International career couple supporting the Ingleside community
Cathy Wright and Lee Samuelson both had rich international careers, and indeed they first met in Paris, France. They are delighted to have chosen Ingleside Rock Creek for their retirement.
“We had looked all over the country for communities to live in,” Cathy said. “We quickly realized we were D.C. people because of our backgrounds in international work, and we were drawn to Ingleside at Rock (IRC) because so many residents had also had international careers.”
Both Lee and Cathy have taken on leadership positions in the IRC community to help support its vibrant cultural and intellectual life.
Cathy is a member of the Board of the Westminster Ingleside Foundation, and Chair of the Foundation’s IRC Development Committee. “I’m working to bring greater transparency to what the Development Committee does,” Cathy said. “The work the Committee does in support of cultural activities, scholarship programs, campus beautification, and financial support for residents in need is invaluable. It’s important to keep the community informed of this work, to encourage people to contribute to it, and to let contributors know how their donations have made a difference.”
At Ingleside Rock Creek, Lee is Chair of the IRC Budget and Finance Committee. “The Committee meets monthly with members of Ingleside’s Finance Team and the IRC Executive Director to keep informed of both the current financial condition of IRC, and budget and financial plans”, Lee said. “We address questions or concerns that both current and prospective residents might have in this regard. We also inform management of residents’ priorities for capital improvement projects.”
Cathy graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and then worked in the University’s Economics Department for several years before joining the technology start-up Data Resources Inc. She spent a year in Brussels and London helping to open their first international office. She then joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. After working there for four years, she returned to Washington DC to join the International Monetary Fund, concluding her career as a Division Chief in the Statistics Department.
Lee has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master’s in International Relations from the Institute Etudes Politiques in Paris, and a PhD in Economics from Harvard. After completing his graduate studies, he joined the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, where he worked for nearly forty years. He authored and co-authored numerous articles and a book titled “Economic Forecasting and Policy: The International Dimension.”
Upon returning to DC, Lee joined the Cosmos Club, where he is Chair of the Investment Committee, a member of the Finance Committee, and a Trustee of the charitable Cosmos Club Foundation. Cathy organizes and hosts monthly meetings of the Medieval Interest Group at the Club.
Both Cathy and Lee have extended significant financial support to the Westminster Ingleside Foundation by means of a Charitable Gift Annuity.