic Associates

Rockville; 301-340-9200

Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

OTOLARYNGOLOGY

Valerie A. Asher  Maryland ENT Associates  Silver Spring; 301-989-2300

Suburban, Holy Cross Silver Spring

David Bianchi

Maryland ENT Associates  Silver Spring; 301-989-2300

Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Suburban

John M. Bosworth Jr.

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care

- Siegel, Bosworth and Sorensen Division  Rockville; 240-361-9000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Wade Chien

Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center

Bethesda; 301-896-3332

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Shaun C. Desai

Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 301-896-3332

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Mark Dettelbach

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care: Feldman ENT Division  Chevy Chase; 301-652-8847

Sibley Memorial

Brian Driscoll  Maryland ENT Associates  Silver Spring; 301-989-2300

Holy Cross Silver Spring, Suburban

Natalie Earl

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care: Feldman ENT Division  Chevy Chase; 301-652-8847

Sibley Memorial

Leslie Hao

Chevy Chase ENT Associates  Chevy Chase; 301-656-8630

Sibley Memorial

Nyall London Jr.  Johns Hopkins Medicine - Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 301-896-3332

Johns Hopkins

Anthony Morton

Kaiser Permanente

Kensington; 800-777-7904

Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Wojtek Mydlarz

Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 301-896-3332

Suburban

Seth Oringher

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care: Feldman ENT Division  Chevy Chase; 301-652-8847

Sibley Memorial

Annette Mai Pham

Metro ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery

- A Division of the Centers for Advanced ENT Care  Rockville; 301-315-0003

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Sanjay Prasad  Metropolitan Neuroear Group

- A Division of The Centers for Advanced ENT Care Rockville; 301-493-9409

Holy Cross Silver Spring

Murray Ramanathan Jr. Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 301-896-3332  Johns Hopkins, Suburban

Jerome Schwartz

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care: Feldman ENT Division  Chevy Chase; 301-652-8847

Sibley Memorial

Michael B. Siegel

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care - Siegel, Bosworth and Sorensen Division  Rockville; 240-3619000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Christopher Sinha  Montgomery Otolaryngology Consultants  Gaithersburg; 301-963-6334  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Eric Sklarew  Kaiser Permanente Kensington; 800-777-7904

Holy Cross Silver Spring

Pete Sorensen

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care - Siegel, Bosworth and Sorensen Division  Rockville; 240-361-9000

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Jack Williams

The Centers for Advanced ENT Care: Feldman ENT Division  Chevy Chase; 301-652-8847

Sibley Memorial

Thomas Winkler  Chevy Chase ENT Associates  Chevy Chase; 301-656-8630  Sibley Memorial

PAIN MEDICINE

Peju Olajide Adekoya  Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 410-955-7246 or 202-660-5191  Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Babak Arvanaghi  Pain Management Institute  Bethesda; 301-530-7303

Sibley Memorial

Akshay Garg  Capital Interventional Pain & Spine Center  Rockville; 301-841-6600 Suburban

Stuart Hough  Pain Management Specialists  Rockville; 717-616-2523

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver

Spring, Frederick Memorial

Caleb Kroll  Pain Management Institute  Bethesda; 301-530-7303  Suburban

Frank Lee  Pain Management Institute  Bethesda; 301-530-7303  Suburban

Jatinder Narula The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Summit Orthopedics  Chevy Chase; 301-657-9876

Ramani Peruvemba  Pain Management Specialists  Rockville; 717-616-2523

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Kunal Sood  National Spine & Pain Centers  Germantown; 301-528-2810

WHAT I WISH MY PATIENTS KNEW DR. PEJU ADEKOYA:

“I do not cure. The best I can do is manage your pain and improve your quality of life and function.”

José Surós  Point Performance  Bethesda; 301-493-8884  Sibley Memorial

PATHOLOGY

Ginine Beyer  Kaiser Permanente Rockville; 800-777-7904

Anthony Chi  Kaiser Permanente Rockville; 800-777-7904

Pablo D. Gutman  Pathology Associates of Silver Spring  Silver Spring; 301-754-7330  Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Eun Oh  Kaiser Permanente Rockville; 800-777-7904

Ling Yan  Kaiser Permanente Rockville; 800-777-7904

PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY

Jeffrey Moak  Children’s National Hospital  Rockville; 301-765-5400

PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY

Melissa Abrams  US Dermatology Partners  Silver Spring; 301-681-7000

PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY

Amita DeSouza  Abdow Friendship Pediatrics, P.C.  Rockville; 301-468-6171

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Rachel I. Gafni  Pediatric Endocrinology National Institutes of Health  Bethesda; 301-594-9924

Children’s National, George Washington School of Medicine

Ali Mohamadi  Ali Mohamadi, M.D.  Chevy Chase; 301-466-1207

PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY

Otto Louis-Jacques  Children’s National Hospital  Rockville; 301-765-5400

Mariastella Serrano  MedStar Health Washington; 202-243-3558  MedStar Georgetown University

PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY

Marc DiFazio  Children’s National Hospital  Rockville; 301-765-5400

Matthew Mintz, MD, FACP

Board-certified in Internal Medicine, Dr. Matthew Mintz specializes in medical weight loss, medical cannabis and ketamine-based treatments for depression (Spravato). He also practices functional medicine for complex chronic diseases such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and long COVID.

6000 Executive Blvd., #315 | Rockville, MD 20852 drmintz.com | 855-646-8963

DC Cosmetics

M.R. Khalifeh is considered one of region’s top plastic surgeons, with offices in Mclean, VA and Columbia, MD. He specializes in laser liposuction, tummy tucks, breast enhancement and Botox/fillers. He also serves as a reservist in the US Navy.

Offices in Columbia and Mclean, VA dccosmetics.com | 301-244-0148

Freedom Ketamine Treatment Centers

Freedom Ketamine Treatment Centers, led by Dr. Aubrey Verdun, offers ketamine infusion therapy for depression, anxiety and PTSD. We’ve been serving the Washington, D.C. metro area with compassionate, cutting-edge mental healthcare since 2016, with four locations in Maryland and Virginia. No referrals needed.

freedomketaminecenters.com | 301-235-9022

Caitlin Magidson, NCC, LCPC

Caitlin Magidson, LCPC is a Licensed Psychotherapist, Career Coach, and Leadership Coach who merges knowledge around mental health and career development to empower clients in reaching their goals. The Coaching & Counseling Company, LLC provides 1:1 coaching, therapy, and well-being training for companies and individuals.

The Coaching & Counseling Company, LLC caitlinmagidson.com | 301-841-8201

IS IT QUITTING TIME?

DEPENDING ON WHEN YOU WERE BORN, YOU’RE ELIGIBLE FOR FULL SOCIAL SECURITY benefits at some point in your mid-60s. But does that mean you should retire then? Is there such a thing as an ideal retirement age?

Aside from considering your financial situation, retirement “is a very individualized decision that has a lot to do with a person’s health status,” says Dr. Swapnil RamanLuhadiya, a family medicine physician who sees adults at Well by Kaiser Permanente at Friendship Heights, a clinic in Chevy Chase.

Raman-Luhadiya lists some of what needs to be considered from a medical perspective: high blood pressure, chronic pain, diabetes, fatigue, limited mobility.

“People should also check in with their emotional health,” she advises. “If thoughts of going in to work trigger anxiety or negativity, that can prevent you from functioning at your highest level and may be a sign to step back.”

The average retirement age is 64.7 for men and 62 for women, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. That said, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected in 2019 that 30.2% of people ages 65 to 74 will be working in 2026, compared with 17.5% in 1996. The rate for workers age 75 and older that same year is projected to be 10.8%, compared with 4.7% in 1996.

Raman-Luhadiya cites research that links working beyond retirement age to health

benefits, including more mental stimulation and social engagement, and fewer instances of cancer, heart disease and dementia.

One 2015 study of 83,000 older adults over the course of 15 years, published in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal, found that people who worked past age 65 were about three times more likely to report being in good health and roughly half as likely to have serious health problems.

“As you think about retirement, it’s also important to think about how you access health care and how that will change if you retire,” Raman-Luhadiya says. “Will you have the same coverage and be able to see your physicians and specialists, or will you need to shop for and compare plans available based on your age and employment status? Enjoying a long and healthy life in your retirement is important, so make sure you’ll have access to high-quality health care that fits your lifestyle.”

Keep in mind that working doesn’t require a steady paycheck, Raman-Luhadiya says. If you want to say goodbye to your current job but still feel an itch to be productive, consider a part-time gig or volunteer for a meaningful cause.

“Finding your joy and sense of purpose— what really makes you happy—is quite important,” Raman-Luhadiya says. “That transcends the topic of retirement.”

–Robin L. Flanigan

Sonal G. Patel  Magnificent Minds Neurology Center  Bethesda; 301-652-6800

Amanda Pong Mid-Atlantic Epilepsy and Sleep Center Bethesda; 301-530-9744

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

Christine Tran  Magnificent Minds Neurology Center  Bethesda; 301-652-6800

PEDIATRIC ORTHOPEDICS

Ryan S. Murray MedStar Health Washington; 202-444-8766 MedStar Georgetown University

Steven L. Tuck  Shady Grove Orthopaedic Associates  Rockville; 301-340-9200

Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

PEDIATRIC PSYCHIATRY

Margery Johnson  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Walker Lyerly IV  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Chuck M. Ng  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Khendra Iman Peay  Kendra Peay, M.D., P.A.  Chevy Chase; 301-648-7101

Michelle Seelman  Michelle Graves Seelman, LLC  Bethesda; 301-656-1770

Robyn L. Wechsler  Capital Mental Health  Chevy Chase; 240-743-4535

PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY

Samuel M. Rosenberg  Children’s National Hospital  Rockville; 301-738-7011

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Children’s National

PEDIATRIC SURGERY

Louis Marmon  Children’s National Hospital  Rockville; 301-765-5400

PEDIATRICS (GENERAL)

Victor Abdow Jr.  Abdow Friendship Pediatrics, P.C. Rockville; 301-468-6171

How physical and emotional health factor into choosing when to retire

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Kristen Bennett Cantor  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians - Rockville Pediatrics  Rockville; 301-881-7995

Johns Hopkins

Sabine De La Croix-Vaubois  Washington International Pediatrics  Bethesda; 301-654-9476

Shreelata Durbhakula  Children’s National Hospital  Chevy Chase; 301-656-2745

Caren Glassman  Potomac Pediatrics  Rockville; 301-279-6750

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Jeffrey Greenberg  Coleman Pediatrics  Rockville; 301-468-9225

Leila Hall  Next Generation Pediatrics  Bethesda; 301-832-6049

Steven F. Hirsch  Hirsch Pediatrics  Rockville; 301-990-3030  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

Dana Kornfeld  The Pediatric Care Center  Bethesda; 301-564-5880

Holy Cross Silver Spring, Sibley Memorial

Giorgio Kulp  Metropolitan Pediatrics  North Bethesda; 301-230-2280

Jessica M. Long  Spring Valley Pediatrics  Washington; 202-966-5000  Sibley Memorial

Mindy Maggid  Shady Grove Pediatric Associates  Rockville; 301-330-3216

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

James Mattey  The Pediatric Care Center  Bethesda; 301-564-5880

Holy Cross Silver Spring, Sibley Memorial

Melissa Schwartz  Olney Pediatrics Olney; 301-774-4100  MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

Reva E. Snow  Capitol Medical Group Pediatrics  Chevy Chase; 301-907-3960

Sibley Memorial

Amy M. Sweeney  Foxhall Pediatrics  Washington; 202-537-1180

Sibley Memorial

Richard Tran  Olney Pediatrics Olney; 301-774-4100  MedStar Montgomery Medical Center

Peter I. Warfield  Spring Valley Pediatrics  Washington; 202-966-5000

Sibley Memorial, Children’s National, Georgetown University

Gail Warner  Growth and Wellness Pediatrics  Bethesda; 240-630-8882

Paul Weiner

The Pediatric Care Center  Bethesda; 301-564-5880

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Sibley Memorial

PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION

Inder Chawla

Inder Chawla, M.D.  Silver Spring; 301-891-5393

Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, Sibley Memorial

Mark D. Klaiman Point Performance  Bethesda; 301-493-8884

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Andrew V. Panagos  Andrew V. Panagos, M.D., P.C.  Bethesda; 301-493-6331

Terrence P. Sheehan  Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation  Rockville; 240-864-6007

Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

Deb Levy Team – Chase

2023, 2021, 2017 Best of Bethesda Finalist Best Mortgage Broker

2015, 2013, 2012 Best of Bethesda Winner Best Mortgage Broker

NMLS ID 481255

4445 Wisconsin Ave., NW | Washington, DC 20016 202-702-3262 | Fax: 844-560-8138

deb.levy@chase.com | homeloan.chase.com/deb.levy

Experience matters. Markets are constantly changing and strategies for purchasing and financing a home change too. A native of Montgomery County and lifelong Washingtonian with over 36 years of experience in mortgage lending, Deb Levy of Chase has assisted thousands of homebuyers to finance their homes. Deb is licensed to lend in all 50 states. Chase Bank is a full service bank and has branches throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Disclosure: All home lending products are subject to credit and property approval. Rates, program terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Not all products are available in all states or for all amounts. Other restrictions and limitations apply. Home lending products offered by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ©2023 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

OZEMPIC 101

What you need to know about the buzzy diabetes drug

“OH, OH, OH, OH-ZEM-PIC … YOU KNOOOW …” IF YOU’VE FOUND YOURSELF MINDLESSLY HUMMING THAT AD-JINGLE TAKE ON THE 1974 HIT “MAGIC,” you’re probably aware of Ozempic, which has wended its way into the mainstream consciousness in recent years. The drug is advertised to lower risks for heart attack and stroke in adults who have both Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Ads with the song have flooded TV airwaves. Then late last year, a TikTok trend espousing Ozempic as a fast and easy way to trim tummies caused a worldwide shortage of the medication.

The scarcity was felt keenly in this region.

“All of a sudden I started seeing this shortage firsthand—not only for people who wanted to use it off-label for weight loss, but also for people who legitimately needed it to control their diabetes,” recalls Dr. Helena Rodbard, founder and medical director of Endocrine & Metabolic Consultants in Rockville and past president of the American College of Endocrinology.

“Many of my patients were quite upset, saying, ‘It’s not for vanity. We need to control our blood glucose levels, and we can’t get it,’ ” Rodbard says. “Over the last couple of months, though, the shortages seem to have been resolved.”

Manufactured by Novo Nordisk, the once-weekly injectable

Stephanie Pham Van  Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 443-997-5476  Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial

PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY

C. Coleman Brown  Bruno | Brown Plastic Surgery  Chevy Chase; 301-215-5955

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

James R. Bruno  Bruno | Brown Plastic Surgery  Chevy Chase; 301-215-5955

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Mary Ella Carter

Mary Ella Carter, M.D., F.A.C.S.  Washington; 202-363-6844

Sibley Memorial

Steven P. Davison  DAVinci Plastic Surgery  Washington; 202-966-9590

Sibley Memorial

Shaun C. Desai  Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 301-896-3332

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Brent Cabell Faulkner  Faulkner Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics  North Bethesda; 240-802-8100

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Jules Feledy  Belmont Aesthetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery  Chevy Chase; 301-654-5666

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Douglas Lee Forman  Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington  North Bethesda; 301-881-7770

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Roger Friedman  Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington  North Bethesda; 301-881-7770

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Silver Spring, Sibley Memorial, Suburbanl

Kathy Huang  Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington  North Bethesda; 301-881-7770

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Philip Iorianni  Kaiser Permanente Kensington; 800-777-7904  Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Arthur Dean Jabs  Cosmetic Surgery Associates, a Forefront Practice  Bethesda; 301-493-4334

Suburban

Sheilah A. Lynch  Lynch Plastic Surgery  Chevy Chase; 301-652-5933

Sibley Memorial

Keshav Magge  Cosmetic Surgery Associates, a Forefront Practice  Bethesda; 301-493-4334  Suburban

Joseph Michaels

Michaels Aesthetic & Reconstructive Plastic Surgery  Rockville; 301-468-5991

Sibley Memorial, Suburban, Shady Grove Adventist, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Ximena Pinell  DAVinci Plastic Surgery  Washington; 202-966-9590

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Samir S. Rao  Center for Plastic Surgery  Chevy Chase; 301-652-7700

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Sibley Memorial

Franklin D. Richards  Cosmetic Surgery Associates, a

Forefront Practice  Bethesda; 301-493-4334

Suburban

Philip S. Schoenfeld  RENU by Dr. Schoenfeld

Chevy Chase; 301-652-7368

Sibley Memorial, MedStar Georgetown University, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center

PODIATRY  Amir D. Assili  Shady Grove Podiatry  Gaithersburg; 301-948-2995  MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Holy Cross Germantown

David Baek  Shady Grove Podiatry  Gaithersburg; 301-948-2995  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Lee E. Firestone

Foot and Ankle Specialists of the Mid-Atlantic  Chevy Chase; 301-913-5225

Sibley Memorial

Raymond P. Merkin  Dr. Raymond P. Merkin  Rockville; 301-468-0441

medication is part of a class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which help the body release insulin, reduce appetite and improve blood sugar control. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug to treat Type 2 diabetes in 2017 but has yet to weigh in on using Ozempic for shedding pounds. Now Ozempic is being overprescribed, Rodbard says, with nonphysicians who have prescribing power authorizing its casual use for aesthetic reasons. The extent to which that is occurring around Bethesda is unknown, she says.

Rodbard recommends getting an evaluation and treatment from a physician with expertise in managing patients with obesity. “It doesn’t have to come from an endocrinologist,” she says. “It can even come from a primary care physician if that person has been trained in the treatment of overweight people.”

Ozempic is not inexpensive. A dose injected into the stomach, thigh or upper arm once weekly costs roughly $1,000 a month, an expense that may very well go on for months or years, according to Rodbard.

Ozempic “has to be started slowly at a low dose, then gradually increased depending on the response,” Rodbard says. “It’s not for everybody and shouldn’t be used indiscriminately.” Consistent medi-

cal supervision is important to ensure the drug is well tolerated. Lab tests often are administered to determine whether expected results are being realized.

Rodbard says mild side effects can include nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea and dehydration; more serious problems are very rare, but may include pancreatitis, thyroid tumors and gallbladder disease, among others.

Rodbard hopes the FDA eventually approves Ozempic for obesity, which then would spur insurance companies to provide reimbursement when using the drug for weight loss.

Meanwhile, the drug Mounjaro from Eli Lilly also is used by some to treat Type 2 diabetes and weight issues, and is being considered for fast-track approval by the FDA for obesity. Another Novo Nordisk drug, Wegovy, has been approved by the FDA for weight loss. There’s also Rebelsus, yet another drug produced by Novo Nordisk; that one is essentially Ozempic in pill, not injection, form, and shares the same active ingredient: semaglutide.

“The more resources we have to offer patients, the better,” Rodbard says. “Ultimately what’s important is enabling people to live a longer, higher-quality life.”

