The Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University has been named No. 2 in the country in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report for its security studies programs.
If you dream of a career in international security, homeland security, emergency management or other fields that tackle “wicked problems” around the world, the Schar School has top-rated master’s degrees, graduate certificate programs and PhD programs to help you achieve your goals.
The Arlington, Virginia-based Schar School, convenient to the decision-and policy-makers of Washington, D.C., boasts a faculty that includes program former Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency director Michael V. Hayden, former ambassador Richard Kauzlarich and inaugural Carnegie Fellow and terrorism expert Louise Shelley.
Faculty also includes border security expert Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, former president and CEO of the Stimson Center Ellen Laipson, regional economics expert Stephen Fuller and former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.
The Schar School is an important part of George Mason’s Research 1 Doctoral Universities rating as its faculty and students contribute research of consequence in fields including biodefense, homeland security, emergency management, global relations, war, elections, federalism, economics, energy and others.
For more information about Schar School offerings, including graduate programs in Biodefense, International Commerce, International Security, Organization Development & Knowledge Management, Public Administration, Public Policy, Political Science, Transportation Policy and Operations & Logistics, click here.
Join us for an online information session to learn more about the Schar School’s Master’s in International Commerce and Policy program. The webinar begins at noon (EST) on Thursday, April 11. The webinar is free. Register here.
Calling all local photographers: Reston Now is looking for your photos of Reston, Herndon and Great Falls.
Whether you’re a photography pro or just love snapping pictures with your smartphone, we are always looking to include seasonal photos in our Morning Notes on weekdays or reshare pictures on our social media accounts.
To send us your photos, email us at [email protected], tag us in your photo on social media or join our Reston Now Flickr page.
You will always receive credit for the photo — either with your username or actual name.
Thank you to photographers who have already sent us photos.
File photo
Maggie Parker, an executive with Comstock Companies who played a role in helping to bring the Silver Line to Reston, is joining the increasingly crowded Democratic field for Hunter Mill Supervisor.
Parker, who last month was honored with a Cornerstones of Our Community Best of Reston award, has lived in Fairfax County since 1986. She says she’s running on a sense of civic duty and a “passion for responsible, collaborative dialogue.”
As a vice president for Comstock, the Reston-based real estate developer, she handles areas including communications, government relations and community relations.
“She has been helping Comstock integrate its new neighborhoods, Reston Station and Loudoun Station, into our regional community since 2010,” according to a press release. “She has spent her time listening to and engaging with regional authorities, jurisdictions and citizens to find thoughtful connections and integration.”
She stands out from the current field of contenders for Cathy Hudgins’ Hunter Mill District Supervisor seat by being a real estate developer in a field that has expressed varying degrees of opposition to or concern about continuing development in Reston and Vienna.
“Maggie believes in quality development in appropriate places and diligence in providing timely and multi-modal transportation solutions,” the press release said. “She strives to protect an environment that is sustainable, and that allows all in our community to live, work and prosper.”
She also “supports sustainable growth in the right places, economic development, continued pursuit of transportation solutions — all things that work in concert to improve equity opportunities for our community.”
Four other Democrats have entered the race for her seat on the county’s Board of Supervisors, including:
- Former Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Walter Alcorn
- Lawyer Laurie Dodd
- U.S. Air Force veteran and community advocate Shyamali Hauth
- Recent Roanoke College graduate Parker Messick
The Reston Citizens Association plans to hold a Hunter Mill District Supervisor forum on Tuesday, April 23, at the Jo Ann Rose Gallery (1609-A Washington Plaza N.) from 7-9 p.m.
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Have thoughts about Reston Now’s coverage of Reston, Herndon and Great Falls? Want to share your opinions about local issues?
Reston Now welcomes letters to the editors and op-eds of specific interest to the Reston, Herndon and Great Falls community.
The key difference is that an op-ed can be an opinion piece about a local issue, while a letter to the editor responds directly to a Reston Now story.
