SWEET TREAT: MEET ASHBURN’S CHEESECAKE CHAMP
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT CREATES AWARD-WINNING ART
LOCAL COUPLE’S
DREAM COMES
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025
Ashburn
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6
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in recent history our community has been represented by people who lived in Fairfax County or, more recently, Leesburg (Rep. Jennifer Wexton). And before that, well, there just weren’t that many people living in Ashburn at all.
In addition, Subramanyam becomes one of only six Indian Americans in the 435-member House – also significant because of the large South Asian population in and around Ashburn.
Subramanyam has moved up quickly in the political world – serving in both the Virginia House of Delegates and the state Senate before running for Congress – and he defeated no fewer than 11 other candidates in the Democratic primary last spring before his victory in the fall.
No doubt he is someone we will be hearing a lot more about, and editor Chris Wadsworth sat down with Subramanyam shortly after the election to learn more about his background and his priorities in Washington. Chris’ Q&A begins on Page 22.
Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll meet some neighbors who have made a name for themselves in different ways: M.J. Marino Stemp, a television and movie producer from Ashburn Village (Page 16), and Ashley and Dario Campolattaro, Brambleton residents featured on a recent episode of HGTV’s “House Hunters International” (Page 40). Plus, you’ll learn how some Stone Bridge High School students are contributing to a groundbreaking project at Morven Park (Page 48).
When Suhas Subramanyam won the 10th Congressional District election in November, our cover story for this issue became quite apparent. That’s because as we wrap up our sixth year of publication of Ashburn Magazine, we have strived to highlight the accomplishments of people who live right here in our community. And what better accomplishment than being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives?
More significantly, though, Subramanyam, who lives in Brambleton, may be the first Ashburn resident to represent our area in Congress. We can’t say that for sure, of course, but certainly
Finally, a reminder that January means it’s just about time for our annual “Best of Ashburn” voting. This is your opportunity to support your favorite local businesses, organizations and people in over 100 categories. Watch our Facebook page and website for details later this month – this is one election where you can vote early and often!
Irreversible is not a word you want to hear from your Doctor but it’s a common one if you’ve been diagnosed with ChemotherapyInduced Peripheral Neuropathy or CIPN
Tom S of Leesburg survived testicular cancer only to be living life in constant pain He felt as though he were walking on pins and needles, becoming weaker and weaker every day. “I was beginning to be worried that one day I would be wheelchair-bound.”
Nearly half of the patients who undergo chemotherapy will develop ChemotherapyInduced Peripheral Neuropathy or CIPN.
Chemotherapy meds travel throughout the body and attack cancer cells; sadly they can also cause severe damage to healthy nerves. CIPN can begin within weeks of starting treatment and can worsen as treatment continues. A high number of really unfortunate people will be forced to endure the symptoms associated with CIPN for months, or even years after they’ve completed chemo.
When asked how CIPN was affecting his quality of life, he responded, “It was difficult to even walk up and down stairs and do other things we usually take for granted.”
IT'S LIFE CHANGING
Finally! A local Doctor is helping cancer survivors live lives free from the constant pain and suffering associated with Peripheral Neuropathy!
The most common symptoms include: pain, tingling, burning, weakness, or numbness in arms, hands, legs or feet sudden, sharp, stabbing or shocking pain sensations loss of touch sensation clumsiness and trouble using hands to pick up objects or fasten clothing loss of balance and falling
For some, their nerves will recover over time For most, the nerve damage is ‘irreversible.’ Tom had been told just that by a series of Doctors and specialists. Essentially they could cure his cancer but couldn’t fix the damage done by the drugs used to cure his cancer
Then Tom made a call to Rachal Lohr of FIREFLY| Acupuncture & Wellness right here in Ashburn. Rachal and her team are using the time-tested science of Acupuncture and a technology originally developed by NASA that assists in increasing blood flow and expediting recovery and healing to treat this debilitating disease
After a series of treatments Tom was taking stairs with stride!
“We have a beach house and it’s up stairs. This morning I walked right down the stairs and got in the car,” Tom shared.
“I remember thinking ‘that’s become mighty easy for me’, I didn’t have to hold on to the handrail or anything! It’s life-changing to have this mobility back!”
Again and again, we meet with patients who were once diagnosed as “untreatable” or “incurable” but after receiving Rachal Lohr’s treatments are now living lives free from pain and suffering. For over 17 years she has been reversing the effects of CIPN and other varieties of Peripheral Neuropathy, including that caused by diabetes without invasive surgeries and medications that come with uncomfortable side effects.
If you’ve recently beat cancer only to find that you’re living a life in constant pain and discomfort or you’re struggling with the same symptoms as a result of either Idiopathic Neuropathy or Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy, Rachal and the incredible team at FIREFLY can help!
Rachal Lohr is now accepting new patients but only for a limited time. In an effort to protect her patients, both current and future, she has made the difficult decision to limit the number of patients seen in her clinic.
Only 10 new neuropathy patients will be accepted monthly so call (703)263-2142 now to schedule a consultation.
Best in Show
Ashburn teen creates prize-winning art
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
In Callia Sun’s stunning oil painting “Let the Light In,” a boy stands wrapped in fabric, a sheer cloth draped over his eyes as he looks up toward a light beaming down from above. As with any good piece of art, the interpretation is open to the observer, but the artist herself had both an uplifting intention – and a more practical one.
“I wanted to show that even in times of hardship and darkness… there is still light to guide us,” said the 17-year-old resident of the Belmont Country Club neighborhood. “I was also inspired by some of the Renaissance paintings. I was really getting into studying how those painters painted cloth, and I wanted to do a piece that would allow me to experiment with that.”
Left: Riverside High School student Callia Sun holding the "Best in Show" ribbon she won as part of the 2024 Congressional Art Competition. Right: Her winning entry, an oil painting titled "Let the Light In."
Whatever the reason for her painting, clearly others were struck by it as well.
