A Note from the Conservancy's Board Chair

Dear Friend of Rock Creek,

I am writing to share that, after nearly seven years of dedicated service, Rock Creek Conservancy’s executive director, Jeanne Braha, will step down from her role at the end of this year.

When Jeanne shared this news with the Board earlier this fall, she noted that, “This work has always been deeply personal to me: Rock Creek is, and always will be, ‘my’ park. It has been an absolute privilege and delight to lead the park’s philanthropic partner and to serve as the voice for the Rock Creek watershed. As my career takes me elsewhere, I am so very proud of the work we have accomplished over the last six and a half years.”

In early 2025, Jeanne will join a national biodiversity conservation organization as their head of development. While we are sad to see her go, we are excited for the opportunities that await her.

Under Jeanne’s leadership, the Conservancy has achieved significant growth. Her tenure saw the realization of equitable people-powered restoration programming. Since her start, more than 30,000 volunteers have restored Rock Creek throughout the watershed, particularly in our mini-oases. That work has been scaled up to a transformative $2 million investment in forest restoration. Programs like “Race, History, and Rock Creek” reflect the ways in which Jeanne pushed us to put our JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) ideals into practice.

The Conservancy also strengthened its role as a steadfast advocate for the Rock Creek watershed, protecting the creek from a proposed expansion of the Beltway and serving as co-chair of the Montgomery County Stormwater Partners Network.

Brian Joyner, Superintendent of Rock Creek Park, has shared appreciation for Jeanne’s stewardship of the Conservancy’s critical partnership with the National Park Service: “On behalf of Rock Creek Park, I commend Jeanne Braha’s vision for the Conservancy, not only as protectors of the watershed via people-powered restoration, but as the park’s primary philanthropic partner. I have enjoyed being informed and engaged by Jeanne as we grow our collective ability to protect Rock Creek Park. I can’t overstate how the collaboration with Rock Creek Conservancy has benefitted the communities that surround and use the park resources.”

Meghan Quirk-Herrera, the Conservancy’s director of strategy and operations since 2021, will take the helm as interim executive director upon Jeanne’s departure. The Conservancy’s Board of Directors will launch a national search for Jeanne’s permanent successor in early 2025.

On behalf of the entire Conservancy Board, I share our gratitude for Jeanne’s leadership of the Conservancy. Since her start as Executive Director, we have more than doubled the organization’s annual budget, significantly increased our impact, and solidified our role as a champion for the Rock Creek watershed. But there’s more work to be done. We look forward to working with the entire Rock Creek community and our next leader to continue expanding our impact.

Sincerely,

Pavan Khoobchandani

Chair, Board of Directors

Joan Had Some Work Done

In the first week of November, Rock Creek Conservancy restored the Joan of Arc Statue in Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park. The project was possible with support from the Jeanne d'Arc Foundation of Le Lyceum Société des Femmes de France à New York via the New York Community Trust.

The restoration work included:

• Replacing a missing part of the spur and part of the bridle on the statue’s left side.

• Repairing minor cracks in the granite base.

• Treating the bronze statue with hot wax to remove minor rust.

“While most people think of Rock Creek Park as a forested oasis, it is also home to many culturally significant landmarks and monuments like the Joan of Arc Statue,” Superintendent Brian Joyner said. “Philanthropic partners like Rock Creek Conservancy play a vital role in helping the National Park Service care for special features like Joan.”

The Joan of Arc Statue is the only equestrian statue of a woman in Washington, DC. Joan of Arc was a heroic French figure who claimed to receive religious visions telling her to fight for France and overthrow the English during the Hundred Years' War. Upon her capture and trial at the hands of the English, she was burned at the stake, leading the Catholic Church to recognize her as a martyr in 1456. She was canonized in 1920. The statue in Meridian Hill Park is a copy of the original at the Rheims Cathedral. It was a gift from the Society of French Women in Exile in New York, and approval for the statue occurred under an act of Congress on March 20, 1922. The Ministre des Beaux Arts in Paris supervised the casting of the statue and it was placed in Meridian Hill Park in 1922.

Rock Creek Conservancy is the philanthropic and stewardship partner to the entirety of Rock Creek Park and the only organization that serves as the voice of the Rock Creek watershed. With strong community support, the Conservancy engages more than 4,500 volunteers each year in forest restoration and watershed protection. In addition, the Conservancy provides philanthropic support and services like the restoration of the Joan of Arc Statue.

$1.02 million for Forest Resilience in Rock Creek from Inflation Reduction Act

Rock Creek Park is excited to embark on a project with Rock Creek Conservancy and funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to promote the regeneration of the park's forests. This project is the first implementation of the soon-to-be-released Forest Resilience Framework, which will guide the rehabilitation and restoration of the park's forest after years of deer overbrowsing and as the region's climate changes. It builds on five years of collaborative success, at 33 acres of restoration sites ('mini-oases'), where people-powered restoration has removed invasive plants and the planting of native species, helping to regenerate the forests of Rock Creek Park.

This project is part of a National Park Service investment of $195 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to restore and build resilience in the lands and waters that serve as important wildlife and native plant habitats, spaces for recreation and reflection, and memorials to our nation’s history. In the National Capital Region, an estimated $13 million will be invested with $1.02 million of these funds helping foster forest resilience and restore native grasslands in Rock Creek Park.

Learn more about forest resilience for Rock Creek Park at www.rockcreekconservancy.org/forests.

The full press release from the National Capital Region is below.