John Bond
Brown Advisory
Ian Broadie
Senior Manager, Cohn Reznick, LLC.
Steve Buck
Retired
Sean Davis
Principal, Morris & Ritchie Associates, Inc.
Mr. Davis is a Principal at Morris & Ritchie Associates, Inc., a multi-disciplinary planning, architecture, civil engineering and landscape architectural company based in Maryland. He has spent 32 years assisting private sector land developers and home builders throughout the United States in planning, designing, and implementing a variety of development proposals – from small scale residential neighborhoods, to urban mixed-use centers, to large scale master planned communities. A reflection of Sean’s success is the number of communities that he has seen from concept through complete implementation, providing valuable “lessons learned”, and his long standing client relationships that often span decades.
Mr. Davis is currently the Chair of the Baltimore City Planning Commission, the Governance Chair of the Urban Land Institute Baltimore District Council, a member of a National Urban Land Institute Product Council that focuses on Community Development, a member of the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission – Concentrated Growth Workgroup, and on the State and Baltimore City Chapter Boards for the Homebuilders Association of Maryland. Sean is a registered Landscape Architect in Maryland Delaware, North Carolina and New Jersey and received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Texas Tech University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore Law School.
Jake Fielek
Vice President, Human Resources – Power Tools & Equipment Division, Stanley Black & Decker
Jake Fielek holds the Director of Human Resources position on Stanley Black & Decker’s Human Resources team. As Director of Human Resources, Jake Fielek is an important member of Stanley Black & Decker’s leadership. Jake Fielek is entrusted with maintaining the happiness of employees, whether it be through ensuring low burn out rates, perks, or benefits.
As a Stanley Black & Decker employee for nearly a decade, Jake completed a majority of his work with Stanley Engineered Fastening in Connecticut and Michigan before moving to Maryland to work as the HR leader for Power Tools & Equipment (a strategic business unit of Global Tools & Storage). Mr. Fielek holds a Bachelors in Psychology and Business Administration from Michigan State University, and an MBA from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
Karen Forbes
Assistant Director, Community Access and Partnership, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development of Neighborhood Revitalization
Gary Garofalo
CEO/President, Harkins Builders, Inc.
Harkins president since 2016, Gary has been a champion for the growth and transformation of Harkins, including the relocation and design of our headquarters office. He oversees the company’s strategic growth initiatives in project diversity, geographic footprint, and annual volume, and is leading the effort to provide exceptional quality of service across people, divisions, and processes.
Gary joined Harkins in 1991 as controller after managing the Harkins account at Reznick, Fedder & Silverman. Mr. Harkins was president and CEO. Gary is passionate about the reputation built by the leaders that came before him, as well as commitment to corporate citizenship and helping those who are less fortunate.
As the company’s chief financial officer, he helped to grow annual revenues and to build a position of financial corporate health that is unequaled in the industry. In 2002 he oversaw the creation of Harkins’ Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which transferred majority ownership of the company to its employees. Harkins is now 100% employee-owned.
Jim Goodrich
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehy, LLP
Sue Gue
Mortgage Banking Consultant, First National Bank Corporation
With her extensive banking background, Sue understands that the home borrowing process may appear daunting to customers. She welcomes the opportunity to work with her customers, to understand their borrowing needs, and to present them with borrowing options they may not have otherwise considered. Guiding her customers to the best borrowing solution for them, Susan provides them with an exceptional borrowing experience.
Sue dedicates hundreds of hours each year working with Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. As part of their Homeowner Services Committee, Susan attends outreach events; interviews homebuyer candidates; offers financial expertise; and coordinates settlement processes. Susan is exhilarated working with the Habitat families and shares their joy as they bring their dream of homeownership to reality.
Seema Iyer, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Jacob France Institute
Seema D. Iyer PhD is associate director and research assistant professor for the Jacob France Institute in the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business and has overseen the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance since 2011. Dr. Iyer holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, specializing in comprehensive and strategic planning for community development. She serves on several community-oriented boards including Baltimore City Head Start and the Baltimore Community Foundation Neighborhoods Committee and in 2010, she was recognized as one of Maryland’s Leading Women by the Daily Record. She is co-chair and teaches in the University of Baltimore’s Real Estate & Economic Development program.
Prior to joining UB, Iyer served as Chief of Research & Strategic Planning for Baltimore City’s Planning Department and was responsible for data and policy analysis, geographic information systems services and population forecasting. She spearheaded the city’s 2010 Census Complete Count Campaign as well as other planning processes such as the 2009 Food Policy Task Force and the 