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CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARDEES 2022 by Stephanie Deutsch
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their concerns. But she soon decided she needed more and enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley in the engineering department, becoming one of very few women there and specializing in the study of metals, in particular steel and aluminum. That led to advanced study at Washington State and, in 1983, to George Washington University. There she learned that the Office of Technology Assessment, created in 1975, was looking for someone with expertise in strategically important materials, among them metals. She was in the right place at the right time and was employed there until the office was shut down, a victim of budget tightening in the Newt Gingrich years. She later worked at the Department of Transportation, editing annual statistical reports and learning more about how government works. CHCF 2022 Honoree Group. From left to right; Sah Brown, Michael and Joan A colleague said of Kirsten that she is Kim, and Kirsten Oldenberg effective because she puts in a lot of time and takes pains to understand a variety of work with the federal government when the fire and points of view. He says it takes humility to focus on its aftermath grabbed her attention. She found herself Kirsten Oldenberg the small, quality of life issues that make up the bulk of writing checks but also volunteering her time to help As the seat of our national government, Capitol Hill the work of ANC Commissioners. Unlike some who raise funds in support of the displaced merchants. is a place where we occasionally see nationally known serve in that role, Kirsten has never seen this position When, shortly after that, the seat as commissioner for figures on the street, at a restaurant, picking up dry as a stepping stone to something bigger. It is valuANC 6B-04 became vacant in the middle of a term cleaning or in line at a coffee shop. That person waitable for what it is, in Kirsten’s words “the bottom rung she was invited to fill it. At the next election she was ing for a latte at Peregrine Coffee could be Secretary of democracy.” the only candidate for that spot and she won. Initially, of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, but it might just as she says, she didn’t know much and “kept my mouth Michael and Joan Kim well be Kirsten Oldenburg, who since 2009 has represhut” but since then she has attended monthly meetWhen Michael Kim first walked into Grubb’s Pharsented ANC 6B, faithfully attending multiple monthings of the Commission as well as regular meetings of macy on the corner of 4th and East Capitol Street ly meetings and dealing with potholes, liquor licensthe Transportation subcommittee, which she chairs. in 1997, as a pharmacy student reporting for a partes, traffic lights, zoning, historic preservation, public Being an effective ANC representative requires time job, he thought the place looked old, dingy, and parks, noise, bike lanes – anything and everything patience, tact and a willingness to take the time to lisrun down. And, indeed, there has been a pharmacy of concern to her neighbors. It’s not the stuff of the ten to constituents, as well as understanding complex on the site since 1867. The facility was old, but he nightly news but it is an essential part of self-governand often tedious regulations, skills she had learned in quickly noticed something that set it apart in a posment – unglamorous, unpaid, and meaningful. various jobs. As the daughter of a petroleum engineer, itive way from the sleek pharmacies at chain stores The catalyst for Kirsten’s involvement with loshe had grown up in many places – Houston, Caracas, where he had previously worked. He was struck by cal government was the fire in April of 2007 that seYonkers, and Berkeley. Graduating from high school the interaction of owner Ed Dillon and his staff with verely damaged the much-loved, over a century-old in the late 50s, she originally went to secretarial school their customers, the personal relationships that proEastern Market building. She had been living on the rather than college. During a stint as a travel agent, duced a level of care unlike what he was used to. Hill for almost 25 years and was recently retired from she learned to work with people and pay attention to ach spring, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to our neighborhood in a wide variety of ways, honoring them with Community Achievement Awards. Among those so honored have been teachers, business owners, real estate agents, political leaders, musicians and artists as well as the kind of engaged, involved citizens who get ideas of ways to enhance our lives together and then make them happen. This is a tradition that goes back to 1984 with just one interruption – last year the honorees were those who had been chosen the year before, when the celebration honoring them had to be cancelled due to Covid. Last spring a virtual celebration replaced the usual gala dinner at the Folger Library. This year’s honorees are, as always, a cross section of the people who give our neighborhood the flavor so many of us love.
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