Please email it to [email protected]. You are also welcome to contact us with your idea for feedback before submitting it.
While there is no word limit, we suggest under 1,000 words. Contributions may be edited for length, content and style/grammar.
Reston Now does not publish op-eds relating to a specific candidate running for political office — either from the candidate’s team or opponents.
Thank you to everyone who has submitted op-eds and letters to the editor already.
Now that spring has finally arrived, warmer weather will invite locals outside to mill around Reston’s many shopping areas.
While Reston has an abundance of stores at Plaza America, Reston Town Center and the Spectrum, one of Reston’s unique design elements lies in its mix of residential and retail at its five village centers.
The first one — the Lake Anne Village Center — looks almost the same today as it did in 1976.
Many of the other village centers, though, are undergoing transformations, including South Lakes and Tall Oaks.
The Hunters Woods Village Center, which saw most of its original buildings demolished and replaced with more modern retail in the 1990s, is on a 2017 list of potential spots for new residential development put together by the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning.
Meanwhile, North Point Village Center has seen retailers and businesses leave and open. Most recently, a Thai restaurant opened at the village center.
Reston Now wants to know if there is a certain village center you frequently visit or really love going to.
Photo via Courtlyn McHale/Flickr
Facebook sometimes fails. Twitter can be tedious.
For those who want to get their local news without the noise, Reston Now has just the thing for you: a free email newsletter.
We’ll deliver local news headlines to your inbox on most weekdays and some weekends, without of the clutter. And we’ll never share your email address with a third party.
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Local News Now, the locally-owned company behind Reston Now, is looking for a multi-talented Account Executive to join our growing team.
The ideal candidate will possess strong interpersonal and organizational skills. They should be comfortable talking to clients and prospective clients, working to help them achieve their local marketing goals, and collaborating with colleagues to find creative solutions to challenging problems.
Located in Arlington’s Ballston neighborhood, LNN is an online local media company that uses social media and our websites — PoPville, ARLnow, Reston Now, Tysons Reporter and soon ALXnow — to delight readers, enhance communities, and serve clients. Our advertising clients range from local businesses to regional nonprofits to local governments. Collectively, our sites are read by nearly three-quarters of a million people every month.
Job Responsibilities
- Build and maintain client relationships
- Keep track of client ad campaigns and performance
- Work every day to find creative ways to champion clients
- Help run our four owned-and-operated Instagram accounts
- Collaborate with members of our business and editorial teams on special projects and initiatives
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree and relevant work experience
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong organizational skills and problem solving ability
- Ability to quickly learn digital tools like Pipedrive CRM, Asana, etc.
- Willingness to take initiative and push for the right course of action when necessary
This job is open to recent college grads, including those graduating this spring. Compensation will be determined by experience. All necessary training will be provided.
To apply, email a resume to [email protected].
Updated at 1:45 p.m. — Includes new information about Bombay Velvet’s opening.
Spring is less than two weeks away, and the change in seasons will also coincides with some new nail salons, fitness studios and restaurants at Reston Town Center and RTC West.
A fine-dining Indian restaurant, a brunch place and a nail salon are expected to arrive soon at RTC West.
Bombay Velvet is expected to open in late-March. An employee at Famous Toastery told Reston Now that it is aiming for an opening this month.
Signs say that Infinity Spa and Nails is “coming soon” to 12120 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 105.
Over at Reston Town Center, several of the announced newcomers have told Reston Now when they plan to open their doors.
Peet’s Coffee will hold a pre-opening party on Saturday (March 9) ahead of its official debut next week at 11830 Freedom Drive. While Peet’s throws its party, fitness studio Solidcore is slated to open its doors for the first time.
Reston Town Center is also expected to welcome The Glossary Nail Spa and Fox Restuarant Concepts’ North Italia soon. Later this summer, Restonians can expect DC Row this summer.
Pick your favorite below and tell us in the comments which other ones you are ready for.
Second and fifth images via Solidcore and North Italia websites
Reston Now has been reporting news about the Reston and Herndon areas since 2013.