—Robin L. Flanigan

Le to right, Derek Hawver and Diane Sahr, past Maplewood Co-op Board Presidents, Don Berlin, current Co-op Board President

Erika Schwartz  Foot and Ankle Specialists of the Mid-Atlantic  Chevy Chase; 301-913-5225

Sibley Memorial

PSYCHIATRY

Hedy Howard  Hedy Howard, M.D.  Chevy Chase; 301-654-3851

Bruce A. Kehr  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Sunil Nair  Kaiser Permanente Silver Spring; 800-777-7904

Guillermo Portillo  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Shanda B. Priest  Potomac Psychiatry  Rockville; 301-984-9791

Colleen Zanis  Kaiser Permanente - Shady Grove  Rockville; 800-777-7904

RADIATION ONCOLOGY

James D. Bridges

Adventist HealthCare Radiation Oncology Center/Associates in Radiation Medicine  Germantown; 301-795-0064

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center

Stephen C. Greco  Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center  Bethesda; 301-896-2012

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Anu Gupta  Cancer Center at Gaithersburg  Gaithersburg; 240-364-0900

Holy Cross Germantown

Marie Gurka  Adventist HealthCare Radiation Oncology Center/Associates in Radiation Medicine  Rockville; 301-309-6765

Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown

Sheela Modin  Associates in Radiation Medicine  Wheaton; 301-681-4422

Holy Cross Silver Spring

Brandi Page

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center

Bethesda; 301-896-2012

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Susan Fletcher Stinson  Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center  Bethesda; 301-896-2012  Suburban

RADIOLOGY

William Craig  Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3100

Summer Herlihy  Kaiser Permanente Kensington; 800-777-7904

Jennifer Huckabee  Kaiser Permanente  Rockville; 800-777-7904

Alexander S. Mark  MedStar Radiology Network  Rockville; 301-657-2444

Ketan Naran  The Radiology Clinic  Rockville; 301-217-0500

Helen Schneider  Kaiser Permanente  Kensington; 800-777-7904

Janet Storella  Community Radiology Associates  Bethesda; 888-601-0943

REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY/ INFERTILITY

Frank E. Chang  Shady Grove Fertility  Rockville; 301-340-1188

Michael J. Levy  Shady Grove Fertility  Rockville; 301-340-1188

Jeanne E. O’Brien  Shady Grove Fertility  Rockville; 301-340-1188

RHEUMATOLOGY

Ashley D. Beall  Rheumatology Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.  Rockville; 301-942-7600

Emma DiIorio  Rheumatology Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.  Rockville; 301-942-7600

Rachel Kaiser

Rheumatology Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.  Chevy Chase; 301-942-7600

Deborah S. Litman  Deborah S. Litman, M.D., LLC  Chevy Chase; 301-215-4167  Sibley Memorial

Alan K. Matsumoto  Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.  Wheaton; 301-942-7600

William W. Mullins Jr.  The Center for Rheumatic Diseases & Osteoporosis  North Bethesda; 301-230-5888  Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Guada Respicio Duque  Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.  Rockville; 301-942-7600

Anu Sharma Center for Rheumatic Diseases & Osteoporosis  North Bethesda; 301-230-5888

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Evan L. Siegel  Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.  Rockville; 301-942-7600

David P. Wolfe  Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.  Chevy Chase; 301-942-7600

SLEEP MEDICINE

Konrad Bakker  Sleep Medicine

Comprehensive Neurology & Sleep Medicine, P.A.  Rockville; 301-694-0900

Helene A. Emsellem  The Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders  Chevy Chase; 301-654-1575

Carolyn Kie-lo Wang  Sleep Medicine Johns Hopkins Community Physicians Bethesda; 240-235-9120

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

SPORTS MEDICINE

Alex Arden Johnson  Johns Hopkins Health Care and Surgery Center  Bethesda; 240-762-5100

Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

John J. Klimkiewicz  Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine  Chevy Chase; 301-657-1996

Sibley Memorial

Craig A. Miller  OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Suburban

Rajeev Pandarinath  OrthoBethesda

Bethesda; 301-530-1010

Daniel J. Pereles  The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics: Montgomery Orthopaedics  Chevy Chase; 301-949-8100  Holy Cross Silver Spring

Jonas R. Rudzki Washington Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine  Chevy Chase; 301-657-1996

THORACIC SURGERY

Stephen Broderick  Johns Hopkins Medicine - Sibley Medical Office Building  Washington; 202-660-7510  Sibley Memorial

Nyen Chong  Holy Cross Hospital Physician’s Office Building  Silver Spring; 800-777-7904  Holy Cross Silver Spring

Bryan Steinberg  Capital Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Associates  Rockville; 301-270-2844

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

UROLOGY

Compton Benjamin  Kaiser Permanente  Gaithersburg; 800-777-7904  Holy Cross Germantown, Holy Cross Silver Spring

Mary C. DuPont  DuPont Institute  Chevy Chase; 301-835-2982  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Gary S. Friedlander  Chesapeake Urology  Rockville; 301-258-1919

Ellen Goldmark  Chesapeake Urology  Rockville; 301-258-1919

Michael Isaacson  Chesapeake Urology  Germantown; 301-933-9660

Juan P. Litvak  Chesapeake Urology  Bethesda; 301-530-1700

Roberto Pedraza  Chesapeake Urology  Germantown; 301-933-9660

Bart Radolinski  Chesapeake Urology  Bethesda; 301-530-1700

Mark Rosenblum   Chesapeake Urology  Bethesda; 301-530-1700

Kathleen A. Sterling  Chesapeake Urology  Bethesda; 301-530-1700

VASCULAR/INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY

Andrew Stephen Akman Suburban Hospital  Bethesda; 301-896-3202  Johns Hopkins, Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Nikhil Bhagat  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-537-4795

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Brian Gregory Johnson  Sibley Memorial Hospital,

Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-537-4795

Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Stewart B. Karr

Holy Cross Health - Diagnostic Medical Imaging  Silver Spring; 301-681-8242  Howard County General

Arman Cecil Moshyedi  Holy Cross Health - Diagnostic Medical Imaging Silver Spring; 301-754-7351  Howard County General

Abhishek Srinivas  Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine  Washington; 202-537-4795  Sibley Memorial

VASCULAR SURGERY

Garry D. Ruben  Holy Cross Health - Garry D. Ruben, M.D. Silver Spring; 301-681-3900  Holy Cross Silver Spring

Andrew Howard Schulick  Johns Hopkins Community Physicians — Cardiothoracic

& Vascular Surgery, Suburban Hospital   Bethesda; 301-896-7619  Sibley Memorial, Suburban

Richard A. Silva  Horizon Vascular Specialists  Germantown; 301-762-0277

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation

Jeffrey Y. Wang  Horizon Vascular Specialists  Germantown; 301-762-0277

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation

Dustin Y. Yoon  Horizon Vascular Specialists  Germantown; 301-762-0277

Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center

The doctors in this feature were selected by Professional Research Services (PRS), which conducted an online peerreview survey of area physicians in Montgomery County and Upper Northwest D.C. (ZIP codes 20015 and 20016). Physicians were asked to nominate fellow physicians they deemed the best in their field of practice. Many votes were cast honoring excellence in all fields of medicine. The featured doctors were screened and selected through the verification of licensing and review of any infractions through applicable boards, agencies and rating services. For additional information, visit prscom.com.

SEE PROFILE PAGE 132

FROM LEFT: BRUCE ALAN KEHR, M.D.; WALKER LYERLY, IV, M.D.; GUILLERMO PORTILLO, M.D.; JOHN CARR, M.D.; MARGERY JOHNSON, M.D.

Potomac Psychiatry

AWARDS

Top Doctor, Washingtonian; Top Doctor, Castle Connolly; Most Comprehensive Mental Health Center (Mid-Atlantic USA), Excellence Award for Forensic Psychiatry & Expert Witness Services (Mid-Atlantic USA), Best Psychiatric Care Provider (Maryland), Best Comprehensive Psychiatric Care Services (Northeast USA), Global Health & Pharma; PharmaVoice 100 (Dr. Kehr), PharmaVoice.

5920 Hubbard Drive Rockville, MD 20852

301-984-9791

potomacpsychiatry.com

Good mental health, says Potomac Psychiatry founder Bruce Alan Kehr, MD, relies on many interconnected factors, including our genes, gut health, cellular health, immune system and important relationships at home and at work. That's why the trusted, award-winning team at Potomac Psychiatry don't just treat their patients' symptoms, but the whole person as a unique individual, using cuttingedge diagnostic tools to fine-tune their treatment approach, helping people feel better and stay better.

Through its unique Root Cause Psychiatry Program, Potomac Psychiatry's eight  Bethesda Magazine  "Top Doctors" blueprint personalized roadmaps to recovery that meet patients' specific biological, psychological and social needs. By evaluating their distinctive mental health ecosystems, including genetics, cellular functioning and gut microbiomes,

their doctors prescribe tailored treatment plans to target the "root causes" of patients' chronic distress.

Their approach to uncovering genetic, cellular, and biochemical contributors to conditions such as autism, depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, cognitive decline and long COVID leads to an initial treatment plan. From medication to dietary recommendations, talk therapy, supplements and more, treatment will include specific solutions to tackle each root cause of suffering. Our clinicians will monitor the patient's progress, refining the plan as needed.

"We do whatever it takes to help each patient feel well and recover their health" says Dr. Kehr.

“At Potomac Psychiatry, our doctors never settle for “good enough.” Perhaps that’s why our physician-peers voted to award each and every one of our doctors the coveted Bethesda Magazine Top Doctors award.”

FROM LEFT: PAULO J. NEGRO, M.D., PH.D.; CHUCK M. NG, D.O.; SHANDA B. PRIEST, M.D.

Cosmetic Surgery Associates

FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS, M.D., FACS, KESHAV MAGGE, M.D., FACS & A. DEAN JABS, MD, PH.D., FACS

SPECIALTIES & QUALIFICATIONS

Board Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery

Fellow, American College of Surgeons

Member, American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Member, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Member, Southeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons

Certificate of Added Qualification in Cosmetic Surgery, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

President, National Capital Society of Plastic Surgeons

6430 Rockledge Drive, Suite 100 Bethesda, MD 20817

301-493-4334

cosmeticplastics.com

At Cosmetic Surgery Associates, a Forefront Practice, elective cosmetic surgery is all they do. Each surgeon is highly trained with extensive experience in plastic surgery and thousands of happy patients. The practice caters to patients to provide desired results in a safe, discrete and caring environment. Their certified operating rooms are staffed with the best nurses and technicians in the area and utilize only Board Certified anesthesiologists. Your safety is their primary concern.

Dr. Magge, Dr. Jabs and Dr. Richards are Board Certified plastic surgeons and Fellows of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, they are all members of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgery. All three physicians have years of experience and have performed thousands of successful procedures in their fully accredited surgery suite.

Dr. Magge, Dr. Jabs, and Dr. Richards are well known for their warm, caring personalities and commitment to excellence. They put their patients at ease and take time to listen to their goals. Their entire team treats each patient like family. Cosmetic Surgery Associates is at the forefront of the latest aesthetic surgery techniques and performs most of their procedures under twilight anesthesia, obviating the need for general anesthesia. Their patients know they can count on them to provide safe, effective procedures with outstanding results.

Capital Laser & Skin Care

ELIZABETH TANZI, MD

GEETA SHAH, MD

TANIA PETERS, MD

Voted the "Best Dermatology Practice" by Bethesda Magazine readers since 2018, Capital Laser & Skin Care specializes in cosmetic and non-invasive treatments to enhance and maintain skin health and beauty. Drs. Geeta Shah, Tania Peters and Elizabeth Tanzi have been named Bethesda Magazine "Top Doctors" since 2019.

5471 C2 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 200 Chevy Chase, MD 20815

301-798-9699

capitalskinlaser.com

Capital Laser & Skin Care is a worldrenown center of excellence dedicated to delivering the most advanced, effective dermatologic treatments in a warm and welcoming environment. Board-certified dermatologists, Drs. Geeta Shah, Tania Peters and Elizabeth Tanzi use stateof-the-art technology and innovative techniques to truly customize each treatment plan, maximizing outcomes and patient satisfaction. Each dermatologist is fellowship-trained in dermatologic laser surgery and aesthetic procedures with years of experience treating patients. As an aesthetic dermatology research clinic and beauty industry liaison, the Capital Laser & Skin Care team has access to the most sophisticated, cutting-edge tools and routinely evaluates novel technology. Drs. Shah, Peters and Tanzi focus on noninvasive treatments to deliver naturally radiant and elegant results that emphasize and enhance personal features without

creating an overdone look.

With a patient-centered approach, the entire Capital Laser & Skin Care team is dedicated to providing exceptional patient care. Through comprehensive consultations, transparent and reliable communication, customized skin care recommendations and individualized treatment plans, Drs. Shah, Peters and Tanzi exceed patient expectations at every turn, from their first phone call through treatment follow-ups and beyond.

With such exclusive patient benefits as complimentary skin cancer screenings, neurotoxin touch-ups and laser treatments for post-injectable bruising, Capital Laser & Skin Care goes the extra mile to ensure your experience with the practice is as pleasant as it is rewarding. Setting the bar for clinical excellence and attention to detail, Capital Laser & Skin Care stands out as the Washington metropolitan area’s premier aesthetic dermatology practice.

Maryland Oncology Hematology

301-424-6231 | Aquilino Cancer Center – Rockville, Bethesda and Germantown

301-933-3216 | White Oak Cancer Center - Silver Spring marylandoncology.com

Maryland Oncology Hematology

is Maryland's largest independent oncology practice, with more than 45 practicing clinicians devoted to providing comprehensive, compassionate, highquality cancer care. A part of The US Oncology Network, Maryland Oncology Hematology patients benefit from a community of 2,300-plus independent providers dedicated to advancing local cancer care and delivering better patient outcomes.

This distinguished group is a leading provider of community cancer care and treatment of blood disorders in suburban Maryland. The highly specialized team of board-certified physicians at Maryland Oncology Hematology provides the highest

level of expertise and cutting-edge treatment options for patients throughout the state and the mid-Atlantic region. At Maryland Oncology Hematology, the dedicated physicians, nurses and staff will guide you and your family through all available treatment options while tailoring your care to your individual needs. Using sophisticated technology and the latest treatments, including targeted agents and immunotherapies, Maryland Oncology Hematology offers compassionate care while keeping you close to home. Maryland Oncology Hematology's state-of-theart infusion centers offer a full range of chemotherapy services, laboratory testing, clinical trials, genetic counseling and support services, as well.

DR. BARTER

DR. FARRELL

DR. FISHMAN

DR. O’CONNOR DR. MAHMOOD

DR. HAGGERTY DR. SOTOS

DR. WALLMARK DR. HENDRICKS

DR. PLATE

DR. SEN GUPTA

DR. STEREN

Rockville Gynecology

CAROLYNN YOUNG, MD

Dr. Young earned her Doctor of Medicine with honors from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. A boardcertified gynecologist and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, she is a leader in modern women's health solutions, a trusted physician for women of all ages and a highly regarded gynecologic surgeon.

15204 Omega Drive, Suite 200 Rockville, MD 20850

301-330-7007

office@rockvillegynecology.com

rockvillegynecology.com

A leader in gynecology, Dr. Carolynn Young founded Rockville Gynecology in 2010 to push the forefront of women's health and wellness. She has since grown her innovative and patient-focused gyn-only practice to include six expert providers, delivering premier individualized gynecologic care for women of all ages. This spring, Rockville Gynecology was pleased to welcome Dr. Meagan Slate and Certified Nurse-Midwife Nadine Flaherty to its compassionate and caring team. Named a Washingtonian "Top Doctor" annually since 2012, Dr. Young has pioneered several groundbreaking procedures. She was the area's first female physician to perform robotic surgery and the first to incorporate the Mona Lisa Touch laser to treat symptoms of vaginal atrophy. Dr. Young recently opened the Uterine Fibroid Treatment Center, offering advanced comprehensive treatment for women with uterine fibroids — and was

the first physician in Maryland to perform Sonata, a minimally-invasive treatment for heavy bleeding caused by fibroids. Resulting in minimal pain and recovery, the procedure is a huge step forward in treating a common condition that significantly impedes patients' quality of life, she says.

Rockville Gynecology has recently implemented two more state-of-the-art technologies. The Emsella chair is a very effective and painless non-invasive treatment for urinary issues. Patients sit fully clothed on a chair that uses a powerful magnet to perform strong Kegel exercises. V-shots use platelet-rich plasma to improve urinary incontinence, frequency and urgency and enhance sexual function.

Additionally, Dr. Young is a major proponent of the power in prevention; Rockville Gynecology offers geneType saliva testing, a breast cancer risk assessment, facilitating more informed decisions about screening.

MICHAEL VENUTRA

CAO Montgomery Orthopaedics

CAO Montgomery Orthopaedics proudly welcomes Bethesda native Dr. Laura Keeling—who specializes in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery—to the practice. A Princeton University graduate, she received her Doctor of Medicine from Georgetown University School of Medicine. Following her residency at Georgetown, she completed an Orthopaedic Sports Medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

8401 Connecticut Ave., Suite 800 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 301-949-8100

montgomeryorthopaedics.com

One of the area's largest, most respected orthopedic and physical therapy practices, the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (CAO) Montgomery Orthopaedics is a full-service musculoskeletal center conveniently located on Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Md. The practice is committed to providing comprehensive, compassionate care, helping patients of all ages achieve optimal musculoskeletal health and maintain an active lifestyle.

The Washingtonian and Bethesda Magazine "Top Doctors" at CAO Montgomery Orthopaedics are highly trained sub-specialists with decades of experience in all aspects of orthopedic surgery. Specializing in minimally invasive techniques/arthroscopy, hand surgery, joint replacement, spine surgery, sports medicine and foot and ankle surgery, they've held leadership positions at major academic and non-academic area hospitals. The state-of-the-art facility features digital

X-ray capture, ultrasound, on-site physical therapy and occupational/hand therapy, custom bracing and orthotic fitting, ensuring timely evaluations and diagnoses, and precise treatment plans tailored to patients' individual needs. The physicians at CAO Montgomery Orthopaedics work closely with certified physical and occupational therapists, allowing for seamless coordination of care throughout patients' treatment. This integrated, patient-centered approach fosters efficient recovery and maximizes patients' musculoskeletal health.

Access is a priority at CAO Montgomery Orthopaedics. The practice has streamlined the scheduling process to include sameday appointments and online scheduling to meet patients' emergent needs. Suffer an acute injury or need urgent orthopedic care? Skip the ER and call CAO Montgomery Orthopaedics directly for same-day or nextday appointments in almost all cases—and go straight to the specialist!

ANTONI B. GORAL, MD, FAAOS; DAVID E. GWINN, MD, MA, FAAOS; CLIFFORD HINKES, MD, FAAOS; JOHN J. KEELING, MD, FAAOS; DANIEL J. PERELES, MD, FAAOS; PHILIP L. SCHNEIDER, MD, FAAOS; MEGAN BAIRD, PA-C; TAYLOR RAUM, PA-C; CHRISTINE TUN, PA-C

Metro Colon & Rectal Surgery

Metro Colon and Rectal Surgery has been a pillar of quality colon and rectal surgery in Montgomery County for over 25 years. Three generations of boardcertified surgeons later, they are happy to continue providing cutting-edge services at offices in Bethesda and Rockville.

Camalier Building

10215 Fernwood Road, Suite 102 Bethesda, MD 20817

240-858-6764

15001 Shady Grove Road, Suite 100 Rockville, MD 20850

240-702-0122

mcrsdocs.com

The practice focuses on integrating the newest technology with the timehonored teachings of mentor Dr. Bradley Bennett. Drs. Makhoul and Skancke are both board-certified colon and rectal surgeons with 28 peer-reviewed publications between them and both actively participate on advisory boards for the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Their primary goal and joy is serving Montgomery County and raising awareness for colorectal pathology.

These are two of the most distinguished surgeons in the area. Dr. Makhoul joined the practice in 2018. He completed his Colon and Rectal fellowship

at the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Hospital. He serves as a Clinical Instructor of Surgery at the George Washington University and the Cancer Liaison Physician for Holy Cross Health, where he manages and oversees activities in collaboration with the Commission on Cancer and the American Cancer Society. He is also chairman of the Department of Surgery at Holy Cross Hospital.

Dr. Skancke grew up in Great Falls, Va., and attended medical school at the University of North Carolina and earned a Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He is board-certified in General Surgery and Colon and Rectal surgery and is also an active member of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Quality and Safety National committee.

DR. RAMI MAKHOUL & DR. MATTHEW SKANCKE

"We appreciate the excellent relationships we build with our patients and work hard to foster an office environment that is both friendly and comfortable."

Chevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgery

JENNIFER PARKER PORTER, MD, FACS JIGAR SITAPARA, MD WILMINA LANDFORD, MD

7201 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 515 Bethesda, MD 20814 301-652-8191

chevychaseface.com

At Chevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgery, individualization rules over standardization. “Every treatment or surgery that I recommend is unique to that patient,” says Dr. Jennifer Parker Porter, who founded the practice celebrating its 20-year anniversary. Their goal is to give patients realistic expectations and natural looking results.

Dr. Porter, the owner and a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, understands the importance of attention to detail and considers it her team’s duty to provide each patient with a comprehensive treatment plan. She specializes in rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty and non-surgical rejuvenation of the face. Dr. Jigar Sitapara’s expertise includes hair transplant, buccal fat removal and extended deep plane facelifts. They are also extremely excited to announce the addition of Dr. Wilmina Landford, who will start at the practice this summer,

expanding the office’s range of practice by offering body plastic surgery. Her areas of expertise include mommy makeovers, breast augmentation and body contouring. The practice offers a range of surgical procedures and a full spectrum of nonsurgical facial procedures including Botox, dermal fillers, Morpheus8 skin tightening and laser resurfacing. Their Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner and Aesthetician also offer treatments such as HydraFacial, microneedling, BBL, Aerolase treatments and chemical peels. Patients love the convenience of booking Botox/Dysport appointments through Tox2GO, an app developed by Dr. Porter

The practice continues to grow, having just completed an expansion that doubled the space, where they are excited to accommodate more patients. The office is in downtown Bethesda across from the new Wilson building, within easy walking distance of Bethesda Row and Metro.

Faulkner Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics

BRENT FAULKNER, MD

Dr. Faulkner graduated from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and completed his plastic surgery residency at the University of Virginia. An award-winning, boardcertified plastic surgeon, he devotes part of his surgical practice to breast cancer reconstruction. "I want to be a resource for women facing the daunting challenges of undergoing breast cancer treatment," says Dr. Faulkner.

6000 Executive Blvd., Suite 204 North Bethesda, MD 20852 240-802-8100

faulknerplasticsurgery.com

Dr. Brent Faulkner is a board-certified plastic surgeon affiliated with multiple Washington metropolitan area hospitals. Voted a "Top Doctor" by Washingtonian and Bethesda Magazine, he has been in practice since 2007. He opened Faulkner Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics in 2019 to offer a full range of cosmetic procedures, from chemical peels, microneedling and skincare to minimally invasive body contouring and complex surgeries. Through comprehensive, customized treatments and surgeries using the latest technology in aesthetic medicine, Dr. Faulkner is passionate about meeting patients where they are and helping them reach their goals.

Dr. Faulkner was drawn to plastic surgery during his last rotation in medical school. "One particular surgical case — repairing a cleft lip in an infant — had a lasting impact on my desire to pursue this field," he says. "The difference this one repair made on the lives of this infant and

his parents was extraordinary."

Dr. Faulkner says he's continually inspired by the strong relationships he builds with patients and their families. "The trust they put in me is humbling and motivates me to provide the best possible care," he says.

