Our Staff & Board

Meet the dynamic group of people responsible for championing the humanities throughout Maryland!

Our Staff

Isabella Altherr (she/her)
Program Coordinator
History
(410) 685-0452
ialtherr[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Lindsey Baker (she/her)
Chief Executive Officer
(410) 699-3130
lbaker[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Ellie Benedict (she/her)
Development Specialist
(410) 618-5725
ebenedict[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Stephanie Boyle (she/her)
Program Officer
History
(410) 685-4185
sboyle[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Alexandra Cenatus
(she/her/ella/elle/li)
Director of Programs
(410) 618-0753
acenatus[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Aditya Desai (he/him)
Program Officer
Literature
(410) 618-3769
adesai[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Eden Etzel (she/her)
Program Assistant
Maryland Center for the Book
(410) 685-3715
eetzel[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Robert Forloney (he/him)
Program Officer
Partnerships
(410) 541-7612
rforloney[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Lia Özizmirli (she/her)
Maryland History Day Outreach & Professional Development Coordinator
(410) 618-5429
latanat[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Emily Ross (she/her)
Program Officer, Grants
(410) 618-5017
eross[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Camilla Sandoval (she/her)
Program Coordinator
Grants & Community Engagement
(410) 762-8663
csandoval[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Emmie Schulz (she/her)
Maryland History Day Outreach & Professional Development Assistant
(410) 618-5709
emiliam[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Sarah Weissman (she/her)
Communications Specialist
(410) 618-5893
sweissman[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Lou Williams (they/she)
Operations Manager
(410) 564-1548
lwilliams[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

Our Board

Alicia Jones McLeod
Chair

Baltimore County

Chanel Johnson
Governance Committee Chair and Vice Chair 

Baltimore City

Ronald (Ron) H. Nowaczyk
Finance Committee Chair and Incoming Board Chair

Allegany County

Carmel Roques
Secretary

Howard County

Julia (Julie) Madden*
Government Liaison
Howard County

Mary Hastler
Harford County

Rahne Alexander, a middle-white woman with glasses and light hair, smiles. She wears a dark blue dress or shirt with white tigers on it and red lipstick. She is in front of a wall that has a combination of letters and numbers but no distinct words are apparent.

Rahne Alexander
Baltimore City

Alejandra Balcázarzar, a young or middle-aged light-skinned Latine woman, in a professional or classroom building on a college campus. She smiles and has long brown hair, wears a navy and light blue striped blouse, and navy slacks.

Alejandra Balcazar
Baltimore County

Kendra Brown
Prince George’s County

Mollie Caplis
Baltimore County

Dr. Brian Casemore, a middle-aged white man, stands outside in front of a fence with trees in the backyard and smiles. He wears a checked button-down shirt and a navy blue blazer.

Brian Casemore
Montgomery County

Tahira Christmon
Howard County

Jill Ferris
Talbot County

Dr. Kara French, a young or middle-aged white woman with dark red or brown curly hair, smiles in front of her bookshelf. She wears a cream-colored blouse with embroidery on top, and hoop earrings.

Kara French
Wicomico County

Veronica Gallardo, a young or middle-aged Latine woman with curly brown hair, poses by standing in front of her green door to a brown house. She subtly smiles and wears a white suit and light blue blouse.

Veronica Gallardo
Prince George’s County

Rachael Gibson
Programs Committee Chair

Montgomery County

Ruth Kim, a young or middle-aged Korean or Korean American woman, smiles in front of a solid gray photo backdrop. She wears a dressy tan jacket, dark grey top, and drop necklace.

