Larry Heilman is currently a Research Associate in the Anthropology Department at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum.  His research focus is the U.S. Government’s development assistance program in Latin America.  He wrote USAID in Bolivia, Partner or Patron, published by First Forum Press.  He has taught a course on Latin American cultural development at Montgomery College, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins and the Institute for Learning in Retirement, affiliated with American University.

In 1998-99, Larry was resident technical advisor for monitoring and evaluation for a local government project funded by the Agency for International Development (USAID) in Poland.  Previously, he was a Director of Management Systems International, where he managed development activities, including articulating strategic plans for USAID field missions in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  For 20 years before that, Larry was a Senior Foreign Service Officer with USAID.  He planned, implemented and evaluated development programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  His particular interests were in planning and managing rural development, nutrition improvement and disaster recovery.  During that time, he was posted to Bolivia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Burkina Faso.  Larry has a Ph.D. in History from American University, an M.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and a B.A. from the University of Florida at Gainesville.  He served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

This talk and slide presentation covers the “first family” of Potomac: the Offutt’s, for whom Potomac was originally named (Offutt’s Crossroads). The talk, by a descendant of the Offutt family, explores when and how the village came to be called Potomac, with feuding among the family, the end of slavery, a business partnership gone bad, and attempted murder all playing a part—not to mention a few ghostly appearances in later years!

Ralph Buglass is a frequent speaker for Montgomery History on a variety of local history topics and a volunteer researcher for Peerless Rockville, the nonprofit historic preservation organization for Montgomery County’s seat of government. In 2020, with Peerless Rockville, he co-authored Images of America: Rockville, a pictorial history of the city’s 250 years. He also teaches lifelong learning courses at American University, Johns Hopkins University, Montgomery College, and Frederick Community College. A Montgomery County native, he graduated from Winston Churchill High School, then earned a BA in American history from Cornell University and an MA in journalism from American University.

Betsy Wooster, with the help of her able partner and Rotary stalwart Kevin Flynn, has vowed to work smarter not harder when it comes to managing their challenging third of an acre in North Chevy Chase. Following a long career in environmental education, Betsy retired from the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2018. Within a year she joined the Montgomery County Master Gardener program to learn more about sustainable horticultural practices. Little did she know that she would not only have access to a multitude of gardening resources and expertise but also be able to contribute to educating young people and community members through a wide variety of Master Gardener programs. 

Betsy’s background includes more than a decade with the National Geographic Society and National Wildlife Federation. She is currently serving as one of the editors of the Montgomery County Master Gardeners newsletter, which serves a very active group of 450 trained volunteers who educate County residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities.