About Headwaters
Headwaters — The Passage
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Headwaters — The Passage LLC is a family business rooted in the Shenandoah Valley. Founded by Darcy Ostrander-Damon and Ace Damon, we bring together 23 years of federal program management and organizational leadership with creative direction, visual artistry, and deep outdoor expertise in the region where we live and work.
We are not a venue. We are not a catering company. We are the architects of the complete experience — sourcing the right vendors, designing the right program, and coordinating everything so you can be fully present for what matters.
Every vendor in the Headwaters network is a local business. Every retreat keeps revenue in Warren County. We are building this from the inside, rooted in a community we love and invested in — as business owners, as neighbors, and as volunteers committed to making this place stronger for everyone who calls it home
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Who is Headwaters?
ᨒ𖠰 Founder and Principal
Darcy Ostrander-Damon
Darcy spent 22 years in federal service managing programs that touched all 50 states, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia — and reaching far beyond our borders into some of the most demanding operating environments in the world. Her career took her through the State Department, USAID, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, and the National Guard Bureau, where she oversaw a portfolio exceeding three billion dollars. She designed women's leadership programs with lasting international impact, built compliance infrastructure under pressure, and led teams through conditions that demanded both technical precision and genuine human leadership.
She has since made her forever home in Linden, Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains are visible from her front door. Headwaters is not something she brought here from the outside — it is something she built from the inside, rooted in a place she loves and a community she is proud to be part of. She holds an MBA, a Women in Leadership certificate through Empower Global, and a paralegal certificate from George Mason University. She served nine years as an Assistant Scoutmaster and five years concurrently as a Venture Crew Advisor — and the co-founder sitting beside her is a big part of why.
They have both hiked, zip lined, paddled, and ridden horseback through the kinds of places Headwaters calls home. The outdoor programming this company offers is not abstract to either of its founders. It is lived. They believe the outdoors does something to people nothing else can replicate
Co-Founder and Creative Director 𖠰ᨒ
Ace Damon
Ace is the creative force behind Headwaters. They designed the brand mark by hand, their photography and artwork define the visual identity of this company from the ground up. Pursuing a degree in music production and technology, Ace brings a creative instinct that runs deep — from lead theater roles and two years as color guard captain and choreographer, to District Choir recognition and a lifelong love of visual art and photography. Ace also leads Headwaters' digital marketing, social media presence, and SEO strategy — ensuring the brand reaches the right clients and partners well beyond our immediate community. What they create is not decoration. It is the language of this brand.
The outdoor credentials are just as serious. Ace earned the Arrow of Light when the Boy Scouts first opened membership, rose to Life Scout, held senior leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader and New Scout Instructor, and completed two High Adventure expeditions alongside Darcy — a 50-mile kayak journey down the New River and a week-long open-water expedition to a deserted island off the coast of Florida.