The talent pool from which Capitol Hill draws its movers and shakers is both wide and deep. Deep because of how very many people are willing to give of their time and talent for community activities. Wide because of the range of specialties from which they spring: last month we wrote about the Hamiltons from the religious community. The month before that it was the Folger’s Garland Scott from the literary world of the theater.

Another source of talent is the institutions involving that domed building from which Capitol Hill gets its name. Consider Joseph Fengler, who is now serving his third term as the elected spokesperson for the slice of Capitol Hill north of Maryland Avenue and south of H Street between Eighth and 12th streets NE on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, and the chair of one of the four commissions covering Ward 6 – ANC 6A to be precise.

Five and a half years ago, when he first stood for election, he was a staff member of the House Committee on Armed Services with a distinguished record of Federal service but with a desire to make a contribution not just to his country but to his community.

That was shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and he says today that “that event caused some deep soul searching” over just what he was contributing.

A native of California with degrees from three universities in the state – Irvine, San Marino and Claremont – Fengler came to Washington in 1993 as a Presidential Management Intern in the program designed to bring talented graduate school students into the federal government. Later he served as a budget officer for the Department of the Army in Germany and then returned to DC to work in the Pentagon in the Army Budget Office handling mission readiness accounts.

During his first stint in Washington he bought a house on Capitol Hill. He purchased rather than renting, he says, because at that time he didn’t have the funds for a first month and last month rent plus security deposit – but he could swing a mortgage.

During one visit back to the states while serving in Germany, he met his wife Doriann who joined him in Heidelberg, also working for the Army in the Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities which still occupy her today. The couple spent three years working in Germany and traveling throughout Europe.

They returned to DC just before the 2001 terrorist attacks got him to thinking about making a community contribution outside of his federal duties. They bought yet another home on Capitol Hill on F Street near Eighth. Shortly after the attacks, he began attending meetings and volunteering on projects for the advisory neighborhood commission.

“It is the volunteers that make the system work,” he says, pointing with pride to the fact that there are over 40 volunteers working on committees and projects of ANC 6A in any given month. “It is really important for people to realize that on the Hill, even if you are here for only a few years, you can really make a contribution,” he says, adding, “it doesn’t take a lifetime commitment.”

As a first-time candidate, Fengler stressed the need for transparency in the workings of the ANC, and even today, when asked about accomplishments during his tenure, he is more likely to mention processes that work than specific issues. He cites “attention to detail” in the conduct of public business as an overriding concern. For example, the details of the zoning definitions of a fast food restaurant and a sit-down establishment are key to the revitalization of the H Street Corridor.

There are issue-specific matters as well. He’s worked on topics as diverse as the city’s noise ordinance relative to “non-commercial speech” and the H Street Streetcar project. He also is proud of the ANC website, which features schedules and issue-specific information – www.anc6a.org.

Fengler, who says he spends something in the vicinity of 10 hours a week on ANC business, praises the work of the volunteers and the involvement of the community in local decision-making.

He left his congressional post in 2006 to join the Washington office of Honeywell, the technology and aerospace technology company, working on defense logistics policy. It hasn’t made him move too far from the Hill, however. His office is at the base of the Hill, and he and Doriann still live on F Street – and he’s still making a contribution.

Brad Hathaway is a freelance writer living on Capitol Hill. He can be reached by e-mail at Brad@PotomacStages.com.