ciao amici, benvenuti
MEET THE BOARD
Jenna Edwards
President
Jenna Edwards serves as a Public Affairs Specialist at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. She is also a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the District of Columbia.
Jenna is a dedicated volunteer with Sister Cities International and Rotary International. She has served as President of Fredericksburg's German Sister City Association (Schwetzingen) since 2022. She serves on the Board of the Rappahannock Rotary Club, and as a member of the Rotary District 7610 Leadership Team.
Jenna holds a J.D./M.A. in International Affairs from American University, an M.Div. from Boston University School of Theology, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Wellesley College. She is fluent in Spanish and a beginner in German and Italian.
Vice President & Long Range Planning
Scott Walker
Scott Walker has been a resident of Fredericksburg for over 50 years. He is retired from over 30 years of work in a variety of instructional and administrative capacities for the Stafford County Public Schools. He now has a small business of his own, Hallowed Ground Tours, the region’s premier, historic tour company with a world-wide list of clients. He frequently lectures both locally and throughout the Eastern U.S. on topics relating to Fredericksburg and its history. In addition, for ten years, he was a partner in and on-camera personality for Heritage Media, a historic video production company. Known as “Il Voce”, he frequently is asked to do voice-over work.
Walker is active in a number of local organizations. He has served as President and is currently Vice-President of the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation (a non-profit preservation group).
As a gubernatorial appointee, he is President of the Board of Regents of the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library. He was a founding member and past treasurer the Friends of Chatham Manor, a non-profit group formed to support that manor and its grounds. In addition, he is active in the two local Civil War Round Tables, the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, and the Washington Heritage Museums.
He and his wife were founding and are sustaining members of the Fredericksburg-Este Sister City group. In spite the appearance of his surname, his family is Italian, emigrating to the Colony of Virginia in the 18th Century – another of his lecture topics! He has been to Este, in the Veneto region of Italy, on a private visit and, with his wife, coordinated the 2018 visit of Este citizens to Fredericksburg.
Cathy Walker
Secretary
Cathy has been a resident of Fredericksburg for more than 50 years and was a founding member of the Fredericksburg-Este Association. She coordinated the 2018 visit by Este citizens and helped with the 2023 visit as well. As an educator, she served as a teacher, instructional supervisor, creative arts specialist, and elementary principal during her 44 years in the Stafford County Public Schools and loved every job she had. Now a retired educator, Cathy currently serves as president of RappArts, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that advocates and supports the arts in our region. Along with her husband, Scott, Cathy is very active in numerous community organizations and activities.
Russell “Chip” Willis
Treasurer
Chip Willis is a retired home designer and project manager, who worked at Design Craft Homes for nearly two decades. Chip holds a bachelor of architecture degree from Virginia Tech, and is active in many local civic associations.
He is a past president of Rappahannock Rotary Club, the president of Fredericksburg Heritage Festival (4th of July), a former vestry member of St. George’s Church, and has served as treasurer for many years of the Falmouth Flats Fly Fishers.
He was an early board member of Hope House, and served on that board for nearly a decade. He enjoys fishing, hunting, cycling, and the outdoors.
Pamela Booth
Membership
Pamela began her journey into the international scene at the tender age of seven when she moved to Mexico City. Her stepfather was a diplomat so from there she moved to Guadalajara, Québec City, and Madrid. She has always enjoyed learning other languages and exploring different cultures. She holds a B.A. in Hispanic Studies from Smith College and M.A. in Bilingual Legal Interpreting from the University of Charleston. She taught Spanish at UMW for ten years while pursuing her career as a Judiciary Interpreter and Translator and at present is employed by the Office of the Executive Secretary in Richmond as Interpreter Coordinator for the City and Spotsylvania.
Pamela became involved in the French Sister City Association in 1995 when her daughter went to Frejus, rejoining many years later and is now enjoying being on the board of the Este Sister City Association in charge of Membership. The highlight has been hosting a delightful couple from Este with whom she interacts on WhatsApp. She looks forward to locating new members who share in the appreciation of all things Italian.
Jackie Boice
Communications
Jackie comes from Wyoming, where she grew up on a cattle ranch north of Cheyenne. She has worked in market research and spent almost 20 years in the world of publishing, most recently as the editor in chief of Advancing Philanthropy magazine.
She lived in Italy for a total of seven years in Florence and Milan, teaching English, working as a translator at the Assoreni research laboratories (part of ENI), and as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton.
She holds a B.A. from Scripps College, an M.S. in Languages and Linguistics (major in Italian) from Georgetown University, and an M.B.A. from the London Business School.
Deborah Newman
Online Management
Deborah is the owner of Petite Taway Inc, a web design and social marketing company specializing in working with creative small businesses and nonprofits. Deborah is a world traveler and Italy is one of her favorite destinations.
Prior to opening her web design business, Deborah worked in the restaurant industry in the DMV area for 25 years.
Currently she lives in Colonial Beach, Virginia.
Programs
Odile Pryor
Odile was born in Normandy, growing up in a large family in a small village where for five generations her ancestors were directors of a well-known printing business. She considers herself very international, speaking several languages and having lived in several countries, forever enjoying her many travels. As a student in Paris, her interests were chemistry, physics, history, languages and translation/interpreting. Here in Fredericksburg, she worked at CRRL as a researcher for more than 20 years, helping patrons discover their family links to Civil War soldiers. Odile has served on the Fredericksburg-Este Association board for four years, organizing events such as lectures, concerts, museum outings, membership appreciation and cultivation parties, etc.
Kathryn R. Willis
Arts & Culture
Kathryn Willis has worked in public relations for the University of Mary Washington and as communications officer for the Foundation of the National Education Association. She holds a B.A. in French and Art History, an M.A. English, and advanced certification in Public Relations from George Washington University.
She has served on several boards, including Virginians for the Arts, the advocacy and education arm associated with the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Most recently, she taught English composition at Germanna Community College. From 2014 to 2024, she served as president of the Italian sister city.
At Large
Robert Antozzi (2017 – 2019)
Bob Antozzi is the retired Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Fredericksburg. He holds a doctorate in Education from VPI & SU, and also holds professional accreditation from the National Recreation and Parks Association. He served as liaison for Sister City with the City of Fredericksburg, and has served on Sister City board for many years.
Bob has orchestrated the exchange of several sports teams, including several visits from basketball groups from Frejus, and chaired the committee for sports exchanges for Sister City.
At Large
Chuck Gialoreto
Chuck retired from the federal government where he worked for more than 35 years, most recently after 25 years at the Library of Congress. He also worked for the U.S. Senate and the National Institutes of Health. His career was in software development after receiving a BS degree in computer science at the Pennsylvania State University. He likes to travel, especially to Italy, which he has visited several times. He also enjoys taking advantage of his Senior Pass to our National Parks.