John Richardson’s career focused on international affairs and the Middle East/Muslim World in particular, with residence in Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia. After some forty years divided between non-profit and government sectors, he retired from the CIA in 2005 and began to focus on domestic issues. He spent 10 years completing a biography of Gov. Alexander Shepherd of the District of Columbia, while devoting time to local non-profits as a director of the Arlington Committee of 100 and a director and president of the Arlington Historical Society, along with service on the boards of American Near East Refugee Aid and the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia. He learned about the neighborhood village concept through talks to area groups about the Shepherd biography and has volunteered as an ANV driver since mid-2017. John is a member of the Historical Society of Washington and the Cosmos Club. He holds an M.A. from George Washington University and a B.A. from Williams College. He is married and lives in the Tara-Leeway Heights neighborhood.