Women's History Month 2021 | Seabury Stories

Mrs. Cornelia Jones remained a resident in the home she donated to Seabury in 1924 for many years.

To mark the first day of Women's History Month, we are sharing stories of women from throughout our community who have made their mark.

Women's history has always been Seabury's history, starting with Mrs. Cornelia Jones' donation of her home in 1924. In the 1960s, Seabury hired famed, female architect, Chloethiel Woodward Smith to design Seabury at Friendship Terrace. Of course, today Seabury is led by CEO, Dawn Quattlebaum. Since 1989, Dawn has dedicated her time and talents to Seabury's mission of helping older adults age with independence and dignity.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a new threat to older adults and one of our employees, Gloria Duckett, stepped up to make sure participants of the Senior Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired were able to stay connected to resources and socialization.

Seabury is lucky to count many incredible women among our ranks, including Seabury Care Manager, Martha Gaston. Martha has traveled the world and spent her career serving others.

At our virtual 2020 Leadership in Aging celebration, Seabury was proud to honor Sister Kathy Weber, who started the Holy Cross Caregivers Resource Center.

Virginia Ali can still be found working some days at the D.C. restaurant she opened with her late husband in 1958.

In 2019, Virginia Ali, co-founder of D.C. institution, Ben's Chili Bowl, was our Leadership in Aging honoree. Mrs. Ali has worked hard to preserve the iconic U Street location and give back to her community.

Of course, our work is centered around the people we serve. Local older adults have so many incredible stories to tell. Read one of them of a woman who dedicated her career to helping others in the federal government.