Meet some Members

---

Nancy — I have been interested in Cohousing since 2006 when I first became involved with a forming community in Crozet that unfortunately didn’t get off the ground, and am delighted to find this new (to me) community here in Richmond.

I was raised in a fairly religious family of 6 and did full time volunteer youth work with the Church of the Brethren in the 70’s for 5 years – 2 in Chicago and 3 in Northern Ireland. I have enjoyed travel my entire adult life with many visits to Europe, 3 months in Sierra Leone, and a month recently in New Zealand. After some travels in Europe in 1988, I became the single mom of Alex. When he was 2, we moved to Virginia to join Innisfree Village, a life-sharing community with adults with intellectual disabilities next to the Shenandoah National Forest. I wanted a village for my son to grow up in and it was a good choice. I stayed for 27 years, starting as a Houseparent and eventually serving as an Associate Director. I had the privilege of bringing in about 200 folks from around the world to join our community for a minimum of one year. Many are still good friends; from Kyrgyzstan to Michigan to Zambia. I retired from Innisfree in 2019 and have taken this new step of life in another form of community here in Richmond. 

When not at work or traveling, I sang in a women’s choir, formed various book groups, performed in community theater, and enjoy cooking for friends and playing board games. I’m happy to be living closer to my son and hoping to have still more travel adventures.

Barb & Dave — Barb and Dave are new to Richmond Cohousing, having just joined in July. As empty-nesters with a four bedroom house in the suburbs, we were ready for something different and decided to explore all alternatives. We attended an information session and a potluck and were sold on cohousing. We met a great bunch of very sincere, hardworking people that were truly committed to creating a multi-generational, inclusive community. It has been one of the best decisions we have made in our forty-some years together.

Dave loves the outdoors and is thrilled to be so close to the James River. Barb love to read and cook and have long conversations. They are both looking forward to living in Richmond, walking along the James River, and spending time with friends.

AJ — I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. As a child, I spent summers on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. I loved being on the Chesapeake Bay, swimming, boating, crabbing, and the exploring the marsh mud! As a teenager, I attended summer camp in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where I learned to canoe, hike, and live with 7-8 other campers in a cabin for 8 weeks – perhaps a precursor to co-housing? I’ve lived most of my adult life in Missoula, MT where I have continued to enjoy the outdoors, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. I worked in the Information Technology department for a local hospital, supporting doctors and nurses with analyzing hospital data to improve patient outcomes.

In the mid 1990s I began practicing Buddhism in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Ten years later a yearning to better understand Christianity (I grew up Methodist) took hold and I attended seminary in Berkeley, CA. After graduating in 2006, I wanted to understand the persistence of racism in the United States and I began to read, study, and reflect on our racial history as a nation. Since 2013 I’ve been teaching classes to support people of European ancestry to better how concepts of race shape our lives (as well as the lives of people of color) in the United States. “How can we have a more equitable, just, and caring society?” is a question that motivates me.

I’ve been eager to live in a more community-focused configuration for at least a decade. During my time in Berkeley, I met a friend living in an Oakland cohousing community and I became interested. Cohousing appeals to me because it provides a blend of both private and community space. I’m excited to live inter-generationally with children, seniors, and those of us in between. Oh, and I like to eat and try new foods – and food always tastes better with friends!

Meg & David — Meg loves to bake, bike around town, and read any and all fiction books. David loves to play dice and strategy games, woodwork, and is a TV and movie buff. As parents to 2 young kids, we are so grateful to the support, extended community, and playmates we have in cohousing.

Ann — Ann’s focus has been whole person development through counseling and coaching practices. Her second love is a concern for building dynamic food systems and healthy eating.  She’s volunteered with many community gardens and helps with our roof top garden too.

She loves reading on a wide variety of topics and is a systems thinker who is very excited about the changing systems that will be forthcoming in the near future.  Her favorite quote is by R. Buckminster Fuller: You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.

Laurel and Karl — Laurel loves to bike, hike, spend time with friends, study plant-based nutrition, and try out new recipes. Karl plays soccer and electric bass, and loves being outdoors. We both enjoy spending time around the James River and are both employed by local school divisions.

As we tour colleges with our youngest child, we are reminded of how great it was to live in college housing with friends all around us. We are excited about returning to this experience, allowing for more time to enjoy friends while playing and working together. We look forward to decreasing our carbon footprint, sharing resources (why do 30 households need 30 lawn mowers?), enjoying delicious food with our neighbors, and finding more time to have fun.

Leslie — We moved to Richmond from New York City in the summer of 2015 and found Richmond Cohousing via Meetup. We didn’t know anything about it but immediately felt a connection. We are enthused about the opportunity to create community where sharing and caring are common place; and where the inevitable disagreements are discussed in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect. As former New Yorkers we are used to living in close proximity and understand the benefits of working to create community instead of just living near each other. We are looking forward to eating, chatting, discovering and adventuring together. In particular, we are glad that people in our Cohousing group also want to be a part of, and not apart from, the larger community.

Leslie likes trying out new things as long as they don’t involve heights. She loves to swim and read but most of all talk about food.

Kathryn — I value connections with my family and friends, and being outdoors. I enjoy hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and camping. I also find pleasure in food preparation, laundry, gardening, walking the dog – activities that ground me. I work as a midwife where I am blessed to witness amazing transitions, love, and the very deep of living.

