Suzanne Wells & Mike Godec · 2011 Honorees

Both Suzanne Wells and Mike Godec are quick to credit other people for the accomplishments of groups they are part of. Raising money for the Capitol Hill Cluster School PTA, renovating the libraries in eight local public schools, and performing the myriad tasks that allow Sports on the Hill to flourish – these are indeed neighborhood activities that draw on contributions from many people. Leadership, imagination and a willingness to put in time and energy are key to their success. These Suzanne and Mike have each contributed in abundance.

It was their shared interest in the environment that initially brought them together and led them to Washington.  Suzanne had grown up in Dallas, St. Louis and Indianapolis. Mike is from southern Colorado where his family had lived for generations, his love of the outdoors fed by “traipsing around the mountains.” He and Suzanne met in the graduate program in Technology and Human Affairs at Washington University in St. Louis. Jobs brought them to Washington, D.C. Suzanne is director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund Community Involvement and Program Initiatives Branch which works on the clean up of hazardous waste sites. Mike is Vice President of Advanced Resources International, studying and speaking on regulatory policies for the oil and gas industries and on the economic impact of alternative approaches to environmental protection.

Turning a vacant lot into a community garden was their first volunteer activity but when their children, Joshua and Elizabeth, came along, Suzanne and Mike reoriented their attention.  At the Capitol Hill Cluster School Suzanne became active on the PTA. In 2005 she brought together a group of PTA presidents to form CHPSPO – the Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization. It was from discussions in this group that the idea for the School Libraries Project was born. The Capitol Hill Community Foundation adopted and supported it with financial and managerial assistance and many volunteers. As a result, the libraries in eight neighborhood public schools were renovated and restocked with new books and supplies. Suzanne and the other members of CHPSPO continue to meet monthly to encourage school beautification and greening, to strengthen neighborhood middle schools, and to consider other ways to make Capitol Hill public schools the first and best choice for local parents.

Mike realized early that, given his son’s level of interest, he was going to be spending a lot of time at sports events so he decided he “might as well figure out how to help.” He became a soccer, baseball and basketball coach, league commissioner and referee and took on as well many organizational and communication tasks for Soccer on the Hill. Mike is currently Vice President of Sports on the Hill which, in response to growing interest, offers about 1,500 children opportunities to play not just soccer, but softball, baseball, basketball, touch football, wrestling, and lacrosse. 

This fall Joshua, who started soccer and T-ball when he was five, will be playing soccer as a freshman at St. John’s University. Mike will still be here, assuring other neighborhood children of the chance to play. Suzanne will be going to PTA meetings. And Elizabeth, more of a performer than an athlete according to her parents, will just be beginning to explore all Capitol Hill has to offer.