Nan Ottenritter

Board Member, Wintergreen Music 

Nan Ottenritter has over thirty years of experience in higher education. Before retiring, she served as the Director of Professional Development of the Virginia Community College System. Prior to that she coordinated a range of national initiatives, including leadership development and wellness programs for American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, DC. Prior to that she was Associate Professor of Human Services at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown, MD. Nan’s first love is teaching and coaching students in how to maximize not only their formal education learnings, but those gained from everyday opportunities. Consulting experience includes work throughout the United States as well as South Africa.

Ms. Ottenritter holds a Masters of Science in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, and a Masters of Social Work from Howard University, Washington, DC. As an amateur violinist she captured the richness of Virginia and the Appalachians and learned how to fiddle for dances and enjoys playing Irish fiddle. Today she sings in community and church choirs.  She also is a poet and writing teacher. She has been published online and is the author of two poetry chapbooks. After acquiring a vacation home in Wintergreen several years ago, Nan discovered the Wintergreen Music Festival. After dubbing it “adult music summer camp,” Nan can be found spending July up at the mountain with her wife, Julie Edwards, taking in the wonderful music, supporting students in the LEAD program, and imagining how music could be combined with the word and the gifts of place, Nelson County.