A native of Brooklyn, NY, Wes Rivel moved to the Washington area in 1965 to attend Saint Albans School as a high school boarder.  After graduation from Middlebury College in Vermont, he operated the Rivel & Ryan real estate brokerage in Georgetown during the 1970s. He then had a 40-year career in finance and business strategy, mostly in Brazil, with 15 years each at Chase Manhattan Bank (now JP Morgan) and Mastercard. Wes has three children and seven grandchildren. He retired and returned to Dupont/Logan Circle in 2019 and has been active in local organizations, including DCV, since 2022.