The best, most trustworthy surgeons distinguish themselves by recognizing when not to operate. Deeply committed to his patients' health and well-being, Dr. Faulkner values open and honest communication—and will always tell patients when he doesn't believe surgery is in their best interest. "Just because you have a surgical option," he says, "doesn't mean it's the best option."

"It's important for my patients to know they can trust me," says Dr. Faulkner.

Point Performance

Our highly trained team of experts specializes in innovative treatments for a wide range of conditions, including sports injuries, spinal disorders, muscular pain syndromes, migraines, concussion, stroke and other neurological diseases. We offer regenerative medicine, vestibular management, athletic enhancement, personal medical training, acupuncture, dry needling and more.

6400 Goldsboro Road, Suite 340 Bethesda, MD 20817

301-493-8884 (Medicine)

301-244-9099 (Physical Therapy) ppminfo@pointperformance.com pointperformance.com

Whether helping an athlete with a sports injury, neck or back pain or someone recovering from a stroke, the Point Performance team delivers effective, holistic care. They draw on their varied expertise, including sports medicine, pain management and manual therapies, to provide nonsurgical treatments, including medical acupuncture and dry needling.

As leaders in innovative regenerative medicine, the team specializes in plateletrich plasma (PRP) treatments, stem cell injections and shock wave therapy to promote healing in damaged tissues. “These evidence-based procedures consistently result in better outcomes for our patients,” says Dr. Mark Klaiman. “Using proven techniques and an integrative approach, our goal is to reduce pain, improve function and keep people away from surgery.”

When Dr. Klaiman and Dr. Haim Hechtman created Point Performance,

they paid close attention to every detail of the state-of-the-art facility. The space—which includes two gyms, private treatment rooms and therapeutic massage suites—also features a lightfilled waiting room with wall-to-wall windows with serene views of towering trees. “We intentionally designed our practice to provide a place where people feel they can heal,” says Dr. Klaiman.

We believe healing begins with listening. Our team is committed to taking the time to discuss each patient’s health, lifestyle and goals. That quality time translates into a deeper understanding of their patient’s concerns and allows them to deliver more effective treatments. “We communicate and collaborate with our patients,” says Dr. Hechtman. “We treat the whole person, not just their concern.”

Congressional OB-GYN

JINKAL SAINI, PA-C

GENESIS MILLAN SERRANO, MD, FACOG

NANCY BEHRAM, MD, FACOG

STEVE BEHRAM, MD, FACOG

At Congressional OB-GYN, we are deeply committed to patient education and preventative care. We believe knowledge is power, especially when it comes to health. That’s why, beyond providing expert medical services, we strive to arm you with the information you need to make informed decisions about your health.

14995 Shady Grove Road, Suite 410 Rockville, MD 20850

301-294-8525

congressionalobgyn.com

Affiliated with Holy Cross Hospital at Germantown

The providers at Congressional OB-GYN deliver comprehensive care for women, including pregnancy care, fertility, fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS, menopause and many other conditions. Drs. Steve and Nancy Behram, along with Jinkal Saini, PA-C and the newest provider, Dr. Genesis Millan Serrano, are committed to creating a caring and convenient setting for patients, including access to blood draw services and ultrasound imaging all at one location. Additionally, they offer the convenience of telemedicine and extended hours, including weekends. Their brand-new office is conveniently located just off I-270.

In addition to being board certified in OB-GYN, Dr. Nancy Behram is also board certified in obesity medicine and oversees the different weight loss programs offered through the office. “We take a holistic approach to the patient’s wellbeing,” says Dr. Nancy Behram,

who has been caring for patients in the community for more than 20 years. These additional services include health coaching, nutritional guidance and medical intervention for practice patients. Most services are covered by insurance. “We offer customized weight loss services, combined with web-based resources, to match our patients’ diverse needs,” she says.

“Access to a state-of-the-art surgery center allows patients to get world-class care with minimal intervention,” says Dr. Steve Behram. “This brand-new facility is located at Lerner’s Fallsgrove Plaza, which recently received the LEED Gold Certification from the United States Green Building Council.” This office was specifically designed to minimize environmental impact, while providing a beautiful space for the delivery of care. “We welcome you to our growing family,” he says.

Ageless Impressions Plastic Surgery Institute

MARK RICHARDS, MD

Nationally recognized, Dr. Richards’ expertise has been praised in U.S. News & World Report and other national media. He served as the plastic surgery consultant for The White House and recently authored a book, “Nobody Wants You Healthy: Achieving Better Health by Avoiding the Corruptions in Modern Medical Science,” to benefit both doctors and patients.

11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 912 North Bethesda, MD 20852 301-468-3458

drmarkrichards.com

Patients describe Dr. Mark Richards as a caring, knowledgeable and skillful artist. “Supporting clients during recovery while exceeding their expectations is always the goal at the Ageless Impressions Plastic Surgery Institute,” says Dr. Richards.

Honest communication with patients is as important as the proper analysis of their appearance. Each individual has unique concerns. Dr. Richards’ professional joy comes from happy patients who love their natural looking enhanced appearance. This happens when skillful, creative solutions are used to achieve well defined goals.

While the latest technology may elevate the quality of obtainable results, technology alone is not the answer. For the best results, your doctor needs wisdom and experience combined with the appropriate technology and techniques. It is important to remember

that all treatments require some healing, and this healing process can vary greatly between patients.

In private practice for more than 30 years, Dr. Richards has been an innovator of new surgical techniques and new ways of thinking about the components that create a naturally attractive appearance. His improved surgical techniques have been published in plastic surgery journals and presented nationally and internationally at conferences. He doesn’t believe in patenting the techniques he developed and would rather all surgeons and patients benefit from improved methods without restriction.

His plastic surgery residency training in Boston took place at the Lahey Clinic and Harvard affiliated hospitals. In private practice, he has devoted time to training Georgetown and Johns Hopkins plastic surgery residents in aesthetic surgery and analysis.

Institute for Asthma & Allergy

Named "Top Allergists" by the Consumer Research Council of America, the Institute for Asthma and Allergy is a unique center where careful diagnoses, cutting-edge treatments, ongoing research and patient education are the primary objectives. Washingtonian "Top Doctors," the Institute's physicians have been recognized by their peers for their diagnostic skills, patient care and treatment protocols.

2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 250 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 301-986-9262

11002 Veirs Mill Road, #414 Wheaton, MD 20902 301-962-5800

allergyasthma.us

Allergies affect one in five Americans. The Institute for Asthma and Allergy (IAA) stands at the forefront of medical diagnostics and treatment of asthma and allergy. Its team of world-renowned physicians is committed to providing patients of all ages with comprehensive, personalized, expert care and innovative treatment options, significantly improving their quality of life.

Patients seeking relief from asthma, sinusitis, rhinitis, anaphylaxis, food allergy, drug allergy, angioedema, urticaria, itching, eczema, otitis, IgG and IgA deficiencies, and other immunologic abnormalities are routinely referred to the institute by primary care physicians and specialists, particularly when they require extra care or their conditions have proven difficult to manage with standard treatment. The institute prides itself on its capacity to handle such complex cases. As one of the nation's leading asthma and allergy centers, IAA is equipped to test for and treat virtually every

allergic and immunologic condition. The institute's physicians and healthcare providers are dedicated to educating patients, helping them understand the underlying causes of their symptoms, and informing them about the latest treatments and research breakthroughs. Recognizing the importance of accessibility, the institute ensures patients can easily reach their healthcare providers when needed, fostering strong patient-physician relationships built on trust and open communication. This patient-centered approach empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their treatments, promoting improved management of their conditions.

Through patient education, collaboration with medical programs and ongoing cutting-edge research, the institute is dedicated to advancing knowledge and improving the lives of those living with asthma and allergies.

ATHENA ECONOMIDES MD, HENRY LI MD, MARK SCARUPA MD, CARLA WARD MD, MICHELLE CRANK MD, DANIEL ROSLOFF MD, DAVID JEONG MD

Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington

ROGER FRIEDMAN, MD

DOUGLAS FORMAN, MD, MBA, FACS

KATHY HUANG, MD, FACS

AWARDS & AFFILIATIONS

Top Doctors, Washingtonian, 2005-present

Top Doctors, US News & World Report

Top Doctors, Washington Consumers’ Checkbook

America’s Best Plastic Surgeons, Newsweek

Best Cosmetic Surgeons, Bethesda Magazine

Top Vote Getter, Best Practice for Medical Aesthetics, Bethesda Magazine

American Board of Plastic Surgery

American Society of Plastic Surgeons

American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

11210 Old Georgetown Road  North Bethesda, MD 20852  301-881-7770  plasticsurgerynow.com

The Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington is a full-service aesthetic solution for men and women, offering a wide array of world-class surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures to rejuvenate and enhance your appearance. The institute's dedicated staff has one focus in mind—you—and a team that prides itself on creating an inviting, engaging environment that fosters confidence and improved self-esteem. The skilled, board-certified plastic surgeons at the Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington continue to earn "Top Doctors" recognition from Bethesda, Washingtonian and Newsweek magazines. They work closely with nurse injectors and the institute's aesthetician to provide exceptional, individualized patient care using the latest treatments and techniques in aesthetic plastic surgery.

Drs. Roger Friedman, Douglas Forman and Kathy Huang are leaders and innovators in their respective fields.

Whether performing facial rejuvenation (face and neck lifts, eyelid and brow lifts, rhinoplasty), body contouring (liposuction, tummy tuck, Brazilian butt lift, post weight loss, mommy makeover, labiaplasty), breast surgery (augmentation, lift, reduction, gynecomastia, reconstruction, revisions, transgender) or non-surgical procedures (Coolsculpting, Avéli cellulite treatments, Fraxel, laser hair removal, IPL, microneedling with PRP, HydraFacial MD, chemical peels, Botox, fillers, hair restoration), their sophistication and attention to detail elevates the quality of their work to achieve optimal outcomes.    The institute's longevity and success are predicated on cultivating lasting relationships with patients, rooted in trust. The doctors take pride in partnering with their patients to help them achieve the best version of themselves.

Pain Management Specialists

STUART HOUGH, MD

RAMANI PERUVEMBA, MD

Drs. Stuart Hough and Ramani Peruvemba are board-certified interventional pain specialists with privileges at Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center and Holy Cross Hospital. Patient-focused, they always find time for patients to be seen quickly when needed. A proud member of Privia Medical Group, Pain Management Specialists accepts Medicare and almost all commercial insurance plans.

3202 Tower Oaks Blvd., Suite 100  Rockville, MD 20852  240-453-9182

painmanagespecialists.com

Chronic pain can disrupt every aspect of people's lives. Since 1998, Pain Management Specialists has offered patients in Montgomery and Frederick counties optimal treatment of acute and chronic pain caused by spinal conditions, nerve injury, surgery and cancer. Bethesda Magazine and Washingtonian "Top Doctors," Drs. Stuart Hough and Ramani Peruvemba are board certified pain specialists with decades of experience who use advanced interventional therapies as part of comprehensive, multimodal, patientcentered pain care plans to achieve the best possible results.

The physicians at Pain Management Specialists focus on getting to the root of the problem quickly and efficiently, with minimal unnecessary and costly testing and treatment. The team works closely with patients' primary care doctors and other medical and surgical specialists,

psychologists, chiropractors and physical therapists to provide a multidimensional approach to chronic pain. Treatments offered may include traditional pain medications, medication for nerve pain or inflammation, physical and chiropractic therapy, electrical stimulation, injections, surgery and psychological approaches, acupuncture and implantable devices.

Pain Management Specialists believe that the patient is the most important member of the medical team. They value each patient as a person with unique needs and capabilities and treat them accordingly. Drs. Hough and Peruvemba communicate treatment plans clearly and closely monitor results to ensure the best possible outcomes. They are supported by an outstanding group of experienced clinical and support staff who take pride in their work serving patients.

Potomac Audiology

Dr. Linn and her associates enjoy a good relationship with many of the most respected medical professionals in the area.

11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 105 Rockville, MD 20852

240-477-1010

potomacaudiology.com

Something near and dear to Dr. Linn and her practice is called “Real Ear” or “Probe Microphone” Measures. “This procedure allows us to put a tiny tube that is attached to a microphone in a patient’s ear at the time of a hearing aid fitting,” Linn says. “We can then measure exactly what the hearing aid is delivering to the eardrum. This procedure is not widely done but we consider it a vital component of a good hearing aid fitting.”

Potomac Audiology recognizes RealEar Measurements as a gold-standard best practice in fitting hearing aids. Without performing this measurement, there’s no way to know whether a hearing aid is providing the correct amplification on the correct frequencies.

Over her 35 years in practice, Dr. Linn has become a leading voice in the industry for Real Ear Measurements, a procedure that allows her to measure exactly what the hearing aid is delivering

to the ear through a tiny tube attached to a microphone in a patient’s ear.

There is no reason to risk spending thousands of dollars on hearing aids that may not be programmed correctly. At Potomac Audiology, audiologists make sure that even hearing aids purchased elsewhere are performing optimally.

Since 1998, Dr. Gail Linn has been providing doctorate level hearing care people can trust. The practice added a pediatric specialist when Dr. Linn’s daughter, Dr. Tricia Terlep, joined in 2007. Together, they have mentored, trained and hired talented young audiologists, including from the University of Maryland and Gallaudet University.

DR. GAIL LINN, AUD, CCC-A

DR. TRICIA TERLEP, AUD

Chesapeake Hearing Centers

JULIE PETRUZZI, CEO & ELIZABETH BUTLER, AU.D., CCC-A

5952 Hubbard Drive, North Bethesda, MD 20852

Additional locations in Annapolis, Columbia, Easton, Kent Island, Ocean Pines, Salisbury and Severna Park 301-468-0551 | helpyourhearing.com

"The hearing journey is not a transaction," Chesapeake Hearing Centers CEO Julie Petruzzi says. "Our patients become our patients for life."

Petruzzi proudly carries on the legacy of her late father and practice founder, Dr. Charles L. Hutto. First driven to pursue audiology when he and his wife fostered a deaf child, Hutto quickly noticed a need for professional hearing services in his community. He opened Maryland's first private audiology practice in 1975 to provide compassionate and expert care.

Patients in the North Bethesda area are served by Dr. Elizabeth Butler. She received her Doctor of Audiology from Gallaudet University and completed her residency at Chesapeake Hearing.

"Gallaudet offered me a unique insight into the cultural differences between the deaf and hearing communities," says Butler.

Bruno | Brown Plastic Surgery

JAMES R. BRUNO, MD, FACS & C. COLEMAN BROWN, MD, FACS

5454 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1210, Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Additional locations in Tysons Corner and Glen Burnie 301-215-5955 | brunobrownplasticsurgery.com

Drs. James R. Bruno and C. Coleman Brown specialize in a range of cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery procedures for the face, breast and body, and are consistently recognized as "Top Doctors" by Washingtonian, Northern Virginia Magazine and Modern Luxury DC. The Chevy Chase location features a private, AAAHC-certified onsite operating room with board-certified anesthesiologists, as well as a medical esthetician and a state-of-the-art skin care center to seamlessly coordinate any skin improvement goals. Drs. Bruno and Brown also have hospital privileges throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Both board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Bruno serves as Chief of Plastic Surgery at Suburban Hospital (Johns Hopkins Medicine) and Dr. Brown as Chief of Plastic Surgery at Sibley Memorial Hospital (Johns Hopkins Medicine).

MICHAEL VENTURA

Shady Grove Podiatry

16220 Frederick Road, Suite 427

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

301-948-2995

shadygrovepodiatry.com

Are you getting chronic heel pain?

Concerned about your diabetes and your feet? Arch or bunion pain? Toe problems? Want to fix your nagging and painful plantar fasciitis?

When you’re suffering from foot, ankle, or toe pain or issues, the team of foot and ankle experts at Shady Grove Podiatry can help. From diabetic foot treatment and trauma care, to advanced sports medicine treatment and procedures, this distinguished and highly experienced team will help you get back on your feet.

“Shady Grove Podiatry is focused on foot and ankle health because it’s all we do,” says Dr. Assili. “Our doctors are completely focused on getting you back to doing everything you love, whether it’s walking with friends, riding a bike and walks with your grandchildren, or dancing, skiing and hiking.” The practice also specializes in the treatment of chronic and non-healing wounds and offers a unique

approach to wound care that is proven to heal you more quickly, stop pain, bring you hope and allow you to resume the activities that make you happiest.

The Shady Grove Podiatry staff speaks English, Spanish, Farsi, Vietnamese and Korean to best serve your needs, and the offices are conveniently located off I-370 and Frederick Road. We accept most insurances, and also accept cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover card, American Express, personal checks and electronic payments via a patient portal.

DR. AMIR D. ASSILI, DR. DAVID BAEK, DR. HOAN DANG, DR. JON DILLARD & DR. COLIN MIZUO

Capital Interventional Pain & Spine Center

AKSHAY GARG, MD

Capital Interventional Pain & Spine Center

3204 Tower Oaks Blvd., Suite 440 Rockville, MD 20852

301-841-6600

capitalpaincenter.com

Chronic pain can be mentally and physically debilitating, interfering with daily activities and diminishing quality of life. Washington metropolitan area native Dr. Akshay Garg founded Capital Interventional Pain and Spine Center to provide patients with a wide range of life-changing pain management solutions and minimally invasive alternatives to surgery.

"Every patient has a story," says Dr. Garg. "I'm here to listen attentively so I can offer the best diagnosis and personalized treatment plan, so we can get them active again."

Double board certified in Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dr. Garg offers the most advanced treatment options—including spinal cord stimulation for patients with diabetic neuropathy and platelet-rich plasma therapy—to alleviate patients’ pain, restore their function and help them regain their lives.

Metropolitan Physicians Practice, LLC

LEE JONATHAN MUSHER, MD, CMD

SPECIALIZATIONS, HONORS & AFFILIATIONS

Adult Medicine, Geriatrics, Health &Wellness and Anti–aging; Chair of Family Medicine, Suburban Hospital/ Johns Hopkins Medicine; Past President, AMDASociety for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine; Washingtonian Top Doctor

5530 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1045 Chevy Chase, MD 20815

301-986-4774 | jmusher2@comcast.net

Dr Musher is a family practitioner and fellowship-trained geriatrician with expertise in weight loss and anti-aging medicine. His concierge practice is a blend between traditional medicine and health and wellness. He believes it is important to keep you healthy and prevent disease before it happens. That means not only focusing on your medical needs but also on good nutrition, exercise and wellness coaching. He strives to make your care experience as personal, convenient and productive as possible.

Greater Washington Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Genetics

Dr. Thomas Pinckert is triple board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Medical Genetics. He is a Clinical Professor at George Washington University School of Medicine. Esteemed physician, Dr. Laura Parikh, has been practicing locally for her entire career, completing training at Medstar Washington Hospital Center/ Georgetown University Hospital. She is double board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Maternal Fetal Medicine.

9601 Blackwell Road, Suite 220 Rockville, MD | 301-279-6060

Other locations in Silver Spring and Fairfax, VA

Pregnancy is a transformative journey, often filled with joy and anticipation. But for some women, the cherished experience can be accompanied by apprehension, particularly for those diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy. Founded by Dr. Thomas Pinckert in 2002 to provide specialized expertise in highrisk obstetrics and clinical genetics to expectant mothers facing complicated pregnancies, Greater Washington Maternal-Fetal Medicine (GWMFM) is dedicated to helping individuals and families in the Washington metropolitan area navigate the complexities of pregnancy with compassionate, comprehensive, personalized care.

"We have a great job because we take people at their worst moment — when they're scared and worried — and, if we're able, we can turn that around," says Dr. Pinckert. "We have a lot of patients who are just eternally grateful."

Committed to maintaining the highest standards of care, GWMFM employs the most advanced technology including state-of-the-art GE E10 ultrasound machines in all office locations, offers diagnostic genetic testing, and a wide range of specialized services to evaluate the health of mother and baby throughout the pregnancy.The highly-skilled GWMFM team works with OBs and midwives, fostering a collaborative approach that ensures patients understand their medical conditions and available options, enhancing patient outcomes and satisfaction.

GWMFM also knows that urgency can arise at any moment during a high-risk pregnancy and, prioritizing the immediate needs of its patients, offers same-day urgent visits to promptly address any emergent concerns or complications, giving peace of mind to mothers and families.

THOMAS L. PINCKERT, MD, FACOG, FACMG LAURA I. PARIKH, MD, FACOG

ALLIES IN THE FIGHT

AMID A WAVE OF ANTISEMITISM SWEEPING MONTGOMERY COUNTY, CHURCH LEADERS, CIVIC GROUPS AND ‘UPSTANDERS’ ARE SHOWING THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN UNPRECEDENTED WAYS

BY AMY HALPERN

Walt Whitman High School choral director Michelle Kim was just getting off the bus following the music department’s spring trip to Florida when Principal Robby Dodd called her over. He’d been awaiting the group’s arrival with a timesensitive request: Would Kim and the school’s chamber choir perform at an upcoming event to support the Jewish community in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah?

Exhausted and bleary-eyed after 13 hours on the road, Kim jumped at the opportunity. She and her students would have little time to prepare and would likely have to learn at least one Hebrew song, but she knew the chamber choir—the school’s most advanced group of singers— would be as enthusiastic as she was. And she was right.

“We had the option to decline, but I don’t think anyone said no,” says rising Whitman senior and chamber choir member Markian Frykman, who, like Dodd, Kim and the majority of the chamber choir students, is not Jewish. “I think the solemnity of the ask gave it, like, a serious tone and…everybody was like, yeah, it would be…honorable to do that.”

