Advisory Committee

Gillian Penn was born in Washington, DC and has lived in Northern Virginia her entire life. She graduated from Mary Washington College with a BA in Sociology/Anthropology but has been a lover of music and the performing arts her entire life. Gillian has an extensive piano, vocal, handbell, and theory background that spans over 40 years and currently rings with Virginia Bronze Community Handbell Ensemble in Fairfax County, VA. She is serving her second term as President of the Board of Virginia Bronze, which not only performs several times a year but also hosts workshops and festivals and partners with local Title 1 schools by loaning them handchimes for their music programs. She has performed with the Washington Revels and has attended Distinctly Bronze, an annual event for advanced handbell ringers, every year since 2004. Gillian is the COO/CFO/Business Manager of Hollar & Penn Mowing & Towing, LLC--the family business she runs with her husband, James, in Fairfax, VA. Gillian and James have two teenage daughters who enjoy spending most of their evenings at the dance studio. In her spare time, Gillian enjoys traveling the world, RV camping, taking dance classes, and doing jigsaw puzzles.