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For projects that fall outside the scope of included services, Capitol Hill Village has arrangements with numerous vendors that provide well-vetted services, often at discounted rates. Village members also can participate in a broad range of activities, from regularly scheduled programs at the Southeast Neighborhood Library, to concerts, discussion groups and potluck dinners.

Kohn approaches her job with a balance of executive efficiency and innate curiosity. Pausing the interview for a business call, she’s a commanding captain at the beginning of a new voyage. Turning back to the rolling tape recorder, she’s engaged and solicitous, turning the interview into a two-sided conversation.

            “Part of why I enjoy this field is I like the continuity of people’s lives,” she says. “I like the continuity of working with people who have been through a lot.”

Though Kohn jokes about looking like her clients, she shows no sign of slowing down. “I like working full tilt seven days a week,” she admits. “I have no respect for my vacations. I was in South Africa last year, and I was working from there! I just don’t like stopping.”

But she does step out of a leadership role for at least a few hours almost daily, when she takes her place rowing with the Potomac Boat Club.

“I took a class and decided I really like this,” she recalls. “I just wanted to be in a boat, where somebody else told me what to do, where I was just doing my part. “

It's natural to wonder what plans Kohn has made for her own eventual retirement. She says she is interested in a move to Capitol Hill. “I think it would be great. This is a really interesting and fascinating community. I think it has what I'm looking for, which is a variety of experiences, and people of all ages,” she says. “It's the density, it's the neighborliness, it's the desire to be supportive of one another. It is special."