Callia won the top “Best in Show” honor in the 2024 Congressional Art Competition for Virginia’s 10th District.
As a Best in Show winner, Callia’s “Let the Light In” painting is currently on display in the Cannon Tunnel under the U.S. Capitol as part of an exhibit of student art.
For the contest, student artists submit works to the offices of their local congressional representatives, and judges award honors in mediums such as painting, drawing, photography, mixed media and computer graphics.
It wasn’t the first time the senior at Riverside High School in Lansdowne and the Academies of Loudoun had entered. Her first entry, an acrylic on canvas painting titled “Beyond,” won first place in the painting category her freshman year in 2022. A colored pencil self-portrait she submitted in the 2023 competition titled “2016” won second place in the drawing category.
Callia has found this success in no small part thanks to her art teacher at Riverside, Augusta Dadiego, who not only guided Callia’s artistry in class, but also encouraged her students to enter the congressional competition.
“[The contest] allows students a chance to showcase what they feel is their best work,” Dadiego said. “Callia is an exceptional art student and a great artistic leader here at Riverside. In watching her develop her artistry, she has always connected the medium to her ideas. She is willing to take risks. I look forward to seeing what she will create for her next art competition.”
Believe it or not, “Let in the Light” took Callia only about two weeks to paint over the summer, although she worked on it nearly every day. She had a classmate pose similarly to the final painting and took a photo as a reference. This helped guide her as she struggled with the hardest part – getting the cloth, with its draping and shadows, just so.
“It was hard getting the fabric, and especially the translucent part, to look right,” Callia said. “I didn’t want to reveal too much of his eyes, but I also wanted you to be able to see some of it, so it would look like it was see-through.”
This was also her first serious experience with oil paint.
“I usually use acrylic paint, which dries much faster in comparison with oil paint, so it
Artwork by Callia Sun. Top left: "Silent Solitude" - oil paint. Top right: "2016" - colored pencil self-portrait. Center left: "Through the Fog" - white charcoal, graphite, gel pen. Center right: "Sinking In" - acrylic paint. Bottom: "Beyond" - acrylic paint.
“I
“She’s committed to a lot of things, but she’s always committed fully to them,” said Callia’s sister, Olivia Sun. “Off the top of my head, I can think of very few people who can say they've made it to the state championship in swimming and have a painting hung up in the Capitol.”
Callia is already hard at work on her entry for the 2025 congressional competition. She says it will be a self-portrait in acrylic paint.
Beyond that, she’s planning to attend college in the fall and will probably pursue materials science engineering – a field she’s studying at the Academies. She’s currently researching the properties of aluminum.
And she definitely plans to continue with her painting and drawing – hoping to find a life and a school balance between her scientific and creative sides.
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was definitely a new experience because I was adding paint on while it was still wet. It didn’t always turn out the way I hoped it would, but after doing some practice, it got better.” Callia keeps quite busy away from her easel as well. She swims for her high school, mainly as a sprinter in the 50- and 100-yard
freestyle races. She’s also a student leader with the Loudoun Community Press, a publishing organization in Loudoun County. Recent projects she has worked on include a podcast, open mic nights and a literary anthology filled with submissions from high schoolers from across Loudoun.
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HORMONE TREATMENTS T
l started a few months ago I was feeling off and it seemed like everything was suffering my mom duties, my work, and even my relationship with my husband
“I’m interested in learning more about the intersection between art – the humanities – and also STEM and seeing what sort of projects I can do that combine those two interests of mine,” she said. “But in general, I just hope to be able to find a community of artists wherever I go that I can spend time with and share ideas with.” A
t wasn’t anything I could pinpoint exactly, but I knew something wasn’t right. I was tired all the time, even though I was ping well, and I found myself getting frustrated over things that wouldn’t have bothered me before. My energy levels were , my mood was unpredictable, and I just didn’t feel like ME anymore. At first, I thought it was just a part of getting older, or maybe stress was catching up with me.
It all started a few months ago. I was fee ing off and it seemed like everything was suffering . . . my mom dut es, my work, and even my relationship with my husband.
It all started a few months ago I was feeling off and it seemed like everything was suffering my mom duties, my work, and even my relationship with my husband
It wasn’t anything I could pinpoint exactly, but I knew something wasn’t right. I was tired all the time, even though I was sleeping well, and I found myself getting frustrated over things that wouldn’t have bothered me before. My energy levels were low, my mood was unpredictable, and I just didn’t feel like ME anymore. At first, I thought it was just a part of getting older, or maybe stress was catching up with me.
ut, then I started hearing about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) from friends and doctors. Honestly, I didn’t think ch of it. “That’s something for women in menopause,” I thought. I didn’t reali h h h impact so many aspects of your life, regardless of your
It wasn’t anything I could pinpoint exact y, but I knew something wasn’t right. I was tired all the time, even though I was sleeping well and I found myself getting frustrated over th ngs that wou dn’t have bothered me before My energy levels were low, my mood was unpredictable, and I just didn’t feel like ME anymore At first, I thought it was just a part of getting older, or maybe stress was catching up w th me
But, then I started hearing about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) from friends and doctors. Honestly, I didn’t think h f it “Th t’ mething for women in menopause,” I thought. I didn’t realize how much hormones can impact so many aspects of your life, regardless of your age.
hat I came to understand was that the imbalance I was feeling was due to my imple solution that could help me feel like myself aga
For women, hormonal fluctuations are common throughout life, whether i enopause, or even stress These imbalances can bring on symptoms like fat gain, and sleep disturbances -- things I was experiencing withou
But, then I started hearing about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) from friends and doctors Honestly, I didn’t think much of it “That’s someth ng for women in menopause ” I thought I didn’t realize how much hormones can impact so many aspects of your life, regard ess of your age
rstand was that the imbalance I was feeling was due to my hormones, and there was a simple solution that could help me feel like myself again.
WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HORMO ur hormones play a huge role in everything -- from our mood to our metabo ’re the body’s natural messengers, influencing everything from how we feel to how our bod balance, it can affect every area of our l
What I came to understand was that the imbalance I was feeling was due to my hormones, and there was a simple so ution that could help me feel ike myself again
WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HORMONES
WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HORMONES
a huge role in everything -- from our mood to our metabolism, sleep, and energy They’re the body’s g everything from how we feel to how our bodies function So when something is out of balance, it can affect every area of our lives
What shocked me was that my hormone levels weren’t that low compared to wh en’t optimized for hormonal balance -- so I felt terrible. With just a small adjust d been dealing with -- like the constant fatigue and mood swings -- started to f
IT’S ABOUT FEELING LIKE ME AGAIN
he truth is, I didn’t realize how much better I could feel until I tried HRT. It wasn about restoring a sense of equilibrium in my life. It was about fe
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ations are common throughout life, whether it’s due to a pregnancy, perimenopause, se imbalances can bring on symptoms like fatigue, irritability, anxiety, hot flashes, weight sturbances -- things I was experiencing without really understanding why
For women, hormonal fluctuations are common throughout ife, whether it’s due to a pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause or even stress. These imba ances can bring on symptoms l ke fat gue, irritabi ity, anxiety, hot flashes, weight ga n and sleep disturbances -- things I was experiencing without real y understanding why
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What shocked me was that my hormone levels weren’t that low compared to where they should be for my age. But they weren’t optimized for hormonal balance -- so I felt terrible With just a small adjustment through HRT, those symptoms I had been deal ng with -- like the constant fatigue and mood swings -- started to fade. I finally felt a sense of balance!
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Left: Callia Sun (right) works on an art project with a fellow student. Lower left: Callia with her family. Lower right: Callia competing in a swim competition.
OK, we know all kids are amazing, but if you know of a kid who’s so amazing that they should be featured on this page, please email information to editor@ashburnmagazine.com.
Ashburn Students Head to White House for Cybersecurity Summit
Six students and two teachers from Briar Woods High School and the Academies of Loudoun had a day to remember when they attended the second annual Quad Cyber Challenge at The White House.
The October event – held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building – was titled “Unlocking Cybersecurity Career Pathways to Success and Global Security” and featured panels with cybersecurity experts and high school students from Virginia, California and Colorado.
The Loudoun students attending were Rithvik Amaragani, Daniel Mayer, Ishita Samant, Pranjali Sanwal, Ria Singh and Shahzaib Tariq. They were accompanied by teachers Christina Oak from Briar Woods and Jeremy Staples from the Academies of Loudoun’s Monroe Advanced Technical Academy.
“The Quad Cyber Challenge offered our students a unique opportunity to engage with top cybersecurity professionals and contribute to critical conversations about the future of cybersecurity education and workforce development,” said Dr. Michael Grubbs, director of career, technical, and adult education for the Loudoun school system.
Local Music School Honored by Governor, First Lady
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced 10 honorees in the 2024 Governor’s Volunteerism & Community Service Awards during a November ceremony at the Executive Mansion, and an Ashburn school was among them.
The annual awards program spotlights the outstanding volunteer efforts of individuals, organizations and businesses across Virginia.
Notes n’ Beats Music School in Ashburn teaches kids instruments and voice in both western
and Indian styles of music. However, the students have shown their commitment to making a difference in the community by spreading the joy of music through small pop-up shows and raising funds with large-scale benefits. The school has raised more than $135,000 for various organizations over the past seven years.
“These extraordinary honorees embody the spirit of service that defines Virginia,” said the state’s first lady, Suzanne S. Youngkin. “Their dedication and impact inspire us all to strengthen our communities through acts of kindness and commitment.”
Notes n’ Beats was featured in the September/October issue of Ashburn Magazine in an article about a fundraiser the students held to help pay for eye surgery needed by a local teen living in a homeless shelter.
Students from Briar Woods High School and the Academies of Loudoun outside the White House, while attending the Quad Cyber Challenge event in October.
Veena Pandiri (left), the founder of Notes n' Beats in Ashburn, accepts an award from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other dignitaries in Richmond.
Hollywood Calling
M.J. Marino Stemp stands with a poster for the movie "Burden," which she helped produce.
For M.J. Marino Stemp, the thing she remembers most about meeting Prince Harry was the hug and warm conversation.
“He was very open and kind,” Marino Stemp said. “We talked for a minute or two – I told him I loved what he was doing for the military, and we talked about his mother – before everyone started to pounce on him.”
The 2016 encounter with the young royal scion at a sporting event in Florida was just one interesting anecdote from a career filled with such moments. You see – Marino Stemp may be a military wife in Ashburn Village plus a mother to two sons and a grandmother to four grandchildren, but she’s also a television and movie producer with many interesting credits to her name. In 2018, Marino Stemp collaborated with a film company in Hollywood to produce the movie “Burden,” starring Forest Whitaker, Usher, Garrett Hedlund and
Andrea Riseborough.
The intense, controversial film is about the Ku Klux Klan in a South Carolina town. An idealistic reverend played by Whitaker strives to keep the peace by urging the group’s leader to disavow his racist past.
“Siding with the angels can seem like a snap in films, but ‘Burden’ has the grace to show how difficult and wrenching a choice that can be,” wrote Kenneth Turan, a critic with the Los Angeles Times.
Marino Stemp was also a producer on the film “Lonesome Soldier,” released in 2023. Based on a true story, the movie portrays the life of Jackson Harlow, a small-town Midwestern musician who becomes a haunted Iraq War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Alexander Randazzo is a producer, writer and actor. He was one of the writers of “Lonesome Soldier,” and he also played the lead role in the film. He and Marino Stemp have worked together for more than six years
now, and it’s a relationship he treasures.
