The board and staff of McLean Project for the Arts mourn the loss of our longtime friend and volunteer Lee DiCenso, who passed away on February 15, 2026.
Lee was a devoted supporter of MPA and a longtime leader of MPA ArtReach gallery tours. Through that program, she welcomed Fairfax County students and community members into the galleries, helping them look closely at the work and discover their own responses to it. Lee brought warmth, curiosity, and generosity to these encounters, and many visitors experienced their first MPA gallery visit through her guidance.
We are grateful to the DiCenso family for designating MPA as the recipient of memorial gifts in Lee’s honor. Contributions made in her memory will support MPA’s ArtReach program, which extends MPA’s visual arts exhibitions into the community through guided tours and workshops for Fairfax County Title I elementary schools and for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities.
Lee cared deeply about helping others experience the arts, and supporting MPA ArtReach continues that spirit of engagement and welcome.
We hold Pete, Jay, and the entire DiCenso family in our thoughts.
I have such vivid memories of working with Lee as a docent during our busy ArtReach gallery tour season. She was so open and curious about getting across exciting ideas and working with hands-on activities about contemporary art to these second language learners making up the Title I audience. Comfortable working with the very large groups of students, she inspired the many students that visited daily. I will miss her very much.
–Sharon Fishel, MPA ArtReach Director
