Our Staff & Board

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

Group photo of Maryland Humanities staff

Our Staff

Isabella Altherr
Program Assistant
Chautauqua, Maryland History Day & Maryland Voices
(410) 685-0452
Email

Lia Atanat
Maryland History Day Outreach & Professional Development Assistant
Email

Stephanie Boyle
Program Officer
Chautauqua, Maryland History Day & Maryland Voices
(410) 685-4185
Email

Eden Etzel
Program Assistant
Maryland Center for the Book
(410) 685-3715
Email

Adrienne Gieszl
Advancement Associate
(410) 246-9415
Email

Marilyn Hatza
Program Officer
Grants & Regional Humanities Networks
(410) 685-4187
Email

Aaron Heinsman
Director of Advancement
(410) 685-4183
Email

Anna Keneda
Maryland History Day Outreach & Professional Development Coordinator
Email

Kelly King
Grants Specialist
(410) 685-1653
Email

Jim Kitterman
Fiscal Officer
(410) 685-4182
Email

Andrea Lewis
Program Officer
Maryland Center for the Book
(410) 685-6161
Email

Susan Millard
Office Manager
(410) 685-4184
Email

Phoebe Stein
Executive Director
(410) 685-0095
Email

Sarah Weissman
Communications Specialist
(410) 685-4186
Email

Theresa Worden
Program Officer
Traveling Exhibitions & Program Evaluation
(410) 685-0303
Email

Our Board

Cynthia Raposo, Chair
Montgomery County

Keith Stone, Vice Chair
Baltimore City

James (Jim) Cornelsen, Treasurer
Charles County

Scott Casper, Secretary
Howard County

Ronald (Pete) Lesher, Jr.*,
Government Liaison
Talbot County

Allyson Black
Anne Arundel County

Mary Kay Finan
Allegany County

Rian Hargrave
Baltimore City

Mary Hastler*
Harford County

Mark Irwin
Montgomery County

Julia (Julie) Madden*
Howard County

Tahira Mahdi
Baltimore County

Tiffany McGhee
Baltimore County

Heather Mitchell
Howard County

Ronald (Ron) H. Nowaczyk
Allegany County

Maarten L. Pereboom
Wicomico County

Jeanne Pirtle
St. Mary’s County

Gale Rasin
Kent County

Thomas (Tom) B. Riford
Washington County

Nancy Rogers
Montgomery County

Carmel Roques
Howard County

Stephen J. Sfekas
Baltimore City

Jennifer Shea
Montgomery County

Guffrie M. Smith, Jr.
Calvert County

Sharon Whitney
Anne Arundel County

Jayson Williams
Baltimore City

*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

 

  • “[After Literature & Medicine,] I have more respect for other health care staff.”

    Literature & Medicine participant

  • In history class you always read books written by people who didn’t experience it so it was nice to get an actual view on it. It was different because you got actual stories from history that many people don’t learn. I would like to thank you for giving me this experience in my freshman year.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • “I think the continual process of improving her research and presentation through the various levels of competition has been incredibly valuable. It has caused her to dig deeper in her research and build upon and refine her work and presentation.”

    ​Maryland History Day parent

  • “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

  • “Besides giving my students a relaxed writing situation with a non-threatening prompt (a personal letter, after all), your program challenges students to think ‘outside the box.'”

    ​Letters About Literature teacher

  • We were really moved by the testimony of the veterans and impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the students.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, parent

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

    Veterans Book Group participant

  • “Lifelong learning is continuing to read, listen, learn, share ideas, discuss, and be enlightened by the great ideas and events of the human experience during the course of an entire life.”

    ​Maryland Humanities survey participant

  • “[After Literature & Medicine,] I sat and spoke with a terrified family member for much longer than I would have. Building a rapport is so important for the patient’s and family’s mental health.”

    Literature & Medicine participant

  • “Across three months of programming, Kent County witnessed an explosion of 39 free public humanities and arts program presented by more than 20 community partners. Hosted by local churches, businesses, storefronts, art galleries, environmental groups and government agencies, these programs included lectures, exhibitions, walking tours, poster contests, book discussions, school field trips and oral history projects. This wide-ranging and grassroots approach to fostering civic dialogue created a moment for the community to pause and reflect – to consider together its diverse work experiences and shared economic histories while also discussing the county’s economic potential and planning policies moving forward.”

    Barbara Foster, Vice President, G.A.R. Post #25 Sumner Hall, Chestertown, MD, Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “We had our best attendance, ever, for a book discussion, in the seven years I’ve been here.”

    One Maryland One Book 2015 participant

  • “The Smithsonian connection gave us new credibility. We were able to track attendance and we’ve seen a continued rise in weekend activity. Based on increased attendance numbers, we’ve decided to keep the museum open year round. Using our guest book, our gung-ho membership chair was able to double the membership in the Friends organization. This enhanced our treasury by a substantial amount and identified many new volunteers.”

    ​Dorry Norris ~ Washington County Rural Heritage Museum, Boonesboro, MD Host Site, Museum on Main Street

  • “I had two students participate who told me they’ve never finished a book before and they finished this one and want to read more!”

    ​One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • “The impact of this particular book was probably stronger than any other Maryland One Book due to the connections we could make with real world events and police brutality in the headlines. Many groups were reading and discussing the book at our school: Student Equity Team, Drama Club, Faculty book club, sociology and English classes. It fostered important discussions about race relations.”

    One Maryland One Book 2016 teacher

  • “MHD illustrated the applicability of the study of history to contemporary issues and current events. It was very motivating to converse with the students about their historical topic and observe how they applied it to current events and their own life circumstances.”

    ​Maryland History Day parent
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About Us
Maryland Humanities is a statewide, educational nonprofit organization that creates and supports educational experiences in the humanities that inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning, exchange ideas openly, and enrich their communities.
Maryland Humanities
108 West Centre Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-4565
(410) 685-0095
(410) 685-0795 fax
info@mdhumanities.org
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