“Her role as a producer on ‘Lonesome Soldier’ ranged from connecting me to financing, to assisting with production and communications with both the real-life people the film was based on as well as with talent, to … helping us with distribution connections,” Randazzo said. “It is rare in the film business for someone to come across a producer as wonderful and good-hearted as M.J., let alone as driven and connected. She is truly unique.”
Marino Stemp first had the chance to immerse herself in media-related work in 1993, when she was living in St. Charles, Md. Her husband, Don, was a pilot stationed at Andrews Air Force Base. One of their two sons, Donnie, was acting in high school plays and auditioning for television parts.
“The more I took him to auditions, the more I became interested in the activity that was going on,” Marino Stemp said. “Little did I know that TV was in me too.”
Marino Stemp met another mother through her sons’ school who was involved in local show business. “That mom was doing a children’s show at our local mall, and she asked me to help,” Marino Stemp recalled. “As a result, I wound up creating a show called ‘Southern Maryland Living,’ which appeared on local Maryland TV.” After moving at least eight times over the years, including a stint in Germany, the family settled in Ashburn when Don retired from the Air Force in 1996. By then, Marino Stemp’s list of media connections had grown considerably. This led to work producing programming for local television in Loudoun County and Northern Virginia. She produced a show about legendary Loudoun County Public Schools teacher and coach John Costello that drew acclaim and soon she had her own show – “Where’s M.J.?” – for which she interviewed and produced feature stories about Loudoun residents and businesses.
Local mom finds movie success in Tinsel Town
BY CHUCK CASCIO
In her years working in the entertainment industry, M.J. Marino Stemp has encountered many well-known personalities, including Allison Janney, Prince Harry, Usher and Adam Driver.
All the while – getting involved in movies never crossed her mind. “I never wanted to produce a movie. I didn’t know it was in me.”
That is until she was introduced to a Southern reverend who had worked with a young man to help him escape the clutches of the Ku Klux Klan. This led to a decade-long odyssey to bring the story to film – what became “Burden” – her first feature as a producer.
“In the beginning, I was a little starstruck,” Marino Stemp recalled. “Who gets to work with Forest Whitaker and Usher in their first film? Working on it for so long and then having it come true was pretty amazing.”
Donnie Stemp now has his own career in Hollywood, where he works as an actor, musician and singer-songwriter. He says it’s been great watching his mom achieve so much.
“I think it probably was a lifelong dream of hers, but she never thought she would act on it, let alone be successful at it,”
Left: M.J. Marino Stemp with the poster for "Lonesome Soldier," one of the Hollywood movies that she worked on as a producer. Above: Marino Stemp with actor Forest Whitaker, who starred in the move "Burden."
A new year means new gifts at Ketterman’s! While the rest of the world is shopped-out from the holiday season, the Ketterman girls and thousands of other store owners from all over the country are just getting started. Each January Tammi, Jacki and Richi travel to the Atlanta Gift Show to find treasures to carry in the store for the coming year. They spend five days walking the showrooms of three 16 to 22 - story buildings to curate the eclectic mix of gifts, fashion jewelry and accessories Ketterman’s is known for.
With so many options, it can be challenging to choose what is best to offer our guests. For every product we decide to bring in, there are a hundred that were decided against. The gift show is a great way to see what trends are popular and to compare the quality of the “same” merchandise. If you’ve ever been unpleasantly surprised by an online or catalog purchase, you know what we mean. There is no substitute for in - person shopping Being able to touch and feel, or even try on the product is the best way to ensure value.
Relax, Get Cozy! Ketterman s has partnered with several brands to offer the best in personal care and relaxation. The Tassy family of North Carolina brings us Ella B. Candles Honey House Naturals offers premiere bee based lotions and soaps. Faceplant bamboo jammies and footsies can make anyone want to stay in “pajamas all day!” Sonoma Lavender spa heat wraps can relieve stress or aches and pains.
What is That?!
The gift show is a great place to meet true innovators and brilliant inventors. The Handbag Handcuff is a utility clip that can keep your purse safe in the car or the store and can help you carry just
I
t was the name that people got stuck on. Suhas Subramanyam. Six syllables. “Foreign” sounding, perhaps to some. Hard to pronounce (although it really isn’t).
“People had told me to change my name when I was first starting to run. They said someone with my name wouldn’t be electable,” Subramanyam recalled. “I still get that a lot.”
But this Brambleton resident did run – and he won. First a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, then the Virginia Senate, and now as the first Ashburn resident ever elected to the United States Congress representing Virginia’s 10th District.
And he did it with his name intact.
“I just wanted to stay true to myself,” he said. “I thought I’d rather lose as Suhas Subramanyam then win as someone I’m not.”
Subramanyam moved to Ashburn in early 2017 – he had relatives in the area and liked being close to Dulles Internation-
al Airport for work travel. He quickly fell in love with the community and – wanting to give back – ran for the House of Delegates in 2019.
Then, in an election that was not kind to many Democrats, Subramanyam bucked the trend and was elected to Congress this past November with 52.3% of the vote versus 47.7% for his Republican opponent. He replaces Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who retired after being diagnosed with a serious health issue. Ashburn Magazine sat down with Subramanyam at the Blend Coffee Bar on a recent chilly morning to learn more about Ashburn’s new congressman in Washington. Here are excerpts from our conversation.
Congratulations on your election. How confident were you?
“We were pretty confident … A couple of reasons – one, I think the politics of MAGA and Trump seemed to be rejected
from most of the people we were talking to. I also represented the area as a state senator, and there were even Republicans who really liked the work that I had done for the community who were supporting me. Combine that with the fact that this has always been more of a lean-Democratic district – so we felt we had a pretty good chance of winning, and that bore out even in a bad year for Democrats.”
How did you feel that night when the results came in – the moment you knew you had won?
“I was just kind of taking it in with my family. I brought my kids to the election night party, and it was really special to be there with them. Jennifer Wexton was there, too, and it was really special for her to introduce me to the crowd. I have really big shoes to fill. She’s been an amazing leader for our region for a long time now.”