Three weeks later, on April 17, the Whitman chamber choir sang before a packed house at Silver Spring’s Flora M. Singer Elementary School—believed to be the first public school in the nation to be named after a Holocaust survivor. One of the songs the choir performed, Oseh Shalom , is a popular Hebrew song whose title translates as “He Who Makes Peace.”

“The audience was really pleased,” Frykman says of the nearly 200 people who turned out for the event, including dozens of church and civic leaders, as well as members of the Jewish community. “For the people who understood the words, it added to their emotions.”

Across the nation, antisemitism has risen to historic levels, and Montgomery County is no exception. More than half of the 109 antisemitic acts reported in Maryland in 2022 occurred in Montgomery County— a 261% increase over the year before, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and early 2023 reports suggest no sign of waning.

Yet, observers say, the increase in targeted attacks on the county’s Jews has also given rise to something almost as unprecedented: a heightened level of solidarity from non-Jewish groups toward the Jewish community—and promises from many church, civic and school leaders to do even more to help quell the rising antisemitic tide.

Even the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA)—founded in

January in response to the rising number of antisemitic incidents taking place in the county’s public schools—counts about one-third of its active participants as nonJewish, says MCJEA founder Andrew Winter, principal of Rockville’s Ritchie Park Elementary School.

Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director of the North Bethesda-based Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC), says she has a long list of non-Jewish school, community and religious leaders she considers allies in the fight against Jewish hate. “While I

Before his suspension, “Kanye West [had] more Twitter followers than there are Jews in the world,” says Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson, a Democrat whose district includes Bethesda, Potomac and Chevy Chase. Yet data shows that his comparison is an understatement; the controversial rapper had twice as many followers as there are Jews.

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics’ most recent estimates, there are 15.2 million Jews in the world; Ye had more than 32 million Twitter followers, according to Social Blade, a website that tracks social media statistics. Social Blade also reports that the number of Ye’s followers increased after he began posting antisemitic remarks last year.

know that there is a tremendous amount of work to do, I’m very, very cognizant of the people who sit in natural positions of power who have the ability to do something and are taking that seriously,” she says.

Over the past year, anti-Jewish acts in the county have included swastikas painted on classroom walls and school desks, threatening emails sent to those of the Jewish faith, flyers left on neighborhood doorsteps warning of Jewish evils, and even physical assault: In January, an elderly Jewish man was attacked in a Gaithersburg grocery store by a young man yelling antisemitic tropes. Court documents show that the assailant’s friends stood by during the attack, yelling, “Do it for Kanye,” in homage to the rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, whose Twitter account has been suspended since December 2022, following a series of tweets filled with antisemitic rhetoric.

“Antisemitism is a conspiracy-based hatred, and conspiracy-based hatreds are very difficult to fight because… the response to it can reinforce it at the same time,” Friedson says. “If you don’t call it out, then you are normalizing and allowing antisemitism to fester… but when you call it out, it’s used to prove the conspiracy.”

In November, Friedson successfully lobbied for the county council to pass a resolution to address and combat antisemitism. The resolution passed unanimously but had been delayed several months because of pushback from community groups, including the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), over the resolution’s definition of antisemitism. Opponents of the resolution argued that the language used in defining antisemitism would have a chilling effect on criticism of Israel and its policies.

Zainab Chaudry, director of CAIR’s Maryland office, told The Washington Post at the time that the resolution’s definition of antisemitism was “deeply divisive.” Yet following the January assault on the Jewish man in Gaithersburg, CAIR’s

OVER THE PAST YEAR, ANTI-JEWISH ACTS IN THE COUNTY HAVE INCLUDED SWASTIKAS PAINTED ON CLASSROOM WALLS AND SCHOOL DESKS, THREATENING EMAILS SENT TO THOSE OF THE JEWISH FAITH, FLYERS LEFT ON NEIGHBORHOOD DOORSTEPS WARNING OF JEWISH EVILS, AND EVEN PHYSICAL ASSAULT.

PHOTO BY JIMELL GREENE

Maryland office put out a press release saying it “welcomed a hate crime charge” brought against the suspect.

In the release, Chaudry noted that CAIR had also condemned an antisemitic “Day of Hate” that had been planned earlier this year by neo-Nazi groups, and she encouraged American Muslims to offer support to their Jewish neighbors. “CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry,” the release stated.

“Ten years ago, those statements of solidarity may not have been forthcoming,” Siegel says, adding that much of the support Jewish groups are now seeing from outside the Jewish community comes from decades of synagogues and other Jewish groups partnering with church, mosque and civic leaders in helping underserved communities both locally and around the world.

The Rev. Timothy Warner, of Emory Grove United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg, still reflects on the time nearly 20 years ago when a vandal struck several Black churches in upper Montgomery County, painting swastikas and other hate symbols on the sides of the buildings. One of the county officials working on the investigation at the time was a Jewish man, Warner says, who phoned him in tears. “He said, ‘Rev. Warner, I am so, so sorry for this. If you need me to come and sit on your church steps with you, I will do that because I understand what this is like,’ ” Warner recalls.

These days, Warner is an outspoken supporter of the Jewish community. “The history of African Americans and the Jews is very much the same in terms of both the hatred and the enslavement and liberation part of it,” he says.

Historically, Jewish activists have been reticent to focus on themselves, and instead have focused on helping those less fortunate, Siegel says, but “one of our main priorities right now is to…give [those outside the Jewish faith] opportunities to learn more about Judaism. …It’s a difficult shift for many Jewish people to speak out about

their own identities,” but without that, we “will not even make a dent in the problem.”

Friedson notes that, “To a certain extent, what has changed [across the world] is the ability for like-minded people to find each other on social media, for people to be radicalized without leaving their house, without going to a meeting. ...There used to be secret meetings where radical people used to get together in the middle of the night…now those radical meetings happen every single second of every single day, and nobody has to move in order to let them happen.”

“Jews Not Welcome.” Those words were scrawled across the entrance sign in front of Bethesda’s Walt Whitman High School in December 2022. The vandalism occurred just days after a schoolwide lesson on antisemitism, and one day after a swastika was painted at Westfield Montgomery mall, a few miles away.

Less than a week later, Rabbi Michael Safra of Rockville’s B’Nai Israel Congrega-

tion received a two-page letter from the Black Ministers Conference of Montgomery County, Maryland. Its subject line: Letter of Support to the Jewish Community.

“The on-going acts desecrating property in the public space and seeking to provoke fear in the Jewish community are acts of wickedness and cowardness,” the letter stated. It ended with the hope that such acts of hatred and violence will unite “the Jewish people and Black people into a resolve to continue fighting until all people can live in love, honor, and respect for each other.”

The letter was particularly meaningful to the Jewish community, Safra says, because “there are so many times when things happen and nobody reaches out— going both ways.”

Safra is part of a group of about 15 rabbis and Black church leaders who gather periodically to discuss the issues that affect both communities. The group, which calls itself Bridge Builders, started meeting over Zoom shortly after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 at the

Guila Franklin Siegel, left, of the Jewish Community Relations Council and Tracy Oliver-Gary of Montgomery County Public Schools at Rockville’s Welsh Park. Oliver-Gary has been leading the effort to update the system’s social studies curriculum to incorporate Jewish history and antisemitism’s origins.

hands of Minneapolis police officers. Now they meet in person at churches and synagogues around the county.

“It is an unfortunate reality,” Safra says, “that without these kinds of terrible acts of hatred, we might not bring ourselves together as much as we should.”

Within months of receiving that letter—as antisemitic graffiti was discovered in and around more schools and public buildings in the county—additional emails and letters of support arrived at JCRC’s headquarters, including from Gaithersburg-based Identity, an organization focused on supporting Latino youths.

“Please trust that the Jewish community is not feeling and fighting Jewish hate alone,” wrote Diego Uriburu, Identity’s executive director. “For the Identity community, this struggle is personal, as you, our friends at JCRC and in the Jewish community who are being harassed and assaulted, have stood with us when few others did.”

Uriburu sent the letter in early April, just before the start of Passover, a Jewish holiday that celebrates the freeing of Jewish slaves in Egypt. Outreach followed from other Identity staff inquiring about Holocaust training programs, as well as interest in accelerating a program that pairs Jewish and Latino middle schoolers to build “crosscultural understanding and the skills necessary to be a good ally,” says Nora Morales, Identity’s program director, by way of email.

Non-Jewish community and religious leaders also have been gathering alongside their Jewish counterparts at events that have popped up following the county’s more publicized antisemitic acts. The Rev. Anne Derse, deacon and minister of community engagement at St. John’s Norwood Episcopal Church in Chevy Chase, has attended two rallies and a town hall focused on combating Jewish hate, including one in November, after antisemitic graffiti was found scribbled along the Bethesda Trolley Trail.

“We in the faith community that share values of inclusiveness…have to stand up and support the Jewish community,” she says. “We’re still kind of pulling ourselves together around what specific steps we… can take, but I want to be a part of that, certainly, and I know that there are people in my faith community…that will also want to be a part of that effort.”

At Montgomery County Public Schools’ Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville, “it’s been all hands on deck,” says Tracy Oliver-Gary, the supervisor of the school system’s social studies curriculum for grades pre-K through 12. She and her team of educators spent much of the past school year rewriting the elementary and middle school curricula. Until now, she says, there has been no instruction at the elementary level on anything related to the Jewish experience, and only a brief look at the Holocaust in middle school.

Starting with the 2023-24 school year,

the new elementary and middle school syllabi will include more lessons in Jewish history and the origins of antisemitism— which started 1,000 years before the Holocaust, Oliver-Gary points out—as well as more instruction in critical thinking skills. The hope, she says, is that when students come across a video game or socialmedia post with a hate-filled message, they will learn to ask themselves: ”What do they know about the author? Where’s the author’s bias? Why do they think the author said this? Is it credible or not?”

The new elementary curriculum will also introduce the concept of being an “upstander” (as opposed to a bystander) when one encounters situations involving hate and intolerance. Oliver-Gary says that the goal is to teach students what “hate acts” look like, the harm they do, and how people throughout history have stood together to fight them, “to build empathy so they can have the courage to fight it [going forward].”

As antisemitism started to rise over the past year, the school system was caught off guard—and so was the Jewish community, Siegel says. “Antisemitism waxes and wanes, and we were in a period of waning for several decades.”

Once it started rising, community leaders, and especially school leaders, were stuck playing a game of whack-a-mole, she explains. “Every time there was a swastika, there’d be a response—and, you know, there were more and more swastikas,” she says. Now the school system is working with the Jewish community on a “systemic response, a thoughtful response, a proactive response.”

Oliver-Gary says she recently spoke with an educator on the West Coast who had witnessed a taglike game created by a group of elementary school kids on a school playground. In the game, children were assigned roles of either Nazi soldiers or Jews fleeing them. If the Nazis caught them, they died. Hearing about that game,

she says, proved to her that antisemitism needed to be addressed in the curriculum before middle school.

“You start seeing things that are small, a little speech here, a little act here, and people don’t pay attention to it and then it becomes normalized, and more and more people do it and people get targeted even more,” she says. Kids need to understand that “when they start seeing the seed [of hate], before it grows, before it blossoms fully…to dig up.”

“We still live in an inclusive and welcoming community where people are not only tolerant but are appreciative of a diversity of faiths and backgrounds and race and language,” Friedson adds, “but it doesn’t take a majority of people to make places feel unsafe.”

Journalist Amy Halpern has worked in print and television news and as the associate producer of an Emmy Award-winning documentary. She lives in Potomac.

WELCOMING and managing THE RAIN

Rain gardens and conservation landscaping help homeowners and communities manage increasingly heavy stormwater issues, beautify their spaces and promote biodiversity

BY AMY BRECOUNT WHITE | PHOTOS BY DEB LINDSEY

As her corner of Kensington became “a hotbed of teardowns,” Pam Marcus noticed that the water accumulation in her yard had changed since she’d moved in 20 years earlier. After a storm in 2020, she referred to her backyard as “Lake Marcus.” She reached out to Darlene Robbins with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection’s RainScapes program, the arm that helps residents assess and mitigate stormwater issues. Robbins, a RainScapes planner, estimated that 13 upslope properties drained into that one backyard during significant rainfalls.

Nick and Cindy Onder in their Bethesda backyard next to their rain garden

And Lake Marcus wasn’t just an eyesore. Unmanaged stormwater can be dangerous, potentially causing property damage and stream erosion while also spreading pollutants and creating breeding pools for mosquitoes. The multifaceted solution that Marcus’ waterlogged property required shows how landscapers, DIYers and even religious communities are coming together to improve the health of our watersheds.

For county residents such as Marcus, the RainScapes program offers resources and incentives to install rain gardens, conservation landscaping, rain barrels, pervious pavement and cisterns.

To solve her issue, Marcus hired Debbie Schweitzer of Kensington-based Shorb Landscaping, who recommended a rain garden with additional storage and controls. A rain garden is a shallow depression, usually 8 inches deep, that fills with up to 6 inches of water after a big rain-

fall. It contains native plantings that allow stormwater to be absorbed into the ground slowly, rather than run uncontrolled into neighboring properties and streams.

A required percolation—“perc”—test showed that Marcus’ soil drained too slowly,

Another pipe drains any overflow along the side of the house into river rock at the front.

Adding topsoil, Shorb then planted 1,400 square feet of conservation landscaping— all native plants. Their roots, which are much deeper than non-native turf grasses, absorb rainfall better and weather the hot summers well.

so Schweitzer’s crew decompacted it and added berms to slow and divert runoff to dry creek beds. Beneath those, PVC piping carries any excess water into a 325-squarefoot dry well that fills only when there’s excess water and allows it to perc slowly.

The county’s RainScapes program (Rockville, Takoma Park and Gaithersburg offer stormwater programs to their residents) syncs with a national trend to better manage increasingly dire stormwater events. “The old way of setting up cities and towns was to move water away from buildings and streets, but that has created environmental damage downstream,” says Luke Jessup, the owner of Father Nature Restorative Landscaping, a Wheaton-based landscaping company. “All that sediment and debris and pollution has damaged our bodies of water. We need to capture stormwater as close to the source as possible.”

“RAIN GARDENS...PUT WATER BACK IN THE SOIL, SO IT CAN GRADUALLY LEAK TO OUR STREAMS, WHICH WILL KEEP THEM HYDRATED ALL SUMMER.”

–ANN ENGLISH, RAINSCAPES’ SENIOR PLANNER

AND PROGRAM

MANAGER

Kit Gage (foreground) pulls weeds in the rain garden behind The Carolyn Condominium. Working alongside her are (from left) April Scott, Paula M. Miller and Sky Brandt in Silver Spring.

With their filtering capacity, rain gardens can reduce multiple pollutants, says Ann English, RainScapes’ senior planner and program manager. When county residents build large additions, they’re required to include green infrastructure tools, such as a green roof, a dry well, a rain garden and water harvesting, to address stormwater issues. Dry wells, the most popular retrofit option, don’t, however, filter water or promote local biodiversity. Rain gardens also “put water back in the soil, so it can gradually leak to our streams, which will keep them hydrated all summer,” English adds.

“It worked amazingly well,” says Marcus, a cancer epidemiologist. For all that she did to properly rectify the stormwater issues in her yard, she spent about $46,000 and received a rebate of $6,375. Now she enjoys the birds, insects and butterflies her native plants attract to her lake-free land.

The solution to Marcus’ issues was complex, but some residents take on the construction of a rain garden as a DIY project. After admiring the seasonal interests created by three rain gardens at nearby Olney Elementary School, Christopher Hinton-Miller and his wife, Shani, wanted to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to their yard, control erosion and improve their view. Using the RainScapes website as his primary guide, he designed a 400-square-foot rain garden and applied to the rebate program.

Hinton-Miller, a mathematician at the U.S. Defense Department, received approval in July 2022 and had six months to com-

Is Your Yard Right for a Rain Garden? 3

Some soils and settings don’t lend themselves well to a rain garden. Before planning or installing one, consult the detailed RainScapes website for more information, including possible designs and lists of native plants. You can also schedule a consultation with a RainScape planner to assess your yard.

A site needs to meet the following criteria for a wellfunctioning rain garden.

1 3 2

THE SOIL PASSES THE PERC TEST, AS outlined on the county’s website, or it can be easily amended with more permeable soil and materials until it passes.

THE SITE AVOIDS

THE INTERIOR OF the drip line of large trees and their roots (their spread above and below ground) to avoid damaging them.

THE SITE IS 10 FEET FROM your home’s foundation to avoid any water damage.

If those requirements aren’t met, consider a conservation landscape that ponds to 3 inches or one that doesn’t pond. You can also install a rain barrel, permeable pavement or cistern to manage stormwater.

White turtlehead growing in the rain garden behind The Carolyn Condominium

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plete construction. That required renting a backhoe and consulting with a nursery to find deer-resistant plants. He said it was a “long, slow process” to dig, extract rocks and amend the soil with compost to create the 8-inch-deep ponding area they wanted. He also constructed a driveway trench drain to direct stormwater to flow from their gutters into the rain garden.

Although he developed carpal tunnel syndrome in the process, “it was therapeutic,” Hinton-Miller says, but he advises against DIYing unless you’re going to enjoy it. Their rebate, $3,750, was about $500 less than what they spent. The project was a finalist for a residential BUBBA, or Best Urban BMP (best management practices) in the Bay Award, given by the Chesapeake Stormwater Network.

“If they’re doing it themselves, the digging part is a little overwhelming,” English says, so some homeowners opt to do conservation landscaping, which doesn’t require as much digging. Such landscapes that pond to a shallower level of 3 inches, along with non-ponding conservation landscapes, can also qualify for RainScapes rebates. Less digging means not disturbing the existing soil as much, which some environmental experts encourage.

When installing a rain garden, “there’s a lot that can go wrong,” says Edamarie Mattei, founder of Backyard Bounty landscaping in Silver Spring. “If you don’t do it right, you could create a swamp.” Jessup advises hiring a landscaper with experience. “We’re dealing with ecosystems, and these are complex organisms,” he says. “A lot of landscapers don’t really understand how complex it is.”

Kenzie Raulin opted for a hybrid method for her small front yard rain garden in Silver Spring. She hired Jessup to assess her yard, design the garden, buy the plants and then mold the ground as needed. “Even though it feels costly to hire someone, it’s so worth the expertise,” says Raulin, who did the planting herself. “I’d never have come up with the design that Luke [Jessup] did. There’s such value in the skills that folks have about types of plants and how to position them.” She also welcomes the variety of beneficial flying insects (not mosquitoes) that now frequent her yard, along with “praying mantises, garden spiders and lots of caterpillars. It’s just made the whole yard come alive.”

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Some stormwater issues are so immense that a homeowner alone can’t fix them. Instead, they require communitywide cooperation, like the project that resulted from the collaboration of The Carolyn Condominium in Silver Spring, the downhill Mississippi Avenue residents, the Friends of Sligo Creek and the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

The tipping point for Benjamin “Sky” Brandt occurred in 2018, when storms caused water to seep into his family’s basement, which had been resealed earlier. His neighbors had been complaining for years about the flooding in their street, yards and homes, so Brandt decided to “follow the water.” He traced its flow uphill to two 30-foot black pipes pointed toward his street and fed by the large roof and two parking lots of The Carolyn Condominium. “People don’t realize exactly how much water there is when it rains on every square foot. It adds up really fast,” he says. After taking videos and photos, Brandt invited the Friends of Sligo Creek, the Montgomery County Department of

Environmental Protection and neighbors to his home for a presentation.

Brandt took “compelling videos of the flooding,” says Kit Gage, interim president of the Friends of Sligo Creek, who estimates seven houses were impacted. Brandt and Gage contacted The Carolyn Condomin-

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Congregants of the IMAAM Center in Silver Spring installed a native plant garden in 2022.

ium board, which “didn’t know there was a problem, and that’s typical. It’s not a blame thing whatsoever,” says Gage, who helped the condominium board obtain a demonstration watershed restoration grant for the project through the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The board supported the project.

Installed in 2019 on condominium property, the conservation landscape designed by Backyard Bounty redirects and absorbs much of the water from one of the parking lots. “The idea is you capture that water when it’s uphill and soak it into the ground,” Gage says. The conservation garden alone, however, couldn’t handle all the flow. The runoff from the roof and other parking lot still needed to be addressed, and the COVID pandemic had just started. To get that second project—a planned rain garden in the condo building's backyard— off the ground, Brandt and Gage had to apply for another grant, convince a new condo board, and find an available contractor, which was difficult in 2020.

Once the board realized the greater extent of the problem and that the potential fix had funding from the Chesapeake

Bay Trust, they “were really interested in it because it helps to beautify the property,” says April Scott, then the board president. “We have a large backyard mostly used by dog walkers, and the garden just beautifies the space. It wasn’t a tough sell.”

Installed in the summer of 2022 by Millersville-based Environmental Quality Resources, the rain garden required an underdrain and underground storage unit to slow the water’s downhill rush. Scott appreciates the piles of paperwork and the legwork done by Brandt and Gage, and now enjoys the “busy exercise” of the condo’s green team, which oversees the garden. “That’s definitely something I have enjoyed, the teamwork, the collaboration between neighbors who wouldn’t usually know each other,” Scott says.

“In the beginning, everybody was probably just seeing it as their own issue,” says Brandt’s neighbor Paula Miller. “The project is a great example of how individuals and organizations can work together to solve these big problems.” Miller

helps with the condo rain garden weeding. And Brandt has installed five DIY rain gardens on his property.

While rain gardens have become more popular, some people still harbor misconceptions. “Can my child swim in it? Can I put lily pads in it?” Schweitzer says her clients have asked, not understanding that the shallow ponding (usually 6 inches at most) typically lasts less than 48 hours. Correctly installed rain gardens include an overflow notch that drains into river rock, a second

Native perennials like purple coneflower and phlox lure a bevy of birds, bees and beneficial insects to the Onders' Bethesda rain garden.

“THAT’S DEFINITELY SOMETHING I HAVE ENJOYED...COLLABORATION BETWEEN NEIGHBORS.”

–APRIL SCOTT OF THE CAROLYN CONDOMINIUM

rain garden on a lower terrace, or conservation landscaping. Quick drainage eliminates mosquito breeding, another common fear.

Some homeowners might worry that rain gardens are messy or muddy, but Bethesda resident Cindy Onder says her rain garden “is the complete opposite.” When she and her husband, Nick, rebuilt their home in 2017, their landscaper at the time installed a rain garden that turned out to be too sparse. In 2019, they hired Mattei to make it fuller and lusher. “It’s so beautiful, ...and I like that I’m doing a good thing for the environment,” Onder says.

To obtain a rebate, RainScapes requires that applicants use 75% native plant species, but many, like Hinton-Miller, aim for 100% to support biodiversity while simultaneously addressing stormwater issues.

Naomi Edelson, senior director of wildlife partnerships at the National Wildlife Federation, came to view religious congregations, which often have lots of lawned acreage, as contributors to local stormwater issues and potential solutions. In 2014, the Takoma Park resident founded a national program within the federation called Sacred Grounds that’s designed to persuade congregations “to play a leading role in replacing their lawn or putting in native plants for wildlife habitat to help people and wildlife,” she says. “They have both large acreage and the ability to reach a lot of people. ... We’re working with the concept of caring for creation.”

Edelson’s rabbi, Fred Dobb of Adat Shalom in Bethesda, first had the idea to add conservation landscaping to the congregation’s property in 2012, which led to a connection with the RainScapes program and a rebate. “All of the projects we now do in the DMV have a stormwater link,” Edelson says. One of Sacred Grounds’ latest and largest projects, funded by the National Wildlife Federation and the Chesapeake Bay Trust, was with the IMAAM Center mosque in Silver Spring.

For interested congregations, Sacred Grounds offers informational sessions about stormwater and supporting wildlife. “People do not realize the connection with their own homes and the health of the creeks or rivers nearby,” Edelson says. While they might feel that they can’t

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make much of a difference alone, “the congregation model really works. People are doing it together and see that they will add up to having an impact.”

Congregants who attend the sessions receive a starter kit of three to six free native plants for their yard, and Sacred Grounds supplies the native plants for installations on congregation property.

In the spring of 2022, the IMAAM Center hired a contractor to dig out an 80-by20-foot-long and 2-foot-deep area that had a lot of compacted gravel. The congregants amended the planting area with richer soil and compost. (Due to easement issues, the mosque wasn’t able to apply for a RainScapes rebate, but it received Chesapeake Bay Trust and Sacred Grounds support.) Once the space was ready, more than 30 volunteers planted hundreds of native plants. Their conservation landscaping captures runoff from a parking lot and nearby Georgia Avenue. The mosque plans to apply for a RainScapes rebate to transform another piece of their land.

Currently working with over 15 congregations in the DMV and 70 in total, Edelson hopes to connect with churches and encourage them to consider rain gardens and conservation landscaping.

“Government agencies are at a point where if we don’t do it at home and on our congregation grounds, they can’t get past

where they are” in dealing with intensifying stormwater runoff issues, Edelson says. “It’s our job to help, and people really have responded to that concept.”

Amy Brecount White, an Arlington regional master naturalist, practices conservation landscaping in her own front and back yards.

Congregants hold trays of native plants for conservation landscaping on the grounds of the IMAAM Center in Silver Spring.

PHOTO COURTESY IMAAM CENTER

MO A CONVERSATION WITH F ROCCA

THE BETHESDA NATIVE ON THE ART OF COMEDY, RELISHING THE OBITUARY BEAT AND STARRING IN A MUSICAL WITH KETANJI BROWN JACKSON (YES, THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE)

BY MIKE UNGER | ILLUSTRATION BY GEL JAMLANG

or most people, it’s a question that requires only a one- or two-word response: What do you do for a living? For Mo Rocca, the answer is more complicated.

Rocca has been a regular correspondent on CBS Sunday Morning for more than a decade, reporting on topics ranging from the worst president in history (James Buchanan, pretty much everyone agrees, or at least they once did) to the scourge of workplace meetings. He also hosts the television show The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation, and can be heard on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

Let’s pause for a moment to gather our breath.

He is the creator and host of the acclaimed podcast Mobituaries, on which he recounts people and things often forgotten by history. (Marlene Dietrich; Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy; and dragons have been among the subjects of his verbal autopsies.) Its third season debuted in October as a No. 1 history series on Apple Podcasts. He’s also an author who wrote a book of Mobituaries and another on presidents and their pets. He has appeared on Broadway, was a correspondent for The Daily Show, and this year acted in a guest role on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.

“Restless” might be a good word to describe Rocca, who was born at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. Words were always big in the Bethesda house where he grew up: His father, Marcel X. “Jack” Rocca, was the founder and president of Transemantics, a company based around language and education; his mother, Maria Luisa “Tini” Rocca, was the registrar at a subsidiary of that, the International Language Institute. Young Mo was obsessed with reading the World Book Encyclopedia and once started a gossip magazine with a friend at Thomas W. Pyle Middle School. He graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School and went on to major in English lit at Harvard, where he served as president of the university’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

So yes, Mo Rocca has always had something to say.

“It sounds kind of precious, but I knew that I wanted to tell stories in some capacity. I was always a news junkie. I remember seeing the movie The Killing Fields. Not a comedy,” he says of the 1984 film depicting the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. “I remember thinking, Do I want to be the guy playing the character, or do I want to be the character who’s a journalist? It is a kind of a performance when you’re reporting a story. You’re trying to connect with an audience.”

Connect he has. Since starting on The Daily Show in 1998, Rocca has appealed to audiences of varied ages, cultural sensibilities and political persuasions. Perhaps that’s because he explores overlooked and underappreciated subjects, such as how bananas make their way from Central America to our breakfast tables, or the death of the station wagon. A Mo Rocca story is usually equal parts informative, entertaining and impactful, often with a dash of whimsy and a pun or two thrown in. He displayed those same characteristics during the hour we spent speaking with him in early May via Zoom from his apartment in New York City, where he’s lived for 25 years. (Now that he no longer has family living in this area, he says he doesn’t get back to visit as often as he’d like to.) The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

What do you like about living in New York, and what, if anything, drives you crazy about it? The noise is starting to drive me a little crazy. But I like that in any moment I can walk out onto the street and see people and be part of something. I know there have been songs written about New York being a lonely place—it doesn’t feel that way to me.

What are some of your best memories from growing up in Bethesda? I heard you mention your fondness for Shakey’s Pizza in an interview once. I loved Shakey’s. I loved going to Farrell’s for ice cream. My best friend growing up lived a stone’s throw away. I have great memories of playing with him and the weird things that we would do. At one point I took a crossing guard sash, and we set up a traffic stop on the corner of Kirkwood and Jordan to do a survey about what people thought about Roy Rogers restaurant.

For a time, I went to Wood Acres Elementary, and I just loved it. I went back there to do an episode of my podcast and I interviewed my fifth grade teacher, who I loved.

[Another memory is] doing theater for the first time with BAPA [Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts]. It was a brand-new operation run by two amazing women, Marcia Smith and Bonnie Fogel, who changed my life. Marcia had been on an actual soap opera [As the World Turns], which was impossibly exciting. …Marcia, Bonnie and BAPA [now known as Imagination Stage] taught me to love theater and to value my talent.

COURTESY

PHOTO; PHOTO BY GETTY

Mo Rocca interviews former President Bill Clinton and writer James Patterson about a book they co-authored.

I have to ask you the requisite ‘This is on your Wikipedia page, but is it true?’ question: While at Harvard, did you play Seymour in a production of Little Shop of Horrors that co-starred Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson?

Yeah, she’s amazing. I really love her. And I was a really good Seymour.

Was she a good actor?

Yeah, and she’s a great singer. We were in the same improv troupe for two or three years. I was the lead [in Little Shop], and it was kind of a lot of pressure. I could feel her rooting me on and really supporting me. She’s an extraordinarily warm person and really funny. I still remember how it felt to have somebody like that really wanting you to be good.

You started out as a writer and producer for such children’s shows as Wishbone and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. Why children’s shows?

That’s what I was offered. I had a friend who developed Wishbone, which was a great show. I was a graduation speaker at Sarah Lawrence [College] a few years ago, and I mentioned the different things I’d done. That got the biggest reaction. It was really a boot camp for me. In retrospect, it was the perfect training ground. We were taking classic books, and we were distilling them to half-hour versions for kids through the eyes of a dog. It was like a writing exercise concocted by an English teacher on acid. It really forced you to learn what about these books connected with an audience and how to retell it in a dynamic way to keep a kid’s attention.

Your big break that brought you from behind the cameras to in front of them was appearing on The Daily Show. How did you land that gig?

I was very interested in quirky, marginalized presidential history. I started, on my own nickel, going around the country visiting the homes and grave sites of the presidents you can’t remember. The guys between Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. The first one I went to was Benjamin Harrison. It just felt like a vein that hadn’t been tapped by anyone else. I just found it really interesting to meet the people who worked at these places. If you’re working at Monticello or Hyde Park, people are already in awe the minute they walk in. But when you work at the Rutherford B. Hayes House in Fremont, Ohio, you’ve really got to sell people. So I started collecting these stories and I tried to sell them as print pieces, and I couldn’t sell them. I met a guy who, at the Warren G. Harding House in Marion, Ohio, would dress up as [Warren’s wife] Florence Harding to give tours of the house. It wasn’t a shticky drag queen act. He was a really good Florence Harding. I met an agent who said, ‘You

ABOUT MO ROCCA

AGE: 54

FROM: Bethesda

LIVES IN: New York City

COLLEGE: Bachelor’s degree in English literature from Harvard University

OCCUPATION: Correspondent on The Daily Show from 1998-2003; panelist on Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! since 2002; CBS Sunday Morning correspondent since 2011; host of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation since 2014; host of the podcast Mobituaries since 2019

PARTNER: Alberto Robaina, since 2016

should be on The Daily Show.’ I went, again on my own nickel, to prepare for an interview, [to] Greeneville, Tennessee, at the home of Andrew Johnson. It was during the Clinton impeachment crisis. I thought, Why don’t I look at how the hometown of our first impeached president commemorates him for clues to how Clinton might be looked at in Hope, Arkansas, in a hundred years? I think Madeleine Smithberg, who was the executive producer—this is right before Jon Stewart came on—was impressed that I would go to such lengths. The first two pieces I did with The Daily Show were the Andrew Johnson piece and the Florence Harding piece.

Did you learn anything about politics in this country during your time at The Daily Show?

Rocca in New York City in 2020

It was around the time the Whitewater investigation was going on. Things were starting to get really nasty. [But] they’ve been nasty since the beginning of the republic. …I think I really learned the power of a kind of irony and disparity between what a person says and what they do. That’s the sweet spot—that’s where the funny is. Politicians saying something and doing the exact opposite. Culture war stuff and personality stuff is more television-friendly, it’s more comedyfriendly, but it ignores the really big issues. The reason The Daily Show was never a substitute for news is we were spending all our time on the stuff that was personality-driven. Stuff that really matters, like entitlement reform, doesn’t make for good comedy.

Your book All the Presidents’ Pets came out in 2004. What do presidents’ pets tell us about them?

I always thought it was amusing that so many of the presidents, in a weird way, match their pets in personality. I’m a Teddy Roosevelt fan, and among his 36 pets he had a one-legged rooster, and his kids built a little crutch for the rooster. I loved that. Of course, I love that Taft had a cow.

Where did your fascination with obituaries originate?

My father had it. When we grew up, there were two daily newspapers, The Washington Post and The Washington Star. I do remember my father saying, ‘Oh boy, the obituaries is my favorite section of the paper.’ It was not grim or ghoulish; my father was a

very optimistic person. I think he liked them because it’s such a great form of storytelling. I think invariably you kind of compare yourself. Competitive obituary reading. ‘My god, he accomplished all that by the time he was 25? Oh great, he went to prison when he was 32!’

I’ve been doing this a long time, and I think I’ve learned how to identify a format that has legs precisely because of its limits. An obituary has been a good way for me to tell stories, not just about people, but about objects, foods, countries, teams. There’s a really attractive simplicity to it for me.

In an interview with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show, you said that obituaries should be the one place in journalism where the rule of thumb should be giving people the benefit of the doubt. I found that interesting. Why do you feel that way? It’s more than an issue of being tasteful. I would amend it to say, “erring on the side of generosity,” because life is hard. I think listing the flaws in a person’s character or the mistakes that they made can oftentimes miss the point of their life. Look, Harry Belafonte died the same week as Jerry Springer. I don’t think it’s appropriate to simply say, ‘Both were great.’ I met Jerry Springer a couple of times. He was very nice. He gave me a very nice compliment when he saw me on CNN, and I like people who like me.

That’s a good quality in a person. It’s my favorite quality in a person [laughs]. We have to be proportional. One person was a groundbreaker and dedicated his life to civil rights, and the other person had an audience.

What’s the difference between an obituary and a Mobituary?

A Mobituary is what gets me in the gut. It’s someone or something that I think deserves another look or an appreciation that they or it never got. I have learned that if I am interested in something and I really throw myself into it, there’s a good chance that I can make other people interested in it. I’d like to make you interested in something that you never thought you’d be interested in.

I liked doing John Denver because critics were so mean to him and people loved him, and that to me is really interesting. The audience isn’t stupid. I wanted to understand what the audience was responding to.

When I used to go around doing slideshows of forgotten presidents and their homes and grave sites,

PHOTO BY GETTY; PHOTO BY TERENCE PATRICK/CBS; PHOTO COURTESY MOBITUARIES.COM

Rocca (right) with TV host A.J. Gibson at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2019 in Pasadena, California

I got a lot of satisfaction out of it because I’m pretty sure that a lot of the kids that would come to my shows, if they knew what I was going to talk about wouldn’t have showed up. And they were entertained. That’s given me a lot of satisfaction, making people interested in things they didn’t expect to be interested in.

One thing I learned from my boss at CBS Sunday Morning is the importance of mix. You want people to enjoy a story, but you want them to pull out and appreciate that one kind of story is followed by another. Surprise is also very important to me. A topic that sounds like it’s going to be fun and light and breezy ends up being surprisingly interesting. The death of sitcom characters—I had Henry Winkler and Sandy Duncan on for that—it’s fun, it’s sugary, but it also becomes about suspension of disbelief.

To flip it around, I like taking a subject like Reconstruction that sounds like, Oh my gosh, am I back in AP history? and then make it go down really easy. It’s a balance. It can’t be too heavy-duty, but I also don’t want it all to be light and breezy.

When did you join CBS Sunday Morning? I think 2006 was my first commentary, and then I

became a regular correspondent in 2011. The thing about doing commentaries is, I ran out of opinions.

That doesn’t stop a lot of people on TV, though. It does not. Washington is the cradle of meaningless opinions. There is no recession when it comes to the opinion industry.

Montgomery County

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Window-washing on CBS Sunday Morning

What’s the common thread or approach to the selection of topics and the way the stories are reported that makes CBS Sunday Morning iconic?

I think people appreciate the length of the stories. That it takes its time, that it operates at its own rhythm. What I strive to do, I think any reporter does: to get people off of their talking points. To me, the most satisfying part of an interview, especially if it’s a luminary, is that moment, hopefully just a few minutes into the interview, when you see on their face something click, and they go, Oh, you’re listening to me.

I hope that the audience feels like they’re not getting something prepackaged. One of the great things for me about being on The Daily Show is I spent the whole time making fun of reporters and the cliches of reporting and the annoying cadence of reporters, and so it’s almost like I inoculated myself against that. So when I actually became a reporter, if I ever hear that creep into my voice I say, ‘Stop it!’

I know that when I hear my voice on tape, it always sounds funky and weird to me. What’s it like when you see yourself on television?

I like seeing myself unless I look like crap. I actually do think…well, I’ll just say it: I think I’m pretty good looking. Sometimes I’ll see myself and I’ll be like, ‘Wow, you’re pretty good looking.’ I think it’s good that I don’t recognize that all the time.

Has doing Mobituaries changed your thoughts or feelings about life and death? Absolutely. Absolutely. I think what’s it done, and maybe aging would have done this anyway, is it just makes me evaluate choices. I think when you’re in your 20s, you throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. If given a choice—sometimes you’re not given a choice, a job is a job—but if given a choice, I’ll ask myself, Is this really worth my time? Is this what I want to devote myself to? I think spending time with obituaries is good for everyone. Spending time with Mobituaries is even better.

Private School After Divorce: Who Pays?

The primary focus during a divorce is maintaining stability for the children. Ensuring that a child continues to enjoy the familiarity rooted in his or her school community can be an important benefit.

Hopefully, divorcing parents can agree on whether or not their kids will remain in or attend private school and how those costs will be allocated. However, if they cannot agree, it is a component of child support (until age 18 in most cases), and therefore is a question that the court can decide for them.

The court considers the following factors:

• The child’s educational history;

• The child’s performance while in private school;

• Family history of attending private or public school;

• Any factor impacting the child’s best interest;

• Perhaps most importantly, the parents’ ability to pay.

Even if the first four factors weigh heavily in favor of private school, the court will not likely order it if the divorcing parents don’t have the resources to pay for it. When there are resources, the court may decide that the expenses should be paid in proportion to the parents’ adjusted actual income.

By contrast, payment of college education expenses must be negotiated, and cannot be ordered by the court unless already agreed upon by the divorcing parties.

MONICA G. HARMS Principal Family Law

Mike Unger is a writer and editor who grew up in Montgomery County and lives in Baltimore.

Monica G. Harms is a family law attorney. She focuses her practice not only on divorce but also on matters such as custody, support, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, alimony, property distribution, adoptions, and guardianships.

2023 Short Story & Essay Contest

Words Winning

The short stories and essays that took the top prizes in our annual writing competition

Bethesda Magazine and the Bethesda Urban Partnership sponsor an annual competition for local writers. This year, 155 adults and high school students entered the short story contest, and 189 adults and high school students entered the essay contest. The writers who placed in the contests were awarded cash prizes ranging from $50 to $500. The work of the first-place winners appears on the pages that follow. Check out the runners-up at moco360.media and bethesda.org.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARD SU

Adult Essay Winner

Perspective

By Cecilia Ferrara

“Are you going to make it to the appointment tomorrow?” I ask my dad, who is hidden beneath a paper mask and hospital gown. His left hand, which has been squeezing my right, tightens. “I have to!” he exclaims, almost offended I asked. “If I don’t, I’ll be a dead man.” His eyes dart to the ceiling as he kicks his legs like a child underneath the blue-gray blanket covering him from the waist down. “I don’t want to be a dead man.”

I nod and squeeze his hand so hard it seems they might melt together. My eyes glaze over; I don’t want him to see me cry. He has already told me the worst part of his illness is not the debilitating pain, loss of appetite and energy—or, worst of all, his independence—but the anxiety his condition is causing my sister and me.

It’s only been two weeks since we found out his cancer had spread to his lymph nodes; only six since they’d found cancer at all. He didn’t want me to be on the televisit with the oncologist, so I listened from another room and heard only snippets, such as chemotherapy would be too hard...immunotherapy...30% chance of success.

“Let me go find an ATM so I can give you money to get home,” I finally say. My mom, happy for a break in the hallway, told me the medical taxi they use is $7—cash only—and I only have $5. I step out of the room and pull the curtain closed behind me.

A kind nurse who spotted me in the lobby and took me to my dad sees me and asks what I need. After I explain, she tells me to follow her, and we wordlessly make our way through hallways and double doors until we arrive at an elevator that takes us up three floors. She waits as I retrieve a $20 bill, then calls for the elevator so we can make

our way back downstairs.

“So, they’re letting him go home?” She asks this gently, trying to mask her surprise. “Yes,” I reply. “He has cancer, and he needs treatment. He’s just in pain today…that’s why he’s here.”

“Good,” she replies, offering a small smile. “That’s good.”

What I won’t realize until later is that this nurse already knows what I don’t: that my dad won’t—can’t—get better. That his illness is too advanced; untreatable…and he will be back here again—first on her floor and then upstairs—then at another hospital, and another. That sooner than any of us think, and against the bravery and strength he has exuded since I was a child, my dad will be a dead man.

But I don’t know that yet; not any of it. So as I exit the elevator and walk back to give my parents the money, I am grateful for her kindness, which allows him to get home safely for at least tonight.

WHAT SHE DOES: Associate director of education for a local nonprofit

FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE: “My sundrenched dining room table—I love to look out into the yard while I write.”

FAVORITE AUTHOR: Elizabeth Strout

HOW SHE GOT THE IDEA FOR THIS ESSAY: It came from one specific evening in the ER with her beloved father. “During such

a traumatic time, I was touched by the nurse’s kindness, which was punctured by her surprise that my dad was allowed to go home. It’s universal—to not realize something until it’s too late—some more painful than others.”