Ruth Kim
Montgomery County

Shauna Knox
Montgomery County

Soo Koo
Montgomery County

Kimberly R. Moffitt
Grants Committee Chair

Baltimore County

Jeanne Pirtle
St. Mary’s County

Christian Pulley
Prince George’s County

Tamar Sarnoff
Baltimore City

Jennifer Shea
Talbot County

Saima Sitwat
Development and Communications Committee Chair

Baltimore City

Guffrie M. Smith, Jr.
Calvert County

Marshall F. Stevenson, Jr.
Somerset County

Allyson Black Woodson
Anne Arundel County

*Gubernatorial appointee

Are you or is someone you know passionate about the humanities and lifelong learning and have an interest in volunteer service? Consider nominating yourself or them to our Board of Directors.

FIND OUT MORE

  • “Humanities are the core of everything. You cannot be a good scientist or computer programmer, if you cannot communicate clearly with others and understand others. Humanities studies and scholarships are the essential element in learning how to relate to each other AND how to better communicate with one another.”

    ​Maryland Humanities survey participant
  • “This oral history experience was amazing. I learned so much and will never forget this. I LOVED IT, I was super skeptical at first. I felt like we had a lack of planning but I think everything went so great.”

    ​Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant
  • Humanities help everyone learn about common and universal themes from diverse groups of people. They can help build peace and understanding in the world.

    ​Maryland Humanities survey participant
  • “It is difficult to properly express our gratitude to Maryland Humanities for the help and support that we received through the grant-making process and through the project…The support of (Maryland Humanities) was not in funding alone. By including a spot about the initiative in (their) Humanities Connection program on WYPR, Maryland Humanities did much to help promote our initiative and alert the general public about the program that we were running in the early months of the fall.”

    Dr. Kimberly Coles ~ Chair, Education and Citizenship Project Committee, University of Maryland College Park
  • “My students became more competent researchers, and took ownership of their work. They had total free reign to choose their topic, direct their research, and create their final project.”

    ​Maryland History Day 2015 Teacher
  • “Humanities are stories of human endeavor. They are at the root of who we are as human beings. The humanities matter because the better we understand and appreciate each other’s cultural and creative foundations the stronger we all become. We then have the ability to work together to solve the problems we all face.”

    ​Maryland Humanities survey participant
  • “It was an amazing experience to meet and talk to a veteran.”

    ​Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant
  • “One student in my book club who is in a wheelchair and has a lot of other persona/home issues, was the first to finish the book, and wheeled herself into the library more than once to ask me if I had finished the book because she wanted to talk about it. She was a huge contributor to the discussion.”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher
  • “[Lifelong learning] means that we are forever students, constantly discovering, researching, exploring, and challenging ourselves.”

    ​Maryland Humanities survey participant
  • “The program gave me new insights and reinforced many of my attitudes and commitments to the care of the seniors whom I see in my clinic. Interacting with colleagues whom I have now had a different and delightful “book club” experience with improves my work performance and work enjoyment.”

    ​Literature & Medicine participant
  • “[Veterans Book Group] was better than expected! [I got] a feeling of connection and pride with the other member [and] I’d love to participate again in any future book clubs—I enjoyed the stimulation.”

    Veterans Book Group participant
  • “The book selections offer an opportunity to read a book that is informative and engaging. It enhances our view of the world and the individuals within it. We sincerely look forward to the OMOB selections and materials each year. It is a topic of excitement and discussion among students and staff. Truly and wonderfully.”

    ​One Maryland One Book teacher
  • “[In Veterans Book Group,] I considered other perspectives both of other service members and others who did not serve.”

    Veterans Book Group participant
  • “Funding from the Maryland Humanities to distribute our first publication allowed Wide Angle Youth Media to expand our reach and share youth voice in a way we have never done before. With your support, this project has not only been successful in programmatic outcomes, but has inspired and empowered young people, giving them the platform to become published artists and share their voices in our city and beyond.”

    Wide Angle Youth Media, Humanities Fund for Baltimore grantee, Baltimore City
  • I felt that I had a very unique oral history experience. It was very emotional and I feel that I learned valuable information. I got to learn stories and practice skills that normally I wouldn’t have been comfortable with.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant
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