Four New Members Join Maryland Humanities Board of Directors

New members hold expertise in museum, writing, tech, and anti-racism arenas

(Baltimore, MD) – Maryland Humanities is pleased to welcome four new members to the organization’s Board of Directors.  They join 23 other volunteers in service.  The new Board Members are: Chanel Compton, Alicia Jones McLeod, Soo Park, and Saima Sitwat. Compton and Sitwat live in Baltimore City while McLeod and Park reside in Baltimore County.

In addition to the four new members, the Board of Directors includes: Mary Hastler (Chair), Harford County; Keith Stone (Vice Chair), Baltimore City; Mark Irwin (Secretary), Montgomery County, James (Jim) Cornelsen (Treasurer), Charles County; Julia (Julie) Madden (Government Liaison), Howard County; Cynthia Raposo (Immediate Past Chair), Montgomery County; Allyson Black, Anne Arundel County;  Mary Callis, Garrett County; Dr. Mary Kay Finan, Allegany County; The Honorable Ronald (Pete) Lesher, Jr., Talbot County; Tiffany McGhee, Baltimore County; Heather Mitchell, Howard County; Dr. Ronald (Ron) Nowaczyk, Allegany County; Dr. Randy Ontiveros, Prince Georges County; Dr. Maarten Pereboom, Wicomico County; Jeanne Pirtle, St. Mary’s County; Thomas (Tom) Riford, Washington County; Dr. Nancy Rogers, Montgomery County; Carmel Roques, Howard County; Jennifer Shea, Montgomery County; Guffrie Smith, Calvert County; Sharon Whitney, Anne Arundel County; and Jayson Williams, Baltimore City.

CHANEL COMPTON is the Executive Director for the Banneker-Douglass Museum and Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. In these roles, Compton is dedicated to serving Maryland to amplify and support African American heritage initiatives, groups, and museums to gain further access to resources, partnerships, and reach new audiences and heights. She previously served as Executive Director for the Prince George’s African American Museum as well as the Education Director for the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. Compton received a graduate degree in Arts Management from American University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rutgers University. Currently, she serves as Board Chair of the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center and board member to Afro Charities and Future History Now. Ms. Compton has been a life-long supporter of museums. (Baltimore City)

ALICIA JONES MCLEOD is the Executive Director of Challenging Racism, an organization whose focus is to empower and inspire people to disrupt racism one compassionate conversation at a time. Previously she led Ellicott City Partnership, a “Main Street” organization. Prior to that, she founded the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce, which continues to raise the profile of black-owned businesses. Her tenure at each of her places of employment has been marked by the implementation of innovative ideas designed to raise the organization’s profile and draw new supporters to the work. Jones McLeod is a resident of Parkville and brings deep relationships to Challenging Racism’s work. She is in a Masters of Public Administration program at the University of Baltimore with a concentration in non-profit management and holds a B.S. in Marketing from Kean University in New Jersey. Jones McLeod and her partner are the parents of three children: Richard (25), Alyssa (19) and Amanda (18). (Baltimore County) 

SOO PARK is Vice President and Product Evaluation & Acquisition Team Lead of JastinTech, a Columbia‐based IT support company. He has been the lead vendor liaison for the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT. Park’s community service roles include Secretary General of the Koreatown Planning Committee and past Secretary General of the Korean Society of Maryland. He has an M.S. in Information Resource Management from University of Maryland Global Campus and a B.A. in Economics and Visual Merchandising from Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. (Baltimore County)

SAIMA SITWAT is a writer, educator, and speaker. She is an Adjunct Instructor at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Pittsburgh where she teaches classes on American Muslims and building inclusive communities. Her work has been published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PublicSource, and Dawn (Pakistan). She has been a finalist for a presidential appointee position with the Obama Administration and served as the first woman President of the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh (MAP). She currently lives in Baltimore with her husband and their two daughters. She works at The Bryn Mawr School where she serves as a staff liaison for the Office of Equity and Inclusion in addition to her role as the Development Coordinator. She is the author of the newly published memoir, American Muslim: An Immigrant’s Journey. (Baltimore City)

Anyone interested in discussing board service may contact the organization at (410) 685-0095.