UP NEXT: “I plan to continue processing my grief through writing. I am also working on my first novel, which explores complicated family dynamics.”

ADULT ESSAY WINNER

Cecilia Ferrara

Lives in: Rockville

Age: 36

Adult Short Story Winner

The Ache

By Eve Cantler

The fertility clinic was too white. White walls, white lights, white furniture. The only color came from the plethora of baby photos that peppered the walls, evidence that this clinic got results. Julien sat in one of the white pleather armchairs, waiting to be ushered into an exam room where they would take her blood and do an ultrasound of her ovaries, checking to see if the hormones were doing their job and her eggs were ready to be harvested. Every time she moved, the squeaking chair announced her presence to the whole waiting room, which currently included a gum-smacking receptionist and a young couple perched on the love seat across from Julien. They looked too young to be here, too young to have tried and failed enough times to need this level of intervention. Too young to have enough money for fertility treatments. Didn’t this cost like tens of thousands of dollars? Julien was barely able to pay rent each month, and these people could pour all that money down the drain just because they wanted to make a new baby instead of giving a home to one of the millions of kids without parents who already existed?

Julien felt a sudden wave of anger rise up inside her. Could this couple be her match? Was this woman taking the hormones that would prepare her uterus to carry the child that would come from Julien’s egg? Was this man steeling himself to walk into an empty room with a cup and a magazine? Would his physical features be mashed together with her own in a child that this other woman would bear? These people couldn’t be any older than she was. Who were they to raise her child? Who were they to believe themselves deserving of this gift?

But then, it wasn’t her child, not really. And it wasn’t a gift, either. They talked about it like it was, all the people at the clinic. They told Julien how kind she was to do this for an unknown couple, how much it would mean to them. What they didn’t talk about was the $12,000 this mystery couple was paying Julien for her trouble.

Julien eyed the rings on the woman’s finger. The wedding band was simple, but the engagement ring was gaudy. Julien hated gaudy engagement rings, and she hated women who wore them. Especially after they were married. Everyone was

getting engaged these days, it seemed. Julien’s whole Instagram feed was overflowing with peripheral friends waving their newly adorned fingers at the camera. Julien still felt too young for that. Marriage. Wife. They were such big words. Grown-up words. She’d been in a relationship for three years and still she couldn’t picture him down on one knee asking her a big, grown-up question like that. So maybe she imagined it sometimes, played out the scenario in her head. But that was just a game of make-believe. It wasn’t real life.

She told people she didn’t want it, said marriage was stupid and patriarchal. And she did believe that. White dresses? Like anyone was a virgin these days. And the father giving the bride to another man? The whole thing was creepy and outdated. But that didn’t stop her from watching proposal videos on YouTube. Or slipping her ring off her index finger and onto the ring finger of her left hand. Sometimes. Just to see what it looked like.

The woman reached her hand toward the man, without looking at him. Silently, he took it in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were nervous. Whatever they were here for, whether it was Julien’s eggs or a consultation, or whatever, they were nervous. And Julien was being a judgmental assh---. She bit her lip and pulled her gaze away from the couple. It wasn’t their fault if they were more settled than she was, more adult. They probably owned a home and had careers instead of resumes that were dotted with six-month gigs here and there. Maybe they did deserve these eggs more than Julien did.

“Are we decent?” the nurse asked, knocking on the door.

“Come in,” Julien replied, rolling her eyes as she buttoned her jeans.

Julien put her hand to her abdomen. It felt foreign and swollen, pressed uncomfortably against the stiff denim of her high-waisted jeans. Yes, she was very ready to be done with all this. She nodded and followed him out the door.

She hated this pretend respect for her privacy as though this woman hadn’t just watched a doctor stick a wand up Julien’s vagina.

“Everything looks great,” the nurse informed her, entering the room. “The doctor says we’re ready to go for tomorrow, so you’ll take the trigger shot at exactly 8 o’clock tonight. You know which one is the trigger shot?”

Julien nodded, fighting to keep the frustration out of her face. Everyone was so goddamn patronizing here. Julien was closer to 30 than she was 20. She hated being spoken to like she was a child.

“OK, good. And have you ever been under general anesthesia before?”

“Yes,” Julien told her. “The last time I donated eggs.”

“Oh, well then, you know how it goes,” the nurse said with a smile.

But Julien saw the tension at the corners of her mouth, saw the hint of judgment in her eyes. Donate once and people think you’re this great philanthropist, out there giving wealthy people the babies they deserve. Donate twice, though, and you become a repeat offender. They assume you don’t want children of your own, that all you care about in this world is cash. They look at you like you’re livestock, not a person. It’s like with every egg you give them, they take a part of your personhood, too.

“Yeah, I’m a pro,” Julien said, matching the nurse’s fake smile.

“OK, well, you are all set then. And we will see you here bright and early tomorrow morning. Do you have someone to pick you up? You won’t be allowed to drive yourself home.”

Again, with the patronizing bulls---. Like they hadn’t already told her this 17 times. Like she hadn’t just told this nurse it wasn’t her first rodeo.

“My boyfriend,” Julien said.

She caught the quick flash of surprise in the nurse’s face. Everyone always assumed Julien must be single if she was doing this. What did they think, that no one would let their partner sell potential future children? That donating eggs was just for wannabe spinsters?

“Great,” the nurse said, pulling her face back into an empty smile. “We’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See you tomorrow,” Julien echoed, her own face mimicking the nurse’s. “Bright and early.”

Julien cupped the mug of coffee between her hands, surveying his naked body, half covered by the crumpled sheets. The heat seeped through the ceramic mug into the soft skin of her palms. She watched as the breath moved in and out of his body, the thin sheet moving with him. She set the mug down on the nightstand on his side of the bed. She wasn’t allowed to eat or drink before the surgery this morning. Carefully, very carefully, she pulled the sheet back, revealing the full nakedness of him. She did this sometimes, studied him. She wanted to trace her fingers along his body, wanted to follow the lines of each muscle, explore every crack and crevice. She wanted to know him completely.

They were often naked as they moved around the apartment. Sometimes when he bent over, maybe to pick something up, or stretch a muscle, she would catch a glimpse of his asshole, winking seductively at her. She was fairly certain it was the single part of his body she had never touched. She wasn’t particularly sure that she wanted to touch it, not in a real, physical sense. But the way it teased her felt unbearable. A reminder that they were two separate beings, that parts of him would always be unknowable to her.

He moaned and shifted. With a sigh, Julien pulled her eyes from his body and her thoughts from his anus and turned instead to the floor-to-ceiling window. The street below was quiet. It was early. The city still slept. Across from her was another building, also made of glass and steel apartments stacked one on top of the other, also with floor-to-ceiling windows. Julien knew her nakedness was on full display for her neighbors across the street. She was not by nature an exhibitionist, but she did feel a sense of stubbornness about her right to be nude in her own home. In some small way she felt that by exerting this basic right she was sticking it to the idiot developers who built glass buildings meant for habitation so close together, so open. She was sullying their glistening ideals with the pornographic humanity of her naked body.

Finally, accepting that she had run out the clock on sunrise self-reflection, Julien turned to him. “Time to get up,” she said softly.

He said nothing but reached out a hand and playfully shoved her away from him. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the head. He let out a happy moan.

“I made you coffee,” she told him, turning toward her dresser.

“You’re too good to me,” he said, still not moving.

“I know,” she agreed. “Can you be ready to walk out the door in 10 minutes?”

He shot up from the bed and wrapped his arms around her tight, kissing her sloppily on the cheek. “Ten minutes it is.”

She laughed and shoved him away. “Get dressed and drink your coffee.”

The coffee was still steaming. He picked up the mug and took a big swig. Julien would never have been able to do that. Her tongue had no tolerance for heat. He took another big gulp and then grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Julien began to dress herself. She had gained weight recently. Or, she had recently noticed that she’d gained weight. The weight, it seemed, had crept up on her slowly, and now her jeans hugged her hips and thighs slightly more than was comfortable but not enough to move up a size. She wasn’t sure how much of it was related to the hormones and how much was just a matter of getting older and softer.

She pulled the jeans over her belly, sore from the nightly injections over the last week. She had alternated between left and right side each night, hoping to spread out the discomfort rather than focus it to one spot. She didn’t fully understand how she could safely insert a needle so far into herself, did not know how far in it really went. Where did the skin end and the muscle begin? And her ovaries? How far beneath the surface were they?

She could feel them as she zipped the jeans. They were engorged, filled to the brim with follicles that were now headed into her uterus for the doctor to remove in just a couple of hours. She pulled on a T-shirt, and then, changing her mind, swapped it for one of his. It was his high school band shirt. It was oversized on her and worn with age. It made her feel safe.

“Great shirt,” he said with a grin when he popped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and rubbing his wet hair vigorously with a towel. He started every day with a two-minute rinse. It was a level of discipline Julien didn’t even bother aspiring to. “You ready?” he asked.

Julien put her hand to her abdomen. It felt foreign and swollen, pressed uncomfortably against the stiff denim of her high-waisted jeans. Yes, she was very ready to be done with all this. She nodded and followed him out the door.

Adult Essay Runners-Up

SECOND PLACE: Krysten Jenci, Chevy Chase

THIRD PLACE: Elizabeth Minihan, Woodbridge, Virginia

HONORABLE MENTION: Tina M. MWP, Rockville

HONORABLE MENTION: Thu Nguyen, Gaithersburg

HONORABLE MENTION: Carol Solomon, Montgomery Village

Adult Short Story Runners-Up

SECOND PLACE: Caroline Wellbery, Bethesda

THIRD PLACE: Elisabeth Schmeissner, Bethesda

HONORABLE MENTION: Perry Beamer, Takoma Park

HONORABLE MENTION: Susie Chen, Potomac

HONORABLE MENTION: Brandyn Pantano, Gaithersburg

The last thing she remembered before going under was the anesthesiologist placing the mask on her face and telling her to count backward from 10. Everything went black before she hit four.

After the blackness, there was Abigail, her college roommate, having an abortion right there in their dorm room.

Before that, before Abigail, Julien hadn’t even known it worked like that. She’d thought abortion meant surgery. She hadn’t known about a pill. But Abigail had gone to Planned Parenthood and she’d come back with a pill.

She’d soaked the bedsheets in blood. And Julien had done nothing. She’d done worse than nothing. She had stayed away, stopping in the room only for essentials. What do you say to someone whose body is in the process of ripping apart and expelling fetal tissue in the middle of your shitty little shared room?

When Abigail had missed her period, Julien had told her not to worry, people missed their periods all the time. Except that Julien never had. Not once. Since that very first day she’d started to bleed in the middle of her seventh grade math class, her cycles had been eerily regular. Always she bled for four days, always 28 days apart.

The first time Abigail threw up, Julien had told her it was just the dining hall food, those eggs would make anyone sick. Except that Julien hadn’t thrown up. Julien didn’t feel suddenly and overwhelmingly nauseated by the smells that surrounded them. And when Abigail had said she was going to buy a pregnancy test, Julien had laughed it off, telling her she was being paranoid, but if it would make her feel better to know for certain…

But why? Why had Julien been so in denial? Why had she ignored the obvious signs, forcing her certainty on Abigail? Abigail who knew. Because Abigail had known It was happening to her body, and from the very start she had just known.

High School Essay Runners-Up

SECOND PLACE: Kiersten McClure, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School

THIRD PLACE: Luna Nash, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School

HONORABLE MENTION: Winnie Chan, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School

HONORABLE MENTION: Sophia Hall, Holton-Arms School

HONORABLE MENTION: Allison Xu, Walter Johnson High School

High School Short Story Runners-Up

SECOND PLACE: Allison Xu, Walter Johnson High School

THIRD PLACE: Meredith Abramson, Poolesville High School

HONORABLE MENTION: Olov Berg, Winston Churchill High School

HONORABLE MENTION: Sophia Hall, Holton-Arms School

HONORABLE MENTION: Dena Shao, Thomas

2023 Short Story & Essay Contest

Julien had taken a handful of pregnancy tests before. A couple in high school and one just the year before, when they were sophomores. They’d all come back negative. And somehow Julien had known they would. She had known the way Abigail had known they wouldn’t for her, had felt the absence where her friend had felt a presence. And, of course, she’d been relieved. Of course she had. Because if the minus had been a plus or there’d been two lines instead of one, what then? Then she would have been the one writhing in the twin bed and ruining her duvet. Because she wouldn’t have kept any of those babies. Couldn’t have. And yet, this small part of her had hoped, each and every time.

And then, as she’d watched Abigail bloody her sheets, Julien had felt it again. That ache. That intense desire to feel a life inside of her. But it was more than that. She wanted the life, yes, but in a deep, dark place she also knew that she wanted the loss. She wanted to feel what Abigail was feeling. Not the physical pain, but the feeling. The real, deep, pure, animal feeling.

She felt somehow that for her own sense of womanhood, losing a child was as important as bearing one. It pressed on her like an unexpressed gender identity, toying with her sense of self when she stared in the mirror for too long. It repulsed her, this jealousy she felt. This twisted desire to create and destroy within the confines of her uterus.

She had been cruel to Abigail afterward, for a time. Had made excuses not to spend time with her, had slept around to avoid having to return to the room at night, had dreamed of condoms tearing, her IUD letting her down.

She’d read that if you got pregnant with an IUD there was an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, a fetus growing outside of your uterus. This idea had disgusted and delighted Julien. The notion that her body could do something like that. How completely horrifying to think that her body not only had the capacity to grow life, but that it could do so in the inhospitable space outside her womb. In most cases, the embryo grows in one of the fallo-

pian tubes, but it could attach to the ovaries or somewhere else in the abdomen. She’d also read that ectopic pregnancies were almost never carried to term. Often, they ended in miscarriage, which sometimes caused life-threatening bleeding. If detected, the answer was clear-cut: abort.

These thoughts had plagued Julien in the days, weeks, months after Abigail’s abortion. Eventually, Julien had been able to make the thoughts go away. At the time, she’d thought she’d banished them from her brain. Now it seemed she had simply suppressed them, burying them deep in the fertile soil of her subconscious where they had rooted and now, nearly a decade later, burst forth in a blinding array of color as the anesthesia released its grasp on her.

Julien felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She blinked and, as the world came back to her, his face materialized, hovering just a few feet away. She started to sit up and he moved toward her, pulling her into him. He held her in his arms as the world settled back into place. The closeness of him, the smell of his skin, helped bring her back to the present. She nestled her head into the cavity below his Adam’s apple, tears still flowing freely and dampening his skin and the collar of his T-shirt. She longed to be closer, to be naked with him, skin pressed fully against skin, bodies melding together into one. He’d had this effect on her from the first time he’d pressed his lips to hers. She assumed this was what people meant when they talked about love.

“Why are you crying?” he asked her softly.

Julien shook her head, still pressed into him.

“I don’t know,” she lied, whispering into his neck.

The doctors had warned her that she would be extra fertile in the days following the procedure. It would take awhile for the hormone levels in her body to return to normal. Plus, she’d had to go off birth control. She had told him about the birth control and about not being allowed to have sex before the surgery because if she got pregnant then she couldn’t go through with the donation and she wouldn’t get paid. But she hadn’t mentioned anything about afterward. Hadn’t told him about her heightened fertility. Why was that?

And what if she got pregnant now? Would the answer seem as straightforward as it had been all those years ago? It was harder, now, to imagine a world of ectopic pregnancies, of miscarriages and abortions. She was older, had her first steady job, was in a committed relationship. What would he say if she gave him news like that? Would he tell her to end it? Would she agree? Or would he go out and buy her an expensive, gaudy ring to make an honest woman of her yet? Did people still do things like that? Get married over something like a baby? It seemed trivial compared to better health insurance or a green card.

She thought of the couple in the waiting room from the day before. Would that be them someday? Spending thousands on hormone injections instead of earning thousands from them? Julien had no reason to believe she had

WHAT SHE DOES: She gets paid to work as a contractor with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) while she pays to get her master’s in reading and literacy at the George Washington University.

FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE: “At my desk, while the cat snoozes on the windowsill in the afternoon sun.”

FAVORITE AUTHOR: “Tamora Pierce—and my favorite moment is when Alanna gets her period while she’s pretending to be a boy so she can train to be a knight.”

HOW SHE GOT THE IDEA FOR THIS STORY: “By letting my mind wander while I sat in the waiting room to donate eggs.”

UP NEXT: Finishing her first novel

any fertility issues. She knew for a fact that her eggs were plentiful. But she also knew their number was finite. And she’d just sold her second batch. She thought of the woman’s diamond ring and then of her own barren finger. She felt suddenly empty. An hour ago she had been full of ripe and ready eggs, resting in her uterus, ready to be harvested. And now they were gone and she would never get them back. She was overcome by the need to fill this void she had created in herself.

She pressed her lips to his, pulling him into a deep, desperate kiss. She wanted to tear his clothes off and climb on top of him right here on this hospital bed. She wanted to feel him deep inside her, wanted to fill herself with him. She wanted to put his love and loyalty to the test, wanted to make him prove himself. Wanted to hold the plastic pee stick between her fingers with wonder, wanted to put it in a pretty little box and present it to him over a home-cooked meal, candles burning between them on the table to set the mood.

He pulled away from the kiss. He reached up and wiped the tears from her cheek. “I love you so much,” he told her. “So much.” And he pressed his lips gently to her forehead.

And she loved him. And she loved their life together, their life of freedom.

“We can’t have sex for like another month,” Julien confessed, new tears quickly replacing the ones he’d cleaned away. “They said I should wait ’til I get my period again cause I’m still like extra fertile.”

“Oh,” he said, “well, that’s a bummer. But better safe than sorry, right?”

“Yeah,” Julien agreed, “better safe than sorry.”

She pulled away from him and turned to her pile of clothes, neatly folded on the table next to the bed. She took off her hospital gown. As she pulled his band T-shirt over her head, she wiped the fabric against her face, trying to erase the silent flow of tears.

It was better like this. Better to have told him. Better not knowing what that life would feel like inside her, what he would say or do. Better to let the question linger. To sit with the dull ache of desire rather than face the sharp sting of disappointment.

High School Essay Winner

Taking Back My Language

By Emily Rivera

When I started school, I didn’t know English. My parents only spoke to me in Spanish. In kindergarten, I’d walk into the classroom to hear a blur of voices and not understand a single word. I did what most kids in my situation do, stayed silent. This made matters worse. I can still remember my kindergarten teacher’s irritation, coupled with angry questions I assume were about my lack of participation. To him, I may have been silent, but my thoughts were anything but. I don’t understand you, repeated like a mantra in my brain. I was then placed in English for Speakers of Other Languages.

ESOL was painful, with trauma and insecurity in every corner of those classrooms. As time passed, I believed I had learned. The ESOL department, however, did not. My mom and I were fed up with me being taken out of regular class time to learn “to be” verbs, something I was proficient at, so she chose to take me out of ESOL, believing it was holding me back. This turned out to be a double-edged sword. Phrases such as “more better” remained ingrained in my everyday vocabulary and became my biggest insecurity. At least beforehand I had the excuse of not knowing English. Now I knew the language, I knew the rules, but my brain didn’t want to cooperate.

I felt vulnerable and looked for blame: The beloved language that was number one in my house but not number one elsewhere was my target. I’m ashamed to admit I tried to lose anything to do with Spanish. No longer would I hear “speak English” or “you’re saying it wrong.” My parents noticed and confronted me. I told them I didn’t care. My parents,

who spoke to me in Spanish 95% of the time. My parents, who raised me in their Salvadoran culture. I still remember what I said when they asked me why I didn’t care about our language: your language, not mine. I had consciously developed a hatred toward my identity.

In high school, I started taking Spanish for Spanish Speakers after my parents didn’t let me take French. I never had a class that showed me the importance and beauty of my language. I only heard that I needed to improve my English and forget my Spanish. These classes taught me to embrace my identity and culture. The hatred turned into pride and a desire to communicate, so I relearned Spanish. I’ve been able to tutor Spanish-speaking students and even became the first Spanish language editor for the newspaper in my high school’s history.

Now the student wants to become the teacher. School had been an area of self-doubt for so long, but I changed that. I broke this cycle of trauma and selfhatred within myself and got to the point where the subject I want to teach is English. I know I can do the same for other Spanish-speaking students. After all, English is my language too.

SCHOOL: Graduated from Albert Einstein High School in June; attending American University in the fall

FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE: “My living room with a telenovela playing in the background. Since it’s not in English, I don’t get distracted from the task at hand.”

FAVORITE AUTHOR: Julia Alvarez

HOW SHE GOT THE IDEA FOR THIS ESSAY: “It’s a shortened version of my college essay.”

UP NEXT: She’s writing a book of poems.

High School Short Story Winner

In the Guidance Counselor’s Office

By Claire Buchanan

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Ms. Rothschild clicks her acrylic nails on the keyboard. The sound is satisfying—sharp, clear, quick. She’s a fast typist.

“Sorry, honey. I’ll be done in just one second.”

“OK.”

Kate sits in the badly upholstered chair and twists her hair tie around her wrist. She wonders how quickly she can get out of here. When has Ms. Rothschild helped anyone, ever? She wonders what kind of horrible thing might’ve happened to her that possessed her to become a high school guid-

ance counselor. There’s a long-standing rumor that she had some kind of therapist license revoked for sleeping with a client, but Kate has no idea where it began.

“OK, I’m all done. Sooo…Kate…ahh.”

Kate sees the realization dawn in Ms. Rothschild’s eyes. A slightly disappointed, resigned look full of false sympathy that thinly veils a deep sense of scornful superiority. Kate’s familiar with it.

“So, there were some…uhh, pictures that made the rounds, I see.” Ms. Rothschild leans forward. Kate sighs internally. She won’t be getting out of here for a while.

“I have the utmost sympathy for you, Kate. This is something that no one should ever have to go through. I can’t even imagine how you must feel.”

“Yeah.”

“How do you feel?”

“I dunno. Angry, I guess. But, like, it’s fine. I’ve come to terms with it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just that there’s nothing anyone can really do about it now.”

“Is that how you feel? That nothing can improve the situation?”

“I didn’t say that at all. I just meant that I want to move on.”

“You know, Kate, this isn’t uncommon. I mean, I’ve seen plenty of girls in your situation before. It’s normal to feel distraught. It’s a huge betrayal of your privacy.”

“Were you an English major?”

“What?”

“Just your eagerness to insert words like distraught into everyday conversation. It has a very English-major vibe.”

Ms. Rothschild reminds herself not to take it personally. She’s seen plenty of surly teenagers in her office over the years. She was one of them herself once. Just a girl, until suddenly she was not. Young, until she was catapulted into adulthood.

She remembers her own girlhood and the man who stole it from her. How do you define becoming a woman if not by losing being a girl?

“Kate, I understand this is difficult for you—”

“Can I go?”

“You’ve barely been here five minutes.”

“Can’t you just tell the school we had a great conversation and leave it at that? I don’t want to talk about this. I just want everybody to forget this even happened.”

“That makes sense.”

“So can I go?”

“Kate, let me tell you a story.”

Jesus Christ. She’s never wanted to be in math class more.

He had just had his 25th birthday, I think. And he came home to celebrate, and he brought this friend with him. Charming guy. Great smile. My parents loved him. They thought he was just brilliant. It was kind of funny because it was supposed to be my brother’s birthday, and there he was, this random friend we’d never met at the dinner table dominating the whole conversation. But it never felt like he was controlling anything, because he’d give you this private little smile that made you feel like there was some kind of joke that only you and he were in on. It was sort of like that look your dad gives you when your mom says something so ridiculous, about upholstery or laundry or something uncool like that. And years later, you hate yourself for those looks, but they made you feel so special, like some upgraded, modern, special woman. That was how he always made me feel.”

Ms. Rothschild shuffles the papers on her desk, unable to meet Kate’s eyes. Suddenly it seems as if they are both teenage girls sitting there together.

“And I was just in love with him, of course. I would’ve given anything for him to smile at me. And he did! He’d tell a story and be looking at me the whole time. I felt like I’d been chosen for something great. Seriously, it was like God was smiling down on me or something. I realize that’s maybe hyperbolic, but it was how I felt. I just worshipped him. But, I mean, I never thought it would go anywhere. After all, I was in high school and he was this sophisticated, cool adult. I was a girl and he was a man, you know? I was a girl and he was a man. And then there was this one night. My parents had gone to bed hours before, my brother had gone to see some of his high school friends, and it was just him and me in the backyard. He brought this bottle of vodka. I remember it because I’d never had vodka. I’d just had some beer at parties…sips of

“When I was about your age, my brother was just out of college.

The only other time she’s told this story was the night she arrived at college, when she and her roommates went around the room and unburdened the stories their families could never know. What a horrible little ritual, but it had made her feel so much less lonely.

my parents’ wine on holidays. But I didn’t want him to think I was uncool, so I drank the vodka. Straight from the bottle. It was disgusting, and I remember thinking to myself that at all costs I shouldn’t cough because then he’d know I was just a child pretending to be a woman. I was so young and I was so obsessed with being older.

“We were talking…I think I was telling him about my physics class and how hard it was. I mean, I sounded like such a teenager, which is what I was. But he was giving me this look like my physics class was just the most interesting thing he’d ever heard about. And then he leaned over and he kissed me. It wasn’t anything like I expected. He was…really aggressive about it. He kissed me hard, you know? I was trying to convince myself that it was really passionate, but it hurt. He grabbed my face and his hand was pulling on my earring. I kept worrying it was going to cut straight through my earlobe. I loved those earrings.”

Kate fidgets with a loose bit of thread on the chair. She doesn’t know why hearing about Ms. Rothschild’s earrings hits her right in the chest, but it does.

“He asked me did I want to go upstairs. I didn’t really say anything…I was shocked, you know? I hadn’t gone very far with anyone before. He just started leading me up to my bedroom. I didn’t even know he knew where it was, but I guess he did. I was so scared that my parents would wake up. I just remember lying there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for him to be done. I thought it would be this really loving thing, and it wasn’t that at all, and I felt like the world’s biggest idiot. I wasn’t mad at him, because I should’ve expected it. I should’ve been smarter and not such a little girl. Do you see… do you see what I’m saying here?”

Ms. Rothschild looks down at the desk. All of a sudden she feels very young. She wonders if she’s overshared and if Kate will think less of her now. The only other time she’s told this story was the night she arrived at college, when she and her roommates went around the room and unburdened the stories their families could never know. What a horrible little ritual, but it had made her feel so much less lonely.

She looks up and meets Kate’s eyes. They are full of tears.

Kate knits her fingers together in her lap. She worries that she’ll cut off her circulation.

“I just…”

“He told me I was beautiful, and it’s like…that’s all anyone wants to hear, right? It’s so…it’s the only thing someone could’ve said to me to convince me to do that.”

Ms. Rothschild gives her a sad smile.

They both know all too well.

2023 Short Story & Essay Contest

Because you’re told that you’re beautiful and it’s horrible and wonderful. It’s all you want to hear for the rest of your life, but you never want to hear it again. You’re desperate to be seen, but when you feel eyes on you, your heart races with fear. You define yourself by your beauty, and then you hate yourself for it. You pretend to reject the standard, and then you cry because you ate a bowl of ice cream. Someone tells you, and you are smart, and you want to weep with relief, but a voice in the back of your head wonders why they didn’t say you were beautiful. You start to wonder if you even have thoughts or opinions or a personality. You start to question your inherent personhood. All the other traits lose their meaning as beautiful pushes itself to center stage.

Kate starts to speak, stops, then starts again.

“I’m so…I’m so angry . I just feel like I went somewhere…and I didn’t mean to…and now I can never go back. Like, I’m never going to be this happy little girl again, I’m just always going to be this person that’s a little bit ruined and a little bit slutty, and I feel like I’ve let myself down. I thought I was this self-respecting person with values, and…

and morals, and a good head on my shoulders, and I’m just none of those things. I am none of those things.”

Kate places her fist on her chest as she speaks. She squeezes her fist tightly as if she can reach into her heart and put it back together. She’s overwhelmed with the deep sensation that she no longer belongs to herself, and maybe she never has.

Ms. Rothschild wants to stand, to go to Kate, this poor girl, reaching her breaking point at 11:17 on a Tuesday. She tells herself to remain in her seat. Any kind of physical interaction with the students is generally frowned upon, especially after the incident with Mr. Thatcher last year. Mountains of paperwork for the school, even though everybody agreed that it was really that sophomore who was seducing him. Promiscuous, they agreed. Too mature for her own good, and that body wasn’t helping matters.

Kate wipes furiously at her tears. How stupid, she thinks. She cannot believe she is crying in the guidance counselor’s office. How pathetic. All at once she feels desperate to leave. She cannot stand Ms. Rothschild’s sympathetic eyes, not when she is so stupid and so undeserving.

“Um, I should go, right? The next period’s going to start, and I only got clearance for missing one class.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Ms. Rothschild clears her throat and straightens her pens. She wonders what the appropriate way to end this conversation is. She feels unexpectedly bare, as if she has given a small piece of her soul to this utter stranger, who may now do anything with it.

Congratulations

to the 2023

Winners of the Bethesda Urban Partnership and Moco360.Media

ESSAY AND SHORT STORY CONTEST

Essay Contest

1st Place Cecilia Ferrara, Rockville, MD

2nd Place Krysten Jenci, Chevy Chase, MD

3rd Place Elizabeth Minihan, Woodbridge, VA

Essay Contest – High School

1st Place Emily Rivera, Albert Einstein HS

2nd Place Kiersten McClure, Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS

3rd Place Luna Nash, Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS

Short Story Contest

1st Place Eve Cantler, Washington, D.C.

2nd Place Caroline E. Wellbery, Bethesda, MD

3rd Place Elisabeth Schmeissner, Bethesda, MD

Short Story Contest – High School

1st Place Claire Buchanan, Holton-Arms School

2nd Place Allison Xu, Walter Johnson HS

3rd Place Meredith Abramson, Poolesville HS

Essay & Short Story Honorable Mentions

Tina M. MWP, Thu Nguyen, Carol Solomon, Winnie Chan, Sophia Hall, Allison Xu, Perry Beamer, Susie Chen, Brandyn Pantano, Olov Berg, Dena

Shao

“Kate, I want you to know that you are…you are a person. You have a mind, and a heart, and a soul, and just…just so much more than a face and a body. I really…I really want you to know that.”

Kate jumps up from her seat and moves to the door, closing it before moving into the sea of children walking the halls with the burdens of adults on their shoulders. Ms. Rothschild clears her throat several times in quick succession, reaches for a tissue, and then throws a glass paperweight against the wall of her office. It shatters, and she knows she’ll spend the rest of the year finding tiny glass shards everywhere she goes.

That evening, Kate will go home and find Ms. Rothschild on Facebook. She’ll look through her photos until she finds Ms. Rothschild’s brother, and then look through his photos until she finds the friend he brought home when he turned 25. She’ll send him a friend request and wait. When he accepts, she’ll send him a message telling him to kill himself, and then she’ll start crying, inexplicably, and message him again, saying she was just kidding.

She’ll grieve for her girlhood every day until she is an old woman. She’ll have forgotten most of the faces and names that populated her high school yearbook, but she will remember, in excruciating detail, the boy who told her she was beautiful and then laid her bare before all the world. How do you define becoming a woman if not by losing being a girl?

SCHOOL: Rising senior at Holton-Arms School

HIGH

Claire Buchanan

FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE: Outside in her hammock

FAVORITE AUTHOR: Joan Didion

HOW SHE GOT THE IDEA FOR THIS STORY: “I was thinking about the conversations women often have with one another about their experiences of sexual assault and how

those conversations can connect women who are otherwise very different. I wanted to explore a conversation that initially seems as though it will be unproductive, but ends up being profoundly impactful for both of the women involved.”

UP NEXT: “I’m currently working on a personal narrative piece. I’m excited to explore this area of writing since I usually gravitate more toward fictional stories.”

2023 Short Story & Essay Contest

2023 contest judges

ADULT SHORT STORY CONTEST JUDGES

CARRIE CALLAGHAN is the author of the historical novels A Light of Her Own (2018) and Salt the Snow (2020). Her short stories have been published in multiple literary journals, and she is a senior editor with the Washington Independent Review of Books. She lives in Silver Spring with her family and four ridiculous cats.

HIGH SCHOOL SHORT STORY CONTEST JUDGES

ZACH POWERS is the author of the novel First Cosmic Velocity (Putnam, 2019) and the story collection Gravity Changes (BOA Editions, 2017). His writing has been featured by American Short Fiction, Lit Hub, Tin House Online, The Washington Post and others. He serves as artistic director for The Writer’s Center and Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal. Originally from Savannah, Georgia, he now lives in Arlington, Virginia. His website is zachpowers.com.

MELANIE S. HATTER is the author of two novels and one collection of short stories. Her most recent novel, Malawi’s Sisters, was selected by Edwidge Danticat as the winner of the inaugural Kimbilio National Fiction Prize and was published by Four Way Books in 2019. Her debut novel, The Color of My Soul, won the 2011 Washington Writers’ Publishing House Fiction Prize, and Let No One Weep for Me: Stories of Love and Loss was released in 2015. She is a participating author with the PEN/Faulkner Writers in Schools program and serves on the board of the Washington Writers’ Publishing House. She lives in Silver Spring.

MOHINI MALHOTRA is originally from Nepal and is a Washington, D.C.based writer, adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and founder of a social enterprise to promote femaleidentifying artists and invest in causes that better women’s and girls’ lives (artbywomen.gallery). Her fiction has appeared in several anthologies— including This Is What America Looks Like; Essential Voices: A COVID-19 Anthology; and with the West Virginia University Press—and in literary journals, including Gravel, Bloom, West Texas Literary Review, Silver Birch Press, Blink-Ink, Flash Frontier, Star 82 Review, A Quiet Courage and The Writer’s Center Magazine

JULIA TAGLIERE’s work has appeared in The Writer, Potomac Review, Gargoyle, the Washington Independent Review of Books and elsewhere She completed her Master of Arts in writing at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and is the winner of the 2015 William Faulkner Literary Competition for Best Short Story, the 2017 Writer’s Center Undiscovered Voices Fellowship and the 2021 Nancy Zafris Short Story Fellowship. In 2019 she founded the Montgomery County Underground Writers Showcase to promote the work of local writers. She serves as an editor with The Baltimore Review and is the recipient of a 2022 Independent Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. She lives in Sandy Spring.

CLAUDIA WAIR is a writer from Stafford, Virginia. Her work has appeared in WWPH Writes, Tangled Locks Journal, JMWW and elsewhere. Her fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction and Best of the Net. Find her at claudiawair.com or on Twitter @cwtellstales.

ESSAY CONTEST JUDGES

NEISHA-ANNE GREEN is the director of the Academic Student Services Writing Center at the Academic Support and Access Center at American University. She has presented at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing, the Northeast Writing Centers Association Conference, and the Conference on College Composition & Communication. She also has had presentations accepted at the International Writing Centers Association Conference as well as the Conference on Cultural Rhetoric. She is a social/ academic justice accomplice, always interrogating and exploring the use of everyone’s language as a resource, and she is getting better at speaking up for herself and others.

AARON HAMBURGER is the author of the story collection The View From Stalin’s Head (winner of the Rome Prize in Literature) and the novels Faith For Beginners (a Lambda Literary Award nominee), Nirvana is Here (winner of a bronze medal in the 2019 Foreword Indie Awards), and Hotel Cuba, published by Harper Perennial in May 2023. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Tin House, Crazyhorse, Boulevard, Poets & Writers, and O, The Oprah Magazine. He teaches writing at the George Washington University and the Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing. He lives in Washington, D.C.

OFELIA MONTELONGO is a bilingual writer from Mexico. She has a master of arts in Latin American literature. Her work has been published in The Rumpus, Latino Book Review, Los Acentos Review and elsewhere. She was the 2019 Undiscovered Voices fellow at The Writer’s Center. She currently teaches at the George Washington University and was a PEN/ Faulkner writer in residence, a 2021 Macondista, and a PEN America Emerging Voices fellow. She lives in Gaithersburg.

ORGANIZER OF THE SHORT STORY CONTESTS

CAROLINE BOCK is the author of Carry Her Home, which won the fiction award from the Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and of LIE and Before My Eyes, young adult novels from St. Martin’s Press. A winner of The Writer magazine’s short story award and the Adrift short story award, her creative work has also appeared recently in SmokeLong, Brevity, Gargoyle, Grace & Gravity: DC Women Writers, Jarnal and more. She is co-president at the Washington Writers’ Publishing House, a nonprofit independent literary press based in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Syracuse University, she studied creative writing with Raymond Carver and earned a master of fine arts in fiction from the City University of New York. She lives in Potomac with her family and is working on a novel.

CONTEST INFORMATION

Bethesda Magazine and the Bethesda Urban Partnership work together to honor local writers through the short story and essay contests. Short stories are limited to 4,000 words, and authors must be residents of Montgomery County or Upper Northwest D.C. (20015 and 20016 ZIP codes). Essays are limited to 500 words and writers in the adult contest must live in Washington, D.C., or select counties of Maryland (Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard and Frederick) or Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William); high school writers must be residents of or attend a school in Montgomery County or Washington, D.C.

Keep an eye out this winter for next year’s contest details at moco360.media and at bethesda.org

Essential Information on Independent Schools

Marking a century of educating young women of faith and purpose.

We are an all-girls grades 1-12, Catholic, independent school, with co-educational Pre-K and Kindergarten, located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Bus transportation is available throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

WWW.STONERIDGESCHOOL.ORG

BOB GRAVES

301.538.9337 | o 301.975.9500

Bob.Graves@LNF.com

Bob has been working in the Maryland real estate industry for 35 years. Having lived most of his life in Montgomery County, he has developed a deep understanding of the local real estate market and has helped numerous clients make life-changing moves. With a wealth of experience and knowledge, Bob has successfully helped buyers and sellers navigate the constantly changing market. Whether you are interested in a starter house or a luxury estate, he has the expertise to guide you through every step of the buying or selling process. He is committed to providing his clients with top-notch service and personal attention, ensuring that their unique needs and goals are met.

Bob is a Gold Team member of Long & Foster Real Estate, a liated with North Potomac O ce in Maryland. Najam, a long time Realtor®, is an experienced decorator, stager and creator of special deals for her clients.

Team Member

NAJAM CHAUDHRY

Realtor®

• Over 12+ years in Real Estate

• Licensed in Maryland and Ohio

• Speaks: Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, English

• Specializes in interior design and nding economical deal for clients

301.537.3328 | Najam.Chaudhry@LNF.com

Licensed in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Delaware, The Souza Group offers a full range of real estate services in the D.C. Metropolitan area and the Delaware-Maryland coast. Cindy has lived in Bethesda for 36 years and knows Bethesda, D.C., and its neighboring suburbs with the intimacy of a native Washingtonian. Cindy has also owned a home in Dewey Beach, DE for 36 years, giving her the added local advantage when helping clients realize their beach house dreams!

Cindy, along with her team members Brett and Marzi, represent clients buying and selling a variety of homes — from resale, new construction, investment, and beachfront properties. Brett and Marzi each serve clients in Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Licensed for 27 years, Cindy draws from a wide breadth of experience to position her clients for success in all kinds of markets. Cindy and The Souza Group have received numerous awards over the years and were voted one of the D.C. area’s “Best Real Estate Teams” by readers of Bethesda Magazine.

Over

301.365.9090

Info@BannerTeam.com

Front Row: Emily Moritt, Michelle Teichberg, Wendy Banner, Julia Fortin, Ilene Gordon Back Row: Gail Gordon, Ashley Vonada, Pat Karta, Jody Aucamp

River Falls

Suburban splendor near the C&O Canal

BY CAROLYN WEBER

Potomac’s River Falls is a neighborhood of around 500 homes situated on 800 rolling acres. It is bounded by MacArthur Boulevard to the west and south, and Brickyard Road on the north and east. Falls Road is the closest major road to the northwest. The zip code is 20854.

AMENITIES River Falls has a community-owned clubhouse with a pool and tennis courts, a playground, basketball court and athletic fields. Proximity to the C&O Canal National Historical Park makes it easy to enjoy hiking, biking or kayaking. There are three community associations—one for the recreational facilities, a civic association and a homeowners association. The nearby shopping centers at Falls and River roads have all the necessary retailers: grocers, gas stations, coffee shops, restaurants and carryout places.

VIBE Family-friendly. Residents agree that it’s a great place to raise children, with wide, safe streets for them to walk and ride bikes on their own. The clubhouse hosts a summer camp for kids and offers swimming and tennis lessons for all ages. Halloween is busy with lots of trick-or-

treaters, there’s an annual July Fourth parade and residents enjoy many other community events at the clubhouse and fields. The schools are Carderock Springs Elementary School, Thomas W. Pyle Middle School and Walt Whitman High School.

HOUSING STOCK Development of the site started in the early 1960s, and the colonial-style homes were constructed between 1968 and the early 2000s. The older houses are on half-acre lots, and the newer section is a mix of single-family residences and townhomes on smaller lots. There is one multifamily structure, with 13 moderately priced units.

FUN FACT

LANDMARK The Old Angler’s Inn is just down the road from the MacArthur Boulevard entrance to River Falls. The legendary restaurant, which dates to 1860, offers a variety of experiences, from a post-hike lunch on the patio to a more formal meal in the restaurant.

6

HOMES SOLD IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2023

$1,592,500

AVERAGE SALE PRICE

20

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET

River Falls is a community where people stay. The current tennis pro at the clubhouse is a second-generation River Falls resident.

RIVER FALLS

Doctors Have Always Been Our Heroes

As the son, grandson and granddaughter of physicians, we have spent much of our lives in close proximity to and in awe of the medical profession. Doctors have always been our heroes and serving doctors and dentists as a primary focus of our real estate practice has become one of the most rewarding aspects of our professional career.

To date, Abrams Residential has worked with over two dozen doctors and dentists to buy or sell homes throughout Maryland, DC and Virginia. Over time, we have put together a phenomenal team of professionals - from lenders who offer exclusive, zero down payment loan programs specially designed for medical practitioners to contractors and service vendors who consistently deliver high-quality, white glove service so our clients can focus on serving their communities while we take care of their real estate needs.

For more information about Abrams

Residential’s Concierge Real Estate Services for Medical Professionals

visit AbramsResidential.com

David & Claire Abrams

Abrams Residential

202.716.0660

AbramsResidential.com

Recognized as a top producer by Bethesda Magazine, The Washingtonian, and The Wall Street Journal/ Real Trends, Abrams Residential is a husband and wife real estate team at Compass based in Bethesda but serving the entire DC Metropolitan Area.

