Melwood Announces New Officers and New Board Members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Janelle Morris
301.599.4550 or jamorris@melwood.org

UPPER MARLBORO, MD – July 9, 2015 – Cari DeSantis, President & CEO of Melwood, an Upper Marlboro nonprofit organization, is pleased to announce the election of new officers for the Melwood Board of Directors and the addition of six new board members, effective July 1, 2015.

“This is a very exciting time for Melwood. We are in the throes of a very aggressive strategic plan, and we recruited to our board a set of high caliber individuals who will offer significant expertise in guiding our strategic growth.” said Cari DeSantis, President & CEO of Melwood.  “Together with the new officers, new directors and returning directors, I look forward to great progress in positioning Melwood for success in the next 50 years of service to people with differing abilities.”

New Officers

Board Chair:  George Watkins

Previously Vice Chair and Chair of the Finance Committee, George Watkins has served on the Melwood board for over four years.  George is president of Watkins & Associates, a CPA firm in LaPlata, Maryland.

Vice Chair:  Tracy Wareing Evans

Tracy joined the Melwood board in 2013 and most recently chaired the Governance Committee.  A resident of Arlington, Virginia, Tracy is the executive director of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), a national nonprofit membership association representing human services leaders in the public sector, based in Washington, DC.

Treasurer:  Steve Martin

A resident of McLean, Virginia, Steve is a partner with Pace Harmon, a domestic management consulting firm based in Vienna.  Steve brings to the Melwood board over 25 years of experience in supply chain management and technology.  He joined the Melwood board in 2014.

New Board Members

Joseph C. Green, Jr. of Annapolis, Maryland is the Executive Vice President for G.S. Proctor & Associates, a government relations firm that provides lobbying and consulting services, at the federal, state and local level.

Don Hathway, of Rockville, Maryland, retired in May of 2015 after 40 years with Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he was the Senior National Professional Practice Director for the firm’s Central Region offices, responsible for quality control and risk management for the audit practice. 

Colonel Beth Liechti Johnson served in the U.S. Army for 28 years, serving in a number of deployments, including Kuwait, South Korea, Germany and a number of posts throughout the United States.   Her military career culminated with her assignment to the Pentagon, where she served as Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs and as the Director of Strategic Communications for the Chief of the U.S. Army Reserve.   Colonel Johnson resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

Darrell McGraw of Potomac, Maryland is a Federal Advisory Director at KPMG, LLP and experienced program manager with over 17 years consulting experience bridging the gap between technology and financial management functions for Federal clients. 

Glenn Miller is a Senior Partner with the law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP where he specializes in real estate, tax planning, multifamily affordable housing and community development.  Mr. Miller resides in McLean, Virginia.

Branden Sorzano of La Plata, Maryland, is a proud graduate of Kennedy Krieger High School in Baltimore, Maryland.  He completed the Hospitality and Tourism career track and obtained his high school diploma in June of 2014.  Branden is a long-time participant in a variety of support services offered by the Melwood Recreation Center in Nanjemoy, where he now works in the kitchen providing meals to guests during their stay at the Center.  Branden continues to receive services from Melwood, and the umbrella of supports provided by Melwood are a critical component of a successful day for this young adult living with a condition on the Autism Spectrum formerly known as Asperger’s. 

Returning Directors

Dr. Sharon Camp of Welcome, Maryland, is a forty-year veteran of the family planning and reproductive health field, including serving for 10 years as President & CEO of the Guttmacher Institute

Divina Gamble is a Senor Client Partner in the Washington, DC office of Korn Ferry, an international executive recruitment firm.  

Sue Greer, Esq. of La Plata, Maryland, is a partner at The Greer Law Firm in La Plata and Chair of the Charles County Chamber of Commerce.

Mike Keppler, a resident of Fairfax, Virginia, is an executive in the Global Information Technology division of Marriott International, Inc. based in Bethesda, Maryland.  Mike served two terms on the Melwood Board of Directors and remains engaged as emeritus past chair of the board.

ABOUT MELWOOD

Melwood is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that is one of the largest employers of people with differing abilities in the Northeastern United States, proudly employing more than 760 people with differing abilities at over 40 contract sites in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC through the U.S. AbilityOne Program and partnerships with community employers.

Melwood is headquartered in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, with related facilities located in Temple Hills, Waldorf and Nanjemoy, Maryland. We employ 1,468 people, including those with differing abilities, who work at one of our 43 contracts sites. Our business and service Lines include: Total Facilities Management, Janitorial/Custodial services, Landscaping and Grounds Keeping, Recycling, Electronics Recycling, Call Centers, Customized Job Training, Community Supports, Retreat and Recreational Services, Horticulture Therapy, Therapeutic Riding, Inclusive Camping, and more.

Some of our notable federal clients include Fort George G. Meade, U.S. General Services Administration, the United States Naval Academy, Naval Air Station-Patuxent River, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Goddard Space Flight Center.

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