When my last child left for college I came to the surprising realization that my life epitomized the trappings of the middle class in America. I wanted more community, fewer possessions, and a smaller carbon footprint. I joined Richmond Cohousing in late Fall of 2013 with the hopes of creating a lifestyle more in line with my values. I am enlivened by building a cohousing community with others! Lots of challenges and lots of rewards!

John and Caroline — John loves to play board and card games, play ultimate frisbee, brew and drink craft beer (the former at a novice level, the latter at nearly a professional level!), hike, and read science fiction, current events, and educational philosophy. He is a math teacher in a psychiatric hospital for children. Caroline loves to exercise, cook (vegan and non-vegan), watch movies, check out classic architecture, and read mysteries. She is a former children’s library associate, teacher, freelance writer, restaurant server, and documentary producer. John and Caroline currently live in Oregon Hill, and enjoy commuting via bike around the city.

Cohousing particularly appeals to us because we want to have close relationships with neighbors, and have people around more often. We hope that in cohousing there will be regular social interactions without the extra effort it sometimes takes to coordinate get-togethers. We also hoping for more efficient sharing to save resources and money for everyone.

Diana — I have arrived back from whence I came, back to my hometown after my cross-country quest. I have returned to teaching and to my artwork – landscapes in oil from my journey. Having spent 7 months on the road with my dog, Sam, I make one helluva campfire (though still unclear on gourmet campfire cooking). I am very active swimming, riding my bike, kayaking, and hiking with my pup. I’m very fond of movies, good reads, and excellent food. I have to be honest here; I cook only when no one else will, but I can do dishes like a pro.

I am lucky to have close friendships and a strong spiritual community through my Quaker Meeting. I love living in co-housing with all the support and fun we manage in our community.

Vickye — I moved to Richmond after retiring from a long tenure in healthcare. As an education consultant at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, I worked with teams and leadership in dealing with change, managing conflict, improving communication through many different methods, using many different leaders in the field. Yes, I like to talk about it but only if you ask!   

Now as a textile and fiber artist, I’m delighted to share art supplies to explore all types of fun mediums with others. I love to cook, read, practice meditation, sing, play the uke, travel, and take in nature.

My three grown children and their families live on the east coast (for now!) which also makes Richmond a great place for me to now call home.

Linda & Bob — Linda and Bob came to Richmond from Norfolk to spend more time with family including afterschool care for 5-year-old granddaughter. Having previously lived abroad and in close knit communities, discovering the cohousing community was an extra bonus!

Bob’s interests include bike touring (especially in France), swimming, bike-packing Forest Service trails, hiking, and solving mysteries. Bob is retired from Public Service with US Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps. Prior to joining USAID, Bob served in the US Army Berlin, the private sector in International Business, and was a leader in Virginia’s community conflict resolution movement.

Linda has served in leadership positions at universities, human services organizations supporting military families, the Peace Corps in Morocco, and most recently as Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy Kyrgyzstan. When she is not playing with her granddaughter, she can be found hiking, biking, gardening, traveling, and exploring her new Richmond community. Besides family in Richmond, Linda and Bob also have a son in Atlanta.

Nancy E — Nancy learned about cohousing about 20 years ago.  She had participated in a small group discussion about cohousing but the timing wasn’t right and she let the idea go. 

Around 2016 or so, she was looking for a way to connect via Meet Up, she tripped on the original group of people who started talking about cohousing.  That group would eventually become Richmond Cohousing.  She had a few brief interactions with the group but took no further action.  Then, in 2019, when construction had started on the new site, she was contacted by a Richmond Cohousing member to see if she might be interested in joining as a full member and purchasing a unit.  Well, this time the timing was right, and she decided to purchase and is glad she did. 

Career wise, Nancy has worked in the social work field since 1978 for a variety of employers.  She retired in February of 2022 and is ecstatic to begin her retirement in cohousing.   

She has a daughter who lives in Corvalis OR (though she wishes they were closer than 3000 miles away!) She lived in Europe as a young child (8) and then in Wash DC, until moving to Fayetteville, AK where she raised her daughter.  She returned to Ashland and lived there for 20 years until making the leap to Cohousing! 

Vanessa — I discovered Cohousing by accident. I was doing a web search hoping to find something like it, but I didn’t know what to call it. I just knew I wanted to live in a community where every person mattered and every voice was heard. When I found this website, I knew immediately that this was the place I was meant to be. I travel quite a bit, most recently spending lots of time in Ecuador helping a native tribe preserve their language. When I’m not traveling, I can be found hiking all around the city and beyond, practicing yoga, fixing something, or dressing in some silly getup for my own entertainment. My favorite thing about Cohousing is the number of people who love to cook for me. 🙂

Lauren – During college, I lived in intentional community, and loved it. So when Richmond Cohousing had an opening at the same time as I needed a new place to live as a single mom of one kid, I jumped on it. I was in social work for 14 years, and have since made a career switch to Human Resources. When not working, parenting, or enjoying the rhythm of life in co-housing (common meals, committee meetings, coffee, and various spontaneous fun and activities), my favorite time is spent outside by the river, hiking through parks, camping/traveling, and discussing or reading about social justice issues, faith and spirituality. I’m active in my LGBTQ+ affirming church, and my dream job would be something where I could snuggle all the babies; therefore, I also volunteer in my church’s nursery. I enjoy connecting with and learning about all different types of people.