As an incoming congressman, you had orientation in November. What was the experience like?
MR.SUBRAMANYAM GOES TO WASHINGTON
“I’ve been so focused on being a state senator and a dad and running this campaign, it didn’t really set in until orientation when I actually was able to step onto the floor of the Congress and meet Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Johnson and Nancy Pelosi and see some of these people that have shaped our country. It was really surreal, and it’s not something that I thought would be possible.”
What are some specific legislative priorities for you as a freshman congressman?
“I want to make sure we have a strong economy in Northern Virginia. Part of that is protecting the federal workforce and federal contractors. One of the things I keep hearing the Trump administration –the incoming administration – say is that they want to force government workers out by making them come to work every day in person in D.C. I would love to actually give people here the ability to come to an office, but the problem is that the traffic is so bad that it makes no sense to force every federal government contractor and civil servant to drive to D.C. every day. It would be a nightmare.”
So, what’s the solution?
“One of the things I’ve been advocating for is to try to get more federal government offices [and] satellite offices out here in
Meet the New Congressman from Ashburn
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
Loudoun and Prince William and then try to get a system where we can have remote workers that works for the agency and for the employees. And then try to see if we can fix our infrastructure so it’s easier to get to D.C. Part of that is supporting Metro. Part of that is supporting infrastructure projects so it doesn’t all fall on the county.”
How will you navigate a divided Congress?
“I served in the House of Delegates with a Republican majority with a Republican governor and we still found ways to pass legislation. I’m going to do whatever it takes. I’m going to work with Republicans. By nature, I’m a uniter and a peacemaker. I’m generally more bipartisan than most because I think it’s how you get things done in government.”
What are your lines in the sand when it comes to compromising?
“A lot of the stuff that I care about is not partisan. There are some things I wish weren’t partisan, but they are. I wish gun violence prevention was not so partisan, but it tends to be now. I also wish that the
environment and climate change weren’t so partisan. And I wish reproductive freedom wasn’t so partisan. Those are things where I’m not going to compromise my values because my values are important to me, and they are what got me elected.”
If there’s one thing you could accomplish in your first term in Congress, what would it be?
“There are a lot of things I want to do. I’ll give you a couple because it’s hard for me to pick one. I have a dream of buying the toll road and chopping the toll prices down to two bucks. I think that’s probably a 20-year project if it ever happens. Certainly, if in two years you told me that the federal contractors and civil servants did not get fired en masse, I would consider that a big victory.”
What about immigration, which has been such a hot-button issue?
“Immigration is something that I think is frustrating to a lot of people right now. There are a lot of people who live here in Loudoun who are on H-1B Visas and do a lot of great work and put in their time
Suhas Subramanyam campaigns with Sen. Tim Kaine this past fall.
Subramanyam appears at a campaign event with his predecessors from the 10th District – Rep. Jennifer Wexton (left) and former congresswoman Barbara Comstock (right).
VITAL STATISTICS:
AGE: 38
HOMETOWN: Clear Lake, Texas (Houston area)
SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM
FAMILY: Wife, Miranda Peña Subramanyam, and two daughters – Maya 4, and Nina, 3.
EDUCATION: Bachelor of arts in philosophy from Tulane University and law degree from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law
CAREER:
Lawyer working with tech start-ups; policy advisor and Special Assistant for Technology Policy in the Obama White House from 2015-2017.
and they just can’t get a green card appointment and can’t get a path to citizenship. I would love to see us address legal immigration in a meaningful way. That would really help people in our district and in our community.”
Speaking of, as an Indian American, you are representing an area with a large South Asian population.
“I knew there was a large Asian American population here, but I didn’t realize how large. It’s been really nice. I have a mixed-race family. It’s been nice to have temples and churches and even mosques and synagogues near us. My kids have exposure to so many different cultures. That’s really special I think and what makes Loudoun so unique.”
Do you feel a responsibility to that community?
“Most of the Asians here are from South Asia – you have Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka. And the South Asian communities are very different – even within the Indian American population with the different regions of India. So, one of the things I have stressed is unity. Let’s not let the
politics of South Asia divide us here in America. Let’s just celebrate the cultures that people have brought from all over the world.”
Why made you decide to get into politics?
“I didn’t really see myself as a candidate until the 2016 election. That’s when I started thinking maybe I should get involved. I was volunteering for different campaigns in Loudoun. I had all this experience from working on Capitol Hill and in the White House. I started kicking around the idea in my head.”
So, you finally took the leap.
“What triggered me really running for office – there was a state senator in the area – Dick Black. I interacted with his staff a couple of times and had a bad experience and felt like we could probably do better for this region. I also felt like Loudoun, in general, had some good representation, but there were a lot of ideas that I had to help us get a voice in Richmond.”
What kind of politician do you think you’ve turned out to be?
“I always end up looking at the moonshots to see if I could make a dent. And I find that I am less influenced by lobbyists or outside groups because I am always willing to lose my job over doing what I think is right. When I got in, I was told to never touch the toll road issue because it was the third rail of Loudoun politics and everyone who touched it got burned. So that was my first bill, and I basically introduced a Republican bill – and it took two sessions – but I ended up passing a version of it that stopped two toll increases.”
You’ve said you sometimes get crosswise with your fellow Democrats for not always adhering to the party dogma.
“One of the things that concerned me about politicians was that it was all about self-preservation for them and that they would not do the right thing if it meant
ABOUT THE 10TH
The 10th District, now represented by Suhas Subramanyam, consists of all of Loudoun County as well as western Prince William County, a small portion of southwestern Fairfax County and all of Fauquier and Rappahannock counties and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. In November’s election, Loudoun voters made up about 55% of the total votes cast in the district.
DID YOU KNOW?
– who represented District
Suhas Subramanyam
32 in the Virginia Senate – attended Clear Lake High School in Texas – the same high school his colleague, Sen. Russet Perry, attended. Perry represents the neighboring District 31 in the state Senate. Subramanyam is a few years younger than Perry and was friends with her brother.
Left: Suhas Subramanyam is sworn into the Virginia House of Delegates in 2020. Right: Subramanyam with his wife, Miranda, and their daughters at their Brambleton home.
Kathy Godfrey Public Relations Manager
LIGHTNING ROUND
FAVORITE BOOK:
“The Count of Monte Christo”
FAVORITE
MUSICIAN OR BAND:
A band called Yellowcard FAVORITE MOVIE:
“The Matrix” FAVORITE
TV SHOW:
“Game of Thrones” FAVORITE
FOOD: Tacos
FAVORITE ASHBURN
RESTAURANT:
Rupa Vira’s The Signature (on Beaumeade Circle)
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: Western Loudoun County and/ or Fauquier County. “I like hiking, so anywhere I can hike is a good vacation.”
FAVORITE MEMORY:
“The birth of my kids was pretty amazing.”
Suhas Subramanyam with his wife and children on a hike at Ashburn's Reservoir Park. Hiking is one of Subramanyam's favorite pastimes.
keeping the power and the prestige. I don’t think I have that issue. If I do the right thing and I lose reelection over it, I am happy to go back to my family and do my career and make more money. I found out when you [approach it like that], the voters actually reward you.”
Getting away from politics, what do you like to do around Ashburn?
“I love taking my kids to the playground and the community pool when it's open. We like to go to the rec centers and the indoor pools when it’s too cold and the community pool is closed. My kids take up a lot of my time and I love that. We do a lot of play dates with our neighbors in Ashburn. I like to play pick-up basketball when I do have some free time.” (Editor’s note: Subramanyam is roughly 6-foot-2.) A
Ashburn entrepreneur builds sweet bakery business
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
The inspiration for Kalyani Vajre’s business came from – of all things – an episode of the TV show “Friends.”
“I don’t know if you remember, but there is a cheesecake episode on ‘Friends’ where Rachel and Chandler fight over a cheesecake and the cheesecake falls on the floor and they are trying to pick it up and they keep fighting,” Vajre said. “So, I’m like you know what – I’m going to try making cheesecake.”
It was a fortuitous decision for this busy Ashburn resident, who lives in The Regency neighborhood with her husband and two sons. A longtime baker of cakes and cookies and pastries, she started experimenting with cheesecakes during the pandemic, and they were a big hit with her family and friends and neighbors.
Soon, an idea sprouted: Could she turn her cheesecakes into a business? Spoiler alert – she did, and Cheesecake Bean was born in 2021.
“When you think about a bean, you think about a bean sprout,” Vajre said. “It’s a new beginning. And that’s what Cheesecake Bean means – a new beginning with my cheesecake business.”
A professional recruiter with Salesforce by day, Vajre dove headfirst into creating her new business from the ground up. No stone was left unturned.
“I created huge spreadsheets and sent my taste-testers specific questions about my cheesecakes, based on their appearance and the texture and the freshness and the packaging,” she said. “I needed to figure it all out.”
CHAMP CHEESECAKE
Cheesecake baker
Kalyani Vajre holding one of her decadent creations.
Cheesecake Bean offers both full-sized cheesecakes as well as gift boxes featuring a variety of mini cheesecakes.
She struck deals with area wineries to offer her cheesecakes along with their wines. This led to miniature cheesecake flights paired with wine flights, which proved popular. She started selling her cheesecakes at local farmers’ markets. She entered a contest called Dessert Wars and took sixth place in the Washington region.
And the business grew and grew.
“It is awe-inspiring for me to watch someone follow their passion and grow it into something they always wanted to do,” said Vajre’s husband, Chetan. “I grew up wanting to be an entrepreneur, but now my wife is the entrepreneur, and I am living my dream through her.”
The flavors offered by Cheesecake Bean reflect both Vajre’s childhood in India and her adult married life in Ash burn, where she moved in 2005. There are traditional South Asian flavors such as cardamom, pistachio and rose. And there are good old American flavors like red velvet,
On the off chance you are interested in starting your own baking business, Kalyani Vajre literally wrote the book on it. Her tome “Bake, Brand, and Beyond” – with all the lessons she learned on her journey –is available on Amazon.
Kalyani Vajre in her commercialgrade kitchen.
Oreo, chocolate and traditional New York style.
Helen Edem, who lives off Ashburn Road, said she never cared for cheesecake – until her husband ordered some mini cheesecakes from Cheesecake Bean.
“We fell in love with them. We get them for every birthday, every Christmas,” Edem said. “I’m a lover of chocolate and I’ve had her Nutella one and the Oreo one, but recently I tried one of the Indian ones – the gulab jamun flavor – and that has become my favorite. My husband is a peanut butter head, and he likes the Reese’s one.”
Vajre has a nice little home business going now. She did work out of a commercial kitchen, but after recently moving into a new house with two kitchens, she had one licensed for her business and bakes all her cheesecakes there.
She pays special attention to packaging – elegant blue boxes the color of robins’ eggs are a favorite for gift-givers – and she doesn’t ship her cheesecakes.
Presentation is important and she can’t trust her delicate cakes to shipping services. Customers place orders and then pick them up in person.
She doesn’t see this changing.
“There’s a huge demand, but I’m able to manage my fulltime work [at Salesforce] and my cheesecake business,” she said. “But I do see myself eventually retiring from my job and pursuing this full time. I’d like to open a small boutique cheesecake shop.”
And if she does, her eager customers will have Chandler and Rachel to thank for it. A
Kalyani Vajre with her husband, Chetan Vajre, and their sons, Jai, 14, and Kabir, 12. Plus their energetic pooch, Milo.
ASHBURN COUPLE’S SEARCH FOR ITALIAN HOME FEATURED ON HGTV
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
Lots of people have probably watched the show “House Hunters International” on HGTV. Each episode, an individual or a couple travels to some exotic overseas locale and works with a local real estate agent, touring three homes before settling on one to buy to begin their lives as expatriates.
The show is a fantasy for many people – and half the fun as a viewer is deciding which home you would buy yourself and then guessing which home the couple will ultimately choose.
HOUSE HUNTING STARS
appeared on the show as they hunted for the perfect second home in Italy.
“My parents immigrated [from Italy] to the United States in the mid-’60s. All my aunts, uncles and cousins and my grandparents lived in Italy, and I spent a lot of time going back to Italy as a child,” Dario said. “When Ash and I got married, we started traveling to Italy – we were just drawn to spending more time there and eventually exposing our kids to the heritage and the culture.”
Well, it wasn’t just a fantasy for one Ashburn couple. Ashley and Dario Campolattaro – who live in Brambleton – recently
The Campolattaros had always dreamed of owning a home there, and with their three boys grown and launched they decided the time was right. Fans of the HGTV show, they reached out to producers on a lark and submitted an application.
“It was Covid, and we were just spending a lot of time bingeing the show and thinking about traveling that we couldn’t do. We thought wouldn’t it be funny if we did that,” Ashley said. “And then we did, and they responded. I wasn’t expecting that.” Now comes time for some hard truths. If you think everything you see on TV is 100% real, we have some news for you.
In the case of “House Hunters International,” by the time the production crews start filming, the homebuyers have already bought their home. In fact, they complete the purchase before they are even selected to be on the show.
Think about it this way – it would be a huge waste of time and resources to follow a family through the house-hunting process only to have the deal fall through.
“A lot of things can go sideways,” Ashley said.
Fortunately for the Campolattaros, they found a home they loved in the town of Lucca, Italy (population 89,000), not far from Pisa in the country’s Tuscany region. And they were ultimately chosen to be featured on “House Hunters” as well.
“It was a bit like, ‘Oh, s—t. What did we get ourselves into, being on TV?’ The cringey-ness of what this could be like,” Dario said with a laugh. “It’s outside our character, but we decided it would memorialize this amazing experience of buying a house in Italy.”
Ashley said the couple did a lot of Zoom calls with producers to talk about the process of buying the home.
“They are looking for sources of conflict. If you agree on everything, that’s kind of boring,” she added. “Oftentimes, there’s a good cop and a bad cop, and I was
Real estate agent Benedetta Satti shooting "House Hunters International."
The building where Dario and Ashley Campolattaro found their new home.
The Campolattaros toast their new lives in Italy.
thinking I didn’t want to be the bad cop.”
The couple closed on their home in Lucca in March 2023, but the filming for the show didn’t occur until April 2024. With camera crews in tow, the Campolattaros toured the home they had already purchased, along with two others.
“The director was really good at what he was doing,” Ashley said. “He would stand at the side of the camera and ask us leading
questions to get us talking. Everything we said had to be said three times, because they only had one camera, but they wanted to shoot it from three different angles.”
The Campolattaros were paid $2,000 for their appearance, and the finished episode debuted on HGTV in November. Lots of their Ashburn friends and neighbors tuned in.
“It’s not often you get to watch good friends on national TV,” said Angela
Fuentes, an Ashburn resident and longtime friend of the Campolattaros. “[Ashley and I] already knew that they portray the couples with differing opinions. They made Dario the carefree, optimistic spouse and Ashley the more conservative, practical one,
The Wonders of Winter Continue in Ashburn
teaching methods and a survival-first approach to help people of all levels become safer, stronger swimmers. British Swim School’s safe, fun, and effective instructional program has made it the preferred choice for parents and students for over
The Campolattaros are interviewed on camera.
The view from the Campolattaros' Italian home.
Ashburn’s
The Big Picture
Home sales increased significantly in the two Ashburn ZIP codes combined in November, compared with November 2023, as the real estate market heated up in the fall. Countywide in November, home sales were up 17.6% compared with the prior year.
More inventory coming online… New listings in November were up a whopping 53.2% in the 20148 ZIP code and 4.9% in 20147, according to the latest available data from the Dulles Area Association of Realtors. Countywide, listings were up 14.3%. Pending sales and the median sales price were also up in both Ashburn ZIP codes.
The November Details
Closed sales:
• Up 18.4% in 20147
• Up 52.4% in 20148 ZIP code
• Combined sales totaled 122, up from 91 a year earlier.
Pending sales:
• Up 35% in 20147
• Up 21.6% in 20148
Median sales price:
• Up 4.2% to $680,000 in 20147
• Up 13% to $828,128 in 20148
Average days on market (homes sold in November):
• 16 in 20147
• 18 in 20148
Top sales: The five highest-priced homes that sold in each of Ashburn’s two ZIP codes between mid-October and mid-December. Data and photos from Realtor.com.
$1,800,000
Clicking Through History
Stone Bridge students help to create groundbreaking database
BY CHRIS WADSWORTH
Imagine wanting to explore your ancestry and family history, only to hit a brick wall. Literally all family references and links disappear.
This is the situation many African Americans find themselves in – for an obvious reason. Before 1865, some, even many, of their ancestors were enslaved and considered “property.” There was no reason to keep certain life records – births, baptisms, marriages, deaths – on “property.”
But Morven Park – the grand estate in Leesburg that, ironically, was once home to enslaved individuals as well – is working to help Blacks trying to build their family trees. And they’re doing it with the assistance of a team of students from Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn.
It’s called the “246 Years Project” – which aims to document and honor the millions of enslaved men, women and children whose names and stories deserve to be known.
STACEY METCALFE
“It’s good news, bad news,” said Stacey Metcalfe, executive director and CEO of Morven Park. “The bad news is they were considered property, but the good news is that houses like this have records. There are a lot of documents that contain a lot of information about the people – including the enslaved people – that lived and worked here and across our county.”
The 246 Years Project is taking those records – more than a century old – and entering them into an online, searchable database that is free and available to all.
The records include all kinds of things – court records, bills of sale, newspaper advertisements and more.
Jana Shafagoj, director of preservation and
history at Morven Park, who developed the idea for the project, said the team started data entry with the records from the Loudoun County Clerk of the Circuit Court Historic Records & Deeds Office.
“They hold the largest single collection of records with information of enslaved people in Loudoun.”
By late December, the database held nearly 3,000 documents with the names of more than 13,000 enslaved and emancipated people. About 40% of the documents are publicly available, and the rest are going through a review process before going live online.
Another source of information – painful as it is to consider – are the flyers that used to be distributed when an enslaved person “ran away.”
“Not only do these documents often describe the names of people, but the genealogical connections,” Shafagoj said.
“Whole family units would flee together so it provides physical descriptions, height, appearance, things about their speech patterns, scars, things that would help identify a person as well as where they had family and where they might be headed for.”
All this information goes into the database. Each word and fact is a possible thread to connect to another thread until a
history can be woven. And that’s where the kids from Stone Bridge come in. They are helping enter everything into the database – a sometimes painful experience.
“I was shocked,” said senior Amari Kamara. “Human beings – just like everyone else and they are being sold.”
Sophomore Julie Belk said she didn’t realize how prevalent slavery was in Loudoun. “It’s very much rooted here in Ashburn and Loudoun County. It’s very sad their stories are not yet told.”
The 246 Years Project has been in the works for years, but it formally launched last May, when the database went live. While right now it is focusing on Loudoun and Northern Virginia, the hope is to take it nationwide – linking records from hundreds of historic homes and thousands of courthouses, newspapers and other sources.
“What’s going to be magical about these databases is when you start making the connections,” Metcalfe said. “Someone
Left: A green plant growing through a crack in a brick wall has come to symbolize the ability of the 246 Years Project to break through the "brick wall" of missing records for Black genealogists. Right: Students from Stone Bridge High School enter information into the 246 Years Project database at Morven Park.
The Morven Park mansion in Leesburg.
JANA SHAFAGOJ
– but it’s also a little bittersweet.
“The only thing I feel a little sad about is that we don’t incorporate this part of our American history, our American story, into other classrooms,” Davis said. “Why do we have to have separate classes for separate
histories? But I am grateful even if it’s in this segregated class to have the opportunity to teach them things they missed in their regular U.S. history class.”
Although the current students’ time on the project is almost over, the work will go
Pulled together, these stories will expand our understanding of American history.
on. Several dozen other citizen volunteers are also regularly entering information into the system.
Next up, historic documents from the Balch Library in Leesburg as well as material from Oatlands, another historic home in Loudoun.
“We do not anticipate an end to the 246 Years Project,” Shafagoj said. “There is no limit to the individual lived experiences and stories that will emerge. … Pulled together, these stories will expand our understanding of American history.” A
To learn more about Morven Park’s 246 Years Project or explore the database visit morvenpark.org/246years
Servicing Ashburn
A round-up of the latest restaurant, retail, and other cool news from Ashburn and beyond. Check out The Burn at TheBurn.com and follow it on Facebook, and Instagram.
1 ONE LOUDOUN LANDS KENDRA SCOTT STORE
Another new retail tenant is on its way to the growing One Loudoun center in Ashburn. The Burn has learned that a Kendra Scott store is in the works. Kendra Scott is a boutique that specializes in jewelry, watches, personalized gifts and more. The designer brand launched brickand-mortar stores in 2010 and now has more than 100 locations. Kendra Scott will take a roughly 1,400-square-foot corner space on Exchange Street, at the other end of the block from the Sweetgreen restaurant.
2 ROCK N’ CLAWS SEAFOOD
RESTAURANT CLOSES
After five years in business, the seafood restaurant Rock N’ Claws has closed for good in the Ashburn Village Shopping Center. The Burn spotted the restaurant’s
sign being removed in mid-December, and, inside, all the furniture had been cleared out. There was no official announcement, but the Rock N’ Claws Facebook page listed it as “permanently closed.” A brief message was posted: “Thank you to all the patrons over the last five years. Until we meet again!”
3 NORTHSTAR BOULEVARD OPENS BETWEEN ASHBURN AND ROUTE 50
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Dec. 17 to formally open the extension of Northstar Boulevard from Evergreen Mill Road in Ashburn south to Route 50. Various government and community leaders turned out for speeches before officially opening the long-anticipated roadway. The extension provides another main north-south access route for people traveling between Ashburn and the southern part of the county, including communities such as South Riding and Chantilly.
4 ASHBURN’S WICKET DOOR PUB CLOSES
The doors – wicket or otherwise – at the Wicket Door Pub in Ashburn are no longer open.
The surprise closing announcement came from the owners via social media. “We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing us to be part of your community for the past 5 years. We deeply appreciate our loyal guests,” it read in part. The pub opened in December 2019 in the University Commerce Center off George Washington Boulevard.
5 VENTURE X SIGNS DEAL FOR SECOND ASHBURN LOCATION
Venture X is bringing a second facility to Ashburn. It has signed a deal for about 16,000 square feet of space at the Bram Quarter development in Brambleton. Venture X – which already has a large operation at One Loudoun – offers private offices and co-working spaces. The new location in Brambleton will feature roughly 60 private offices. Target completion is late summer.
6 NEW BOMBAY TANDOOR OPENS IN LANSDOWNE TOWN CENTER
A new Indian restaurant opened in the Lansdowne Town Center in November. It’s called Bombay Tandoor Bar & Grille. It took the place that had previously been
the Bhai Sahab Indian Restaurant on the corner of Promenade Drive and Diamond Lake Drive. Bombay Tandoor –which already has a location in the Tysons area – features an extensive menu with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. A