Captain Frank Abrams, United States Army Medical Corps (1945)

The Halem Group

M. 301.775.4196 | O. 301.304.8444

margie@compass.com | margiehalemgroup.com

Over the years, The Halem Group has grown into a one-of-a-kind force in this competitive market. The team is creative, works tirelessly, has a great eye for design, staging accreditation and experience working with local builders. We are motivated to deliver white glove service to all of their clients. Margie is ranked among the top 1% of Agents in the US. In 2023 the readers of Bethesda Magazine voted her as the winner of “Best Realtor”. Regardless of the number of homes sold or awards won, the people matter most. Their relationships with clients run deep and they treat each and every client as if they are their only client.

The team prides themselves on providing the highest level of service to their clients and fellow agents. They strive for a seamless experience and work hard to ensure that each transaction runs smoothly. These seasoned agents and savvy marketers craft an all-inclusive plan for each home they market. That background has allowed them to combine high-level marketing tactics with proprietary systems and processes that bring buyers and sellers together. The Halem Group’s extensive knowledge of real estate is beyond comparison and brings a combined 70+ years of practice in the industry with thousands of completed transactions and over 1 billion dollars in real estate sold.

Margie is also committed to community causes and has served as chair for the National Walk for Autism Speaks and the former Open Your Heart Campaign Co-Chair for the American Heart Association.

Front: Margie Halem, Back Left: Ashley Townsend, Elizabeth Meltzer, Harrison Halem, Courtney Halem, Lori Silverman, Janet Pitt, and Matt Gloger, Not Pictured: Shannon Irlander and Benjamin Pate

Sunita Bali

sntbali@gmail.com

m. 301.984.7108 | o. 240.219.2422

Sunita Bali is a highly regarded real estate professional who has established her business based on a strong commitment to delivering results for her clients. As a long-time resident of the area, Sunita possesses a deep understanding of the local market and has garnered a reputation for her excellent communication skills, market knowledge, friendly demeanor, and unwavering advocacy on behalf of her clients. When working with sellers, Sunita implements an aggressive market plan aimed at achieving the highest price for their property in the shortest possible time frame. Her expertise in staging homes results in high traffic from potential buyers, while maximizing the home’s overall value. Sunita also contains a keen understanding of new construction and investment properties, providing valuable guidance to clients in these specialized areas. Buyers appreciate Sunita’s consultative approach, as she takes the time to truly understand their needs and preferences. When working with Sunita Bali, clients can expect a dedicated and knowledgeable real estate professional who is committed to providing exceptional service and achieving their goals in real estate.

Specialization: Sellers & Buyers, Staging, New Construction, Investment

Designations and Awards: Realtor, MBA, CSA (Certified Staging Agent); Miracle Agent 2015-2022, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals; Premier Agent Zillow; GCAAR Silver Award Winner 2018-2022, Washingtonian Magazine Top Realtor from 2018-2022

APRIL’S MOST EXPENSIVE

HOME SALES

A peek at one of the area’s most expensive recently sold houses

SALE PRICE: $4.6 million

LIST PRICE: $4.8 MILLION

Address: 9505 Brooke Drive, Bethesda 20817

Days on Market: 15

Listing Agency: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

Bedrooms: 7

Full/Half Baths: 6/2

SALE PRICE: $3.9 million

LIST PRICE: $4.3 million

Address: 7803 Radnor Road, Bethesda 20817

Days on Market: 31

Listing Agency: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 6/2

SALE PRICE: $3.5 million

LIST PRICE: $3.6 million

Address: 5419 Sherier Place NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 18

Listing Agency: Washington Fine Properties, LLC

Bedrooms: 7

Full/Half Baths: 7/1

Data provided by

SALE PRICE: $3.2 million

LIST PRICE: $3.4 million

SALE PRICE: $5 million

LIST PRICE: $5 MILLION

Address: 4861 Indian Lane NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 6

Listing Agency: Compass Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 5/1

SALE PRICE: $3.4 million

LIST PRICE: $3.5 million

Address: 5041 Glenbrook Terrace NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 8

Listing Agency: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 5/1

SALE PRICE: $3.4 million

LIST PRICE: $3.4 million

Address: 5702 Kirkside Drive, Chevy Chase 20815

Days on Market: 0

Listing Agency: None listed

Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 6/1

SALE PRICE: $3.3 million

LIST PRICE: $3.3 million

Address: 3704 Morrison St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20015

Days on Market: 5

Listing Agency: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Bedrooms: 4

Full/Half Baths: 3/2

Address: 5408 Moorland Lane, Bethesda 20814

Days on Market: 10

Listing Agency: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

Bedrooms: 5

Full/Half Baths: 4/1

SALE PRICE: $3 million

LIST PRICE: $2.9 million

Address: 3409 Newark St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 0

Listing Agency: None listed

Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 3/1

SALE PRICE: $2.9 million

LIST PRICE: $2.6 million

Address: 4705 Falstone Ave., Chevy Chase 20815

Days on Market: 0

Listing Agency: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Bedrooms: 5

Full/Half Baths: 4/1

SALE PRICE: $2.7 million

LIST PRICE: $2.7 million

Address: 5026 Klingle St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 0

Listing Agency: None listed

Bedrooms: 5

Full/Half Baths: 4/1

SALE PRICE: $2.7 million

LIST PRICE: $2.4 million

Address: 5208 Upton Terrace NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 4

Listing Agency: Washington Fine Properties, LLC

Bedrooms: 5

Full/Half Baths: 3/2

SALE PRICE: $2.7 million

LIST PRICE: $2.7 million

Address: 6612 Melody Lane, Bethesda 20817

Days on Market: 90

Listing Agency: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 6/1

SALE PRICE: $2.6 million

LIST PRICE: $2.6 million

Address: 7520 Westfield Drive, Bethesda 20817

Days on Market: 6

Listing Agency: Compass

Bedrooms: 5

Full/Half Baths: 4/1

SALE PRICE: $2.6 million

LIST PRICE: $2.5 million

Address: 3612 Thornapple St., Chevy Chase 20815

Days on Market: 5

Listing Agency: Compass Bedrooms: 5

Full/Half Baths: 4/1

SALE PRICE: $2.6 million

LIST PRICE: $2.7 million

Address: 2934 Glover Drive NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 7

Listing Agency: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Bedrooms: 5

Full/Half Baths: 4/1

SALE PRICE: $2.5 million

LIST PRICE: $2.7 million

Address: 4711 Ellicott St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

Days on Market: 58

Listing Agency: TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 4/1

SALE PRICE: $2.5 million

LIST PRICE: $2.5 million

Address: 8603 Long Acre Court, Bethesda 20817

Days on Market: 2

Listing Agency: Compass Bedrooms: 6

Full/Half Baths: 5/1

WITH A LAW FIRM THAT CAN KEEP UP

Strickler, Platnick & Hatfield calls itself “The Modern Family Law Firm” because our attorneys stay on the cutting edge of everything to do with family law. We work with clients in all family configurations. We remain current with every new development in the law. We use the latest technology to further our clients’ goals and make their experience of the legal process better.

Appointments available by remote video conference and in person in Potomac, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Riverdale, Towson and in Washington, DC

CODE

Information courtesy of Bright MLS, as of May 15, 2023. The Bright MLS real estate service area spans 40,000 square miles throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. As a leading Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Bright serves approximately 85,000 real estate professionals who in turn serve more than 20 million consumers. For more information, visit brightmls.com. Note: This information includes single-family homes sold from April 1, 2023, to April 30, 2023, as of May 15, 2023, excluding sales where sellers have withheld permission to advertise or promote. Information should be independently verified. Reports reference data provided by ShowingTime, a showing management and market stats technology provider to the residential real estate industry. Some sale and list prices have been rounded.

Garden Party

1 IN THE ROUND $1,399 at Pottery Barn, 4750 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda; 301-654-1598; potterybarn.com

2 PILLOW TALK $49.50 at West Elm, 951 Rose Ave. (Pike & Rose), North Bethesda; 301-230-7630; westelm.com 3 UNDER COVER $279.99 at World Market, 12266 Rockville Pike, Rockville; 301-8162480; worldmarket.com 4 GLOW PLACES $750 at Strosniders Hardware, 10504 Connecticut Ave., Kensington; 301-933-2207; acehardware.com 5 BAMBOO-YAH! $42 for four at Tabletop, 6927 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park; 240-467-3982; tabletopdc.com

6 ON A ROLL $999 at Crate & Barrel, 4820 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.; 202-364-6100; crateandbarrel.com

7 MODERN ADIRONDACK $599 at Room & Board, 7236 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda; 866-407-6252; roomandboard.com

Make the most of your outdoor spaces this season—deck them out with everything you need for sweet shindigs

BY CAROLYN WEBER

COURTESY PHOTOS

I want my patients to know they will be treated like family, and their hearing needs will be met with the utmost care. I love my job! Embracing a profession dedicated to helping others fulfills my passion, and restoring hearing ability excites me. I consider myself a good listener — I want to hear your unique story and accompany you on your hearing care journey. Together, we will identify the perfect solution tailored to your specific hearing needs.

Elizabeth Butler Au.D., CCC-A

Dr.

Luxury Apartments, Condos & Townhomes

Chevy Chase Lake

8525 Chevy Chase Lake Terr., Chevy Chase, MD 20815 833-801-6367 | BarrettClaudeChevyChase.com | ChevyChaseLake.com

BIO

Bozzuto is an experience-focused real estate company distinguished by their innovative developments and dedicated customer service. With award-winning expertise in homebuilding, multifamily development, construction and management, Bozzuto is devoted to delivering extraordinary experiences. Celebrating 35 years of creating sanctuary, Bozzuto currently manages 90,000 apartments, with 7 million square feet currently under construction. www.bozzuto.com

OUR WORK

Discover Chevy Chase Lake, an impeccably designed community crafted by The Bozzuto Group and The Chevy Chase Land Company, nestled in the heart of Washington, D.C.'s historic suburbs. This vibrant neighborhood seamlessly blends urban and suburban lifestyles, presenting an array of retail, dining and residential spaces. Featuring two exceptional apartment residences, The Barrett and The Claude, Chevy Chase Lake showcases over 400 thoughtfully curated apartments, each boasting a variety of floorplans, high-end appliances and luxurious finishes. Residents can indulge in a unique amenity program, granting access to an impressive 26,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor areas. Conveniently situated with access to the upcoming Purple Line and surrounded by the tranquility of the nearby Capital Crescent Trail and Rock Creek Park, Chevy Chase Lake caters to the needs of commuters, families and avid shoppers alike.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences

8551 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase, MD 20815 | 301-264-8806 RCResidences@ChevyChaseLake.com | TheResidencesChevyChase.com

BIO

Bozzuto is an experience-focused real estate company distinguished by their innovative developments and dedicated customer service. With award-winning expertise in homebuilding, multifamily development, construction and management, Bozzuto is devoted to delivering extraordinary experiences. Celebrating 35 years of creating sanctuary, Bozzuto currently manages 90,000 apartments, with 7 million square feet currently under construction. www.bozzuto.com

THE PROJECT

Experience the epitome of effortless living at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Chevy Chase, an exceptional residential development nestled within the preeminent Chevy Chase Lake community and developed by Bozzuto. The Residences offer 65 exquisite condominiums along with 12,000 square feet of private amenity space, featuring a piano lounge, state-of-the-art fitness facility, yoga terrace and more. Unwind in the private dining room and rooftop areas adorned with inviting fire pits, perfect for hosting memorable gatherings. Experience the legendary Ritz-Carlton services with 24-hour concierge, doorman, valet services and more. The exteriors by David M. Schwarz and interiors by the award-winning Akseizer Design Group seamlessly blend timeless elegance and contemporary aesthetics. Embrace the effortless living at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Chevy Chase, where a limited number of condominiums remain.

The Mercury at Wildwood

Aubinoe Inc. | 107 West Jefferson St., Rockville, MD 20850 www.aubinoe.com | ala@ala-inc.com | 301-656-9000

BIO

Aubinoe, Incorporated is a fully licensed, bonded and insured property management, condominium and homeowner association firm. Familyowned and operated since 1939, Aubinoe Inc. has expanded over the past 18 years to include condominium and homeowner association management in MD, VA and Washington, D.C.

OUR WORK

Set to open by December 2024, The Mercury at Wildwood is progressing as a 55-and-older residential, rental apartment complex. The Mercury will be comprised of 72 units, including luxurious one-, two- and threebedroom living spaces.

Artisan craftsmanship throughout will feature Italian cabinetry and stone countertops. Apartments will include a full bathroom, an additional half-bath, and full-size refrigerator and full-size freezer.

Amenities will feature EV charging stations, a dedicated parking garage for residents, a private fitness center, a roof-top sundeck with hot tub and a club room for members to host private events. The apartment complex will also host 10,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor.

The Mercury at Wildwood is conveniently located steps away from the prestigious Wildwood Shopping Center.

Contact us for more information about The Mercury and to schedule an appointment to discuss how you can be a new resident.

/ BY CADE MARTIN

Bill Tompkins’ bottom line

The head of the Montgomery County Economic

Development

Corp. is eager to land big business and government agencies— and to help the county’s small

Bill Tompkins is all business. Specifically, all Montgomery County’s business.

As president and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. (MCEDC), Tompkins oversees an agency with a $6.2 million fiscal year 2023 budget and a staff of 25. Its aim? Attract public and private enterprises to the county, keep those that are here, and lend a hand to entrepreneurs just starting out.

With an MBA from Harvard and a resume that includes C-suite positions at The Washington Post, Eastman Kodak and the National Newspaper Publishers Association, Tompkins has the background to bring lofty ideas to an ambitious county.

He gently parries when asked his age—“old enough,” he says— but shows no such reticence when describing his enthusiasm for entrepreneurship. “I love private industry and the business sector,” he says. “I know what it means to have a bottom line. I know what it means to deliver on results where you are held accountable financially.”

Tompkins quips that his “favorite topic” is the county’s campaign to be chosen for the headquarters of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). A decision on the location, projected to employ 80 to 120, is expected in early fall.

With a $1.5 billion budget and what it describes as a “sweeping mandate to accelerate the development of high-impact solutions to society’s most challenging health problems,” ARPA-H is a high-priority initiative of the Biden administration.

“[It] is basically going to be one of the largest virtual think tanks in

businesses thrive

the world for advancing health care into the 22nd century,” Tompkins says. “We are working very hard to make sure they are here.”

The county’s extensive life sciences industry makes it an ideal location for ARPA-H headquarters, he says.

While MCEDC courts high-profile projects like ARPA-H, Tompkins estimates that “80% of our efforts are around business retention, that if a business is here, it means they already made an investment here and

BY ROBERT B. MITCHELL

we want that investment to pay off in even bigger dividends going forward.”

New MCEDC initiatives include its “Be Next” campaign aimed at encouraging startups and entrepreneurs to make Montgomery County their home. “We’re also being much more aggressive” about helping small businesses find capital, Tompkins says.

The $1.5 million Accelerating Community Excellence Loan Fund, initiated in September 2022, makes capital available to small women- and minority-owned businesses that might not qualify for bank loans. Small business entrepreneurs from underserved communities “have a huge challenge with access to capital,” Tompkins says, often because they are so focused on running their business that they do not have time to strategize or network.

With its proximity to the nation’s capital and a well-educated, diverse workforce, Montgomery County claims business advantages many localities can only dream of. Tompkins says he welcomes “healthy competition” with the county’s neighbors but adds: “We want to make sure that Montgomery County … is what the people want it to be, not what makes us look better than Fairfax, D.C. or Prince George’s County.”

Tompkins believes the county has a story worth telling—to startups, companies considering relocation, and businesses already here.

“It’s one of the largest economies in the country for a county,” he says. “We want to make sure that it grows, that it’s more robust and that people understand when they’re dealing with Montgomery County that there’s a lot going on here businesswise.”

PHOTO COURTESY BILL TOMPKINS

“WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MONTGOMERY COUNTY … IS WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT IT TO BE.”

–BILL TOMPKINS

BY JULIE RASICOT

CELEBRATING BLACK CULTURE

Ready for a makeover

Silver Spring-based Urban One Inc.’s new podcast network for the Black community is focused on telling “the stories by us and for us,” says DeAndre Smith, senior director of podcast operations for the national media company catering to Black audiences. That’s “one of the biggest things that we can do for our community because we understand the stories,” he says.

10 ORIGINAL SHOWS, FROM TRUE CRIME TO HEALTH AND SPORTS

2.1 MILLION MONTHLY DOWNLOADS AS OF MAY 2023

40 PERCENT GROWTH IN DOWNLOADS SINCE FEBRUARY 2023

Trading Spaces: Goodbye, Offices; Hello, Homes?

With Montgomery County’s office vacancy rate hovering above 16%

—a 5-percentage point increase since the start of the pandemic— local planners say the time may be right for developers to consider converting or redeveloping offices into living spaces.

County planner Bilal Ali points to one such completed project in a recent post on The Third Place, the county planning department’s blog: In downtown Silver Spring, a former office building on Fenwick Lane was converted into 102 condos in 2015, providing affordable housing for first-time homebuyers. The redevelopment saved

TOP EMPLOYERS

Federal agencies continue to rule the roost when it comes to Montgomery County’s major employers, according to the Maryland Department of Commerce. That said, private-sector industries in the county account for more than $81 billion in economic output.

money by reducing construction time and avoiding demolition and other costs, he noted.

Finding the right building candidate can, however, be tricky.

“There can be engineering challenges, there’s no sort of silver bullet, there’s no specific thing that you would look for to say this building is primed to convert to residential,” Ali says during a May interview.

When it comes to filling vacant office space, older buildings fare more poorly than newer ones located near transit and offering modern amenities, Ali notes. Buildings erected since 2020 are more likely to find tenants, data shows.

In the 1990s, Friendship Heights’ high-end stores made it Montgomery County’s Rodeo Drive. Now the community straddling the D.C. line is reenvisioning its commercial district as a place to live, work and play.

Its recent designation as one of the county’s urban districts can help it “cater... to the folks who live in the extended neighborhood,” says Jad Donohoe, a developer and board chair of the nonprofit Friendship Heights Alliance.

He says the designation will let businesses and commercial landlords pay a tax to fund efforts to market Friendship Heights and pay for improvements such as planters and public seating.

Changes have begun: Apartments are planned for the former Mazza Gallerie shopping center, a food hall is set to open, and a new grocer is planned for Chevy Chase Pavilion.

Octave 1320 in downtown Silver Spring transformed an office building into 102 condominium units with flexible floor plans and a wide range of first-rate amenities.

As an urban district, Friendship Heights is poised for change.

Maryland Department of Commerce

COUNTY’S TOP 10 EMPLOYERS IN 2021-2022:

How I Got to Where I Am’

Six-time Emmy winner Eun Yang, 47, has been anchoring the news desk each weeknight since April on NBC4’s News4 at 4 and News4 at 6 after 12 years making mornings brighter on News4 Today , the region’s top-rated a.m. show. The University of Maryland alum grew up in Silver Spring and attended Paint Branch High School, and now lives in Washington, D.C., with her entrepreneur husband, Robert Kang, and their three teens.

Part of how I got to where I am is just the nature of who I am as a person. I’m very curious. I see things and hear things and experience things and wonder: What’s going on there? Who is that person? Why does she get to do what she does? Why did he say that, and what does it mean? Those sorts of questions came to me from a young age, and my inquisitive nature led me to this field. I’m curious. I want to know why things are the way they are. I want to get to know somebody. I feel like when I get to know somebody, I really want to know why they made the choices they did, because I really believe everyone has a story.

I come from an immigrant family. I didn’t think I could be a television news anchor. My parents are immigrants from Korea. They worked extremely hard, sacrificed so much, and while I knew that broadcast journalism was something I was interested in in my heart, it wasn’t practical in my parents’ eyes—or, to be honest, in my eyes. It was like saying you wanted to be a rocket scientist, right? It just seemed out of reach for so many reasons. When it came to applying for a [college] major, I considered going into political science or something that would lead me to law school, something more practical in my parents’ eyes. The summer after graduating high school, I kept asking myself, What do I want to do? And nothing else filled my heart with desire like journalism, and I decided, I’m going to go for it.

I told my parents I was going to study journalism, and it was very tough for them. They looked at me like I was crazy. My parents

were blue-collar workers. My mom worked in a factory; my dad was a mechanic and owned his own shop—hardworking immigrants, working six, seven days a week, who did not go on vacation and did not complain. They found gratitude through all of that.

I knew it was a tough choice, but I was going to work my butt off. I needed to make sure that the choice I made would be true to myself, that I would honor myself, but at the same time honor my parents and make them proud, too. That connection is very strong for me. I really felt the strong need and duty to make my parents proud.

Do I feel fortunate and blessed? Yes, and I use the word “lucky” sometimes, but I have worked very hard. Yes, I’ve had an incredibly unique and interesting path. But if you look at that path, it’s not paved with gold. I have busted my butt and paid my dues to get to where I am. And I don’t regret the path that I took.

—As told to Buzz McClain

“ I KEPT ASKING MYSELF, WHAT DO I WANT TO DO? AND NOTHING ELSE FILLED MY HEART WITH DESIRE LIKE JOURNALISM, AND I DECIDED, I’M GOING TO GO FOR IT. ”