Staff

Jenny Waters
Museum Manager

Jenny joined the Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden as a Collections Management Intern in the summer of 2022. During her internship, she contributed to researching and accessioning new objects, as well as cataloging significant portions of the collection into the museum’s database. She later became the museum’s Collections Assistant, where she continued cataloging work and co-curated the temporary exhibition From Trash to Treasure: Uncovering the Downhams. Jenny also coordinated the donation of 39 objects from the Stansfield family, who had previously loaned items to the museum in the late 1980s.

As Museum Manager, Jenny continues to wear many hats. Alongside her ongoing research and interpretation of women’s history at the site, she organizes Lee-Fendall’s annual spring fundraiser, Wine & Art Night, and developed the museum’s World War II walking tour of Alexandria. She also plans to expand her research into the history of the secret military intelligence facility, P.O. Box 1142.

Before joining Lee-Fendall, Jenny earned her degree from Bucknell University, where she also worked as a lab assistant in the Classics Department’s ancient glass laboratory. Her passion for material culture began while studying fragments of ancient glass excavated from the city of Gordion, Turkey. In 2024, Jenny completed the highly regarded Graduate Certificate in Collections Management and Care from George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design.

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Sophie McCarthy
Program Manager

Joining the Lee-Fendall team at the beginning of 2026, Sophie is a public historian with previous experience in historic house museums. While attending Clemson University, where she studied history, Sophie worked as a public history intern at the historic Hanover House. There, she created an exhibition centered around the work of English naturalist, Mark Catesby. She also worked as an archival researcher for Clemson University’s Honors College, studying the residential living of previous students.

After graduating, Sophie moved to Washington DC to attend Georgetown University for her Masters in Engaged and Public Humanities. While in school, Sophie worked in Visitor Services at Tudor Place Historic House. Alongside historic interpretation and visitor engagement, Sophie specialized in the development of public and educational programs.

Sophie’s primary interests revolve around material culture, popular culture, and food studies – her love for American cultural history is largely inspired by her family’s travels to all fifty states. Her educational experience centers primarily on secondary education, and Sophie is hoping to expand educational programs for older audiences as she steps into the role of Program Manager. Similarly, she looks forward to engaging in historic interpretation, as well as implementing new public programs while maintaining pre-existing fan favorites.

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