Burke Historical Society Lecture Series.

Tom Shoop will speak on his newly published book, A Place Called Ilda: Race and Resilience at a Northern Virginia Crossroads.  The book examines the history and significance of Ilda—an integrated community founded by two Black entrepreneurs between Fairfax City and Annandale, and a source of insight into the larger African American experience in Fairfax County.

Tom Shoop is editor at large at GovExec Media, whose publications include Government Executive, Nextgov, Defense One and Route Fifty; his career with Government Executive magazine began in 1989 and included leading the team that launched GovExec.com, for which he was named editor in chief in 2007 and executive vice president in 2010.  In November 2010 Tom was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and in 2012 he was the recipient of the Timothy White Award from American Business Media, given to editors whose work displays courage, integrity and passion.  Prior to joining Government Executive, Tom was a supervising editor at Macmillan Publishing in New York. He holds a B.A. in history from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.  Tom is also a novice local historian, who enjoys exploring the byways of Fairfax County almost as much as his dog, Harley.

This program is appropriate for ages 13 & Up