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Allison Kozicharow is delighted to join WiRED's board after serving as a volunteer since the organization's inception. She first became involved through Richard Gilbert, D.D., her father and board member, and now edits documents and writes articles for WiRED.
Mrs. Kozicharow and her family live along the Potomac River in suburban Maryland where she commutes to her job as a senior editor/writer for ICF International. Between work assignments, she awaits urgent calls from WiRED director Gary Selnow to rewrite a piece for a website here or a hot proposal there. That is only fitting since copy editing is her specialty, and ruthless attention to the mot juste her pride.
Dr. Selnow said, "It has been a pleasure to work with Allison during the years. She has graciously donated her time and her considerable writing and editing talents for WiRED's Web stories, grant proposals, and other documents. She seems to know everyone in Washington and has used her contact list to support us on many occasions. Allison's positive spirit and her can-do approach to even the most difficult tasks are inspiring to me and others in the organization. We're so grateful she has agreed to join our board."
Ms. Kozicharow is well suited for WiRED because of her experience in three main areas: writing and editing, activism and volunteerism, and international living and exposure.
First, igniting her editing and writing career, Ms. Kozicharow received her B.A. from Duke University in History and Art History and moved to Washington in 1974. There she worked for the publishing company Robert B. Luce and supervised 10 books from production to release (including The Federalist Papers). Over the years she continued to wield her pen, notably working for Polo magazine, writing historical tours for a company serving D.C., and serving as a freelance editor.
Second, strongly influenced by the spirits of Presbyterianism (Dr. Gilbert is a Presbyterian minister) and the Sixties (her father and grandmother were involved with the civil rights movement), Ms. Kozicharow felt a desire to volunteer. She has labored to improve the environment (successfully working for a citizens' association to stop an incinerator from intruding on a small town), help the homeless (acting as the head of a soup kitchen program through her church), and protect animals (supporting shelters and sanctuaries).
Mrs. Kozicharow's daughter Maggie said, "My mother bred in my sister and me a desire to always stand up for what we believe in, especially if such action affects the lives of others." Dr. Gilbert added, "My daughter Allison is an inspired choice for the WiRED board because she not only joins but energizes any cause she adopts. As Gary might say, 'If you want it done yesterday, call Allison.'"
Third, Mrs. Kozicharow's admiration of other cultures led her to live abroad. She speaks Spanish, French, and Russian. Mrs. Kozicharow's childhood consisted of regular visits to Mexico, including a year-long sojourn, and, starting in 1978, she lived for five years in Brussels, Belgium.
Currently, Mrs. Kozicharow works in English and Spanish for ICF International's publications department, editing and writing materials in the fields of health, education and drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment under government contracts such as the Department of Health and Human Services' Underage Drinking Prevention Initiatives and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the Department of Defense's Quit Tobacco Campaign and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Global AIDS Program.
Finally, a married mother, Mrs. Kozicharow has dedicated herself to raising two daughters and reading as many books as possible. A grammarian, Mrs. Kozicharow is glad to put her penchant for correct prose to use as a contributing editor for WiRED. She and Gene Kozicharow, her husband of 34 years, are proud of their children Maggie and Nicky, respectively a 30-year-old English teacher who resides in Bethesda and a 26-year-old Ph.D. student studying Russian art at Cambridge University.
Mrs. Kozicharow said, "I am thrilled to join the board of WiRED because I admire an organization based on compassion, ingenuity, and hard work. WiRED identified a lack in the world and has labored tirelessly to correct it. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, 'Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.'"
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