Recently, we started posting on Instagram about restaurant openings, Reston Town Center updates and more.
Now you can get the news highlights, answer more polls and enjoy photos taken by locals on our Instagram (@restonnow).
Want to see your photos of Reston and Herndon on our social media or in Morning Notes? Send them to [email protected].
Thank you to everyone who has liked, followed and bookmarked us already!
Have thoughts about Reston Now’s coverage of Reston, Herndon and Great Falls? Want to share your opinions about local issues?
Reston Now welcomes letters to the editors and op-eds of specific interest to the Reston, Herndon and Great Falls community.
The key difference is that an op-ed can be an opinion piece about a local issue, while a letter to the editor responds directly to a Reston Now story.
Please email it to [email protected]. You are also welcome to contact us with your idea for feedback before submitting it.
While there is no word limit, we suggest under 1,000 words. Contributions may be edited for length, content and style/grammar.
Reston Now does not publish op-eds relating to a specific candidate running for political office — either from the candidate’s team or opponents.
Thank you to everyone who has submitted op-eds and letters to the editor already.
Voting in the 2019 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 4 through April 1. This is the last candidate profile.
Featured here is Tom Mulkerin, who is running unopposed for a three-year-term At-Large seat.
With the exception of minor formatting edits, the Q&A candidate profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words.
How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?
I have lived in Reston for almost 29 years. My wife, Ruth, and I purchased our first home — a condo at Harbor Court. One day while driving in Reston on a sales call, I saw people boating on Lake Thoreau. It was love at first sight. Thankfully, I chose well. We fell in love with Lake Thoreau. After six years at Harbor Court, we moved a half mile around the lake to a townhouse in the Lakewinds II cluster, and we’ve been there ever since.
What inspired you to run for the board?
I was inspired to run for the board by my sincere desire to be more involved in my community. I’ve spent over half my life in Reston, and I don’t anticipate ever leaving. I truly love Reston and want to have a say in the protection of its greatness.
Every day, multiple times a day, I am out and about with my dog, Franz. We are blessed to have it all in Reston — woods, trails, open space, lakes and a grocery store that meets everyone’s needs, to say the least. I witness and appreciate the impact RA has on our town. I want to better understand the challenges we, as a community, face, and to be part of the positive solutions residents should expect from RA. Reston is a special place, and I want to contribute to keeping it that way.
What is an example of an issue or subject that you believe the board has handled well?
RA’s support of Rescue Reston was obviously critical. The idea of a park in place of the golf course sounds great if you’re one of the homes facing the park; however, if you’re one of the homes facing new a development, that’s not so great.
I can’t imagine losing my view of Lake Thoreau to commercial development. I’ve also been impressed with the RA’s attention to stabilizing our annual assessment. I’ve actually experienced a rate decrease during my 29 years in Reston. I realize that won’t always be the case, but this is something that personally affects every Reston household and must be carefully managed with transparency.
What are the three biggest concerns facing Reston that you want to tackle?
My biggest concerns are:
- updating roads and infrastructure to better serve Reston’s growing population
- responsibly managing Reston’s natural resources (lakes, trails and streams)
- maintaining and improving existing RA recreational facilities (pools and tennis courts)
How would you address those issues using your prior personal or professional experience?
As one of the new members on the board, it will initially be my job to listen, learn and work as part of a team. As a real estate agent, I must work with multiple parties to bring a transaction to a successful closing. I will use these same skills on the much broader challenges facing RA.
Working with the public requires a sensitive approach, and I have a good reputation when it comes to listening to all sides and working towards balanced solutions that benefit everyone. As I previously said, I live on Lake Thoreau, so I have been personally affected by RA decisions related to water quality, boat restrictions and design review.
I have also volunteered for more than 10 years on the Lakewinds II cluster Board, so I’m experienced with the issues facing our local clusters and their relationship to RA. I’ve worked with my neighbors to peacefully end disputes, and I know the challenge of fiscal responsibility while managing an association’s budget. This is a volunteer position, and I’m willing to put in the work on behalf of my fellow citizens.
You can read Mulkerin’s election statement of candidacy here.
Photo via Reston Association
Back in December, Reston Now kicked off a “Then and Now” series to highlight how areas in Reston and Herndon have changed over the decades.
With help from Fairfax County’s Historic Imagery Viewer, which offers aerial views of the county dating back to 1937, Reston Now puts together a review of how each area has evolved.
Our look into the Lake Anne area started the series, which has since explored Reston Town Center, Reston Station and Herndon’s Elden Street — to name a few.
A tip from a Reston Now reader led us to the intersection of Hunter Mill and Hunter Station roads where a small farmhouse was recently demolished to make way for a residential development.
Last week, we highlighted the struggling Tall Oaks Village Center, which is slated for redevelopment into a mostly residential neighborhood.
Now, we want your input for our March 8 story.
Have an idea for a spot that’s not listed? Tell us in the comments section below.
Photos via Fairfax County Historic Imagery Viewer
Voting in the 2019 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 4 through April 1. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.
Featured here is Caren Anton, who is running unopposed for re-election to a one-year term as the Hunters Woods/Dogwood Representative.
With the exception of minor formatting edits, the Q&A candidate profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words.
How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?
I moved to Reston in 1989. My then husband and I had been living in Burke since 1983, and we wanted to relocate. We were familiar with Reston through involvement in theater programs at the Reston Community Center and were attracted to its beauty, diversity and strong sense of community. We also found that we had a wide variety of affordable housing options to choose from here. I am still living in the townhouse we bought.
What inspired you to run for the board?
When the Hunters Woods/Dogwood seat became available last April, I decided to apply for the board appointment to fill the vacancy until the next election cycle. I was just completing my term on the Elections Committee, where I served as chair the last year. I felt that serving on the board was a good next step for me.
Also, it’s no secret that the board and RA were in a state of flux, and I was interested in being involved in helping to “steady the ship.” Now with one year remaining on the three-year term, I want to continue the work I have begun to better serve the members. I am also very much looking forward to working with our new chief executive officer.
What is an example of an issue or subject that you believe the board has handled well?
I am proud to have been a part of the process that resulted in our hiring of Hank Lynch as RA’s new CEO. Under the leadership of President Andy Sigle and the board’s search committee, a series of interviews was professionally conducted and yielded an outstanding, successful candidate.
What are the three biggest concerns facing Reston that you want to tackle?
A big issue on the minds of many members is the fear of overdevelopment. The addition of Metro Reston has changed Reston and will continue to do so. It will no longer be the place it was 50 years ago, which I view as not all bad. Growth is inevitable and exciting. We just need to make sure we retain what is unique about us.
RA and various citizen groups continue to voice these concerns to Fairfax County and, fortunately, are being heard. Among many other serious concerns that need attention are inefficient covenants and Design Review Board operations and procedures that create dissatisfaction and frustration in our members. We also need to address our aging infrastructure and facilities.
How would you address those issues using your prior personal or professional experience?
Each director brings his or her unique strengths and experiences to the table. My “right brain/left brain” approach stems from my background as both an accounting and performing arts professional. In both of my careers, I have learned to interact closely with a wide variety of personalities in often stressful situations. I consider myself a keen observer of people, and I thrive on grassroots level engagement to gather information to assess the needs and expectations of the members.
I’m a you-can-catch more-flies with-honey-than-with-vinegar type of person, and I believe making any gains towards problem-solving will require healthy, civil interaction with my fellow board members, the Reston Association’s executives, the staff and the county.
You can read Anton’s election statement of candidacy here.
Photo via Reston Association
Voting in the 2019 Reston Association Board of Directors election will run from March 4 through April 1. This week, we will continue posting profiles on each of the candidates.
Featured here is John Mooney, who is running unopposed for re-election to a three-year term as the North Point Representative.
With the exception of minor formatting edits, the Q&A candidate profiles are published in unedited form. Each candidate had an opportunity to answer the same questions in their own words.
How long have you lived in Reston? What brought you here?
Susan and I bought our Hampton Pointe condo in March 2016. As we two newlyweds looked for a new home, urban and typical suburban settings couldn’t satisfy her soul. We looked all over northern Virginia. She kept saying, “I think I need to live in Reston.”
We love Reston’s trees and trails and bike paths, the proximity of the wooded residential neighborhoods to Reston Town Center and it’s easy to access to the D.C. region. We fell in love with Bob Simon’s vision for Reston — an open and diverse community that strives for harmony at so many levels. We love how dedicated Restonians have preserved so much of that vision.
What inspired you to run for the board?
Running for the board was the furthest thing from my mind when we bought our condo. It was the awareness that Simon’s vision was challenged today — and that my 27 years in local-government management could help RA face that challenge — that changed my mind.
The wake-up call was the proposed monster redevelopment of St. Johns Wood Apartments right in our neighborhood. In June 2016 we joined a small leadership team that had formed around the online petition opposing the project, which made me aware of other challenges facing Reston. Running for the Board made sense.
The reason I’m running again is to help Reston transition on some important issues, such as offering support and guidance to our wonderful new Chief Executive Officer Hank Lynch, who I believe will help us see with fresh eyes how Reston must improve. I support an evidence-based examination of how RA can best serve its members in its programs and in its covenants responsibilities — something Hank wants to pursue vigorously.
I also will ensure that development issues, whether a Planned Residential Community (PRC) ordinance amendment or individual development and re-development projects, support rather than undermine the Reston vision. I also want to see the revision of key governance documents, like the Conflict of Interest policy and Board Code of Ethics, completed.
Finally, I will help develop wise financial plans for RA so that we can provide excellent priority services at the lowest possible cost, sustainably affordable for RA and its members. This year, the focus will be on the first year of our biennial 2020-2021 budget and on our critical 2019 Reserve Study, which is meant to ensure the proper planning and financing of all of RA’s physical assets in a way consistent with the program needs of our members.
What is an example of an issue or subject that you believe the board has handled well?
I’d highlight two things. First, the way RA partnered with the Coalition for a Planned Reston (Reston Citizens Association, Reston 20/20, and Reclaim Reston) to resist the unwarranted and harmful increase in the density cap of Reston’s Planned Residential Community district.
Second, the board’s choice for our new CEO. He listens and observes very well. He’s very experienced in managing non-profits. He’s intent on helping the board improve the RA experience of our members. I believe he has the smarts, wisdom, and courage to help lead sound change.
What are the three biggest concerns facing Reston that you want to tackle?
I listed five above, all of which I intend to collaborate on. I think I can be especially helpful with development, governance and covenant issues.
How would you address those issues using your prior personal or professional experience?
My first two years of service on the RA board and this past year as RA’s secretary have already taught me a lot about all of the concerns I listed above. I was able to play key roles in the PRC debate and in revising a key governance document.
I worked 27 years in local government management, which included 17 years in Arlington County and seven as Arlington’s senior assistant county manager. We used wise capital-improvements planning and budgeting. Perhaps above all, we were doggedly faithful to Arlington’s comprehensive plan despite strong pressures for over-development. For about 10 years, the development departments reported to me and, in the process, taught me a lot. I also learned a lot about governance issues there.
I also bring my background in ethics generally and local government ethics specifically. I have a Ph.D. in philosophy with a specialization in ethics and have taught local-government ethics courses to employees of Arlington County, D.C. and Montgomery County, which has given me a broad perspective on dealing with internal governance and ethics concerns.
Finally, I bring decades of personal effort — working for the common good and building up the community at many levels — civic, religious and political. Helping communities grow and succeed has always been my greatest joy.
You can read Mooney’s election statement of candidacy here.
Photo via Reston Association
