Department Resources

Women's History Month

Fairfax County's Department of Neighborhood and Community Services celebrates the extraordinary women who provided the inspiration, leadership or vision that contributed to our agency and the community we serve. The month of March provides an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments and impact of these women on NCS' history and current mission. NCS continues to expand this list as part of NCS Stories - an initiative to preserve and share stories of the persons, places and events that shaped the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services. To share additional information for potential inclusion on this page, please email NCS@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Telling Our Story: Supervisor Cathy Hudgins

Catherine M. Hudgins, the first African American to sit on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, served as the Hunter Mill Supervisor from 2000 to her retirement in 2019. During her tenure, she was a passionate advocate for the county’s diversity and affordable housing. She served as a Chair of the Board’s Human Services and Housing Committee.

In 2006, Hudgins led the effort to build NCS’ Southgate Community Center at 12125 Pinecrest Road in Reston. Hudgins negotiated the land lease, secured the funding, and communicated her vision for programming and faciliti

Learn More About Cathy Hudgins

Telling Our Story: Patricia (Franckewitz) Harrison

Former Deputy County Executive Patricia (Franckewitz) Harrison was a pathbreaker in Fairfax County Government. She worked her way from Recreation Specialist (1986) to her appointment as the county’s first woman director of Community and Recreation Services (1999), before serving eight years as the Deputy County Executive for Health and Human Services.

Harrison supervised a wide variety of programs in her tenure, including Department of Administration for Human Services; Department of Systems Management for Human Services; Health Department;

Learn More About Patricia (Franckewitz) Harrison

Telling Our Story: Marguerite Mott

Marguerite Mott was instrumental in the integration of Fairfax County recreation facilities and the quest for equality in Northern Virginia.

Marguerite and her husband James Mott began their activism after they were turned away from picnicking at Lake Fairfax Park in 1965. They subsequently sued in U.S. District Court in Alexandria and won equal access to county facilities for Black people.

They later worked to establish the Braddock Community Center in Fairfax in 1969. In 1995, when the county rebuilt the center, which began in a log cabin and later a trailer, it renamed the fa

Learn More About Marguerite Mott

Telling Our Story: Martha Pennino

The building that houses some NCS offices, programs and services is named for Martha Pennino, who served 24 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Her tenure (1968-1992) as the Centreville Supervisor and later the vice chair of the Board coincided with the county’s rapid growth. Pennino was instrumental in myriad areas, especially human services and transportation, earning her the nickname “Mother Fairfax.” She died in 2004.

Pennino, who lived in Reston, helped bring to the Reston community parks, schools, fire and rescue stat

Learn More About Martha Pennino

Telling Our Story: Joyce White

Joyce A. White, affectionately known as “Ms. White,” served as the director of the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church for 41 years (1970-2011). She was a key figure in establishing the center as a place for the African American community to grow, gather and learn.

At James Lee, White expanded and implemented many new programs, including creating the senior group the Urbanites, establishing partnerships with groups such as the National Council of Negro Women, serving o

Learn More About Joyce White

Telling Our Story: Belle Willard

One of Belle Layton Wyatt Willard’s last wishes was that land from her estate be donated to build a school for special-needs children. That’s how the Belle Willard School, the first school constructed by Fairfax County Public Schools specifically for children receiving special education services, came to be more than 60 years ago.

In 1954, Belle Willard Roosevelt and her husband Kermit, a son of President Teddy Roosevelt, were in the process of settling a family estate called Layton Hall, located in the town of Fairfax. The Roosevelts offe

Learn More About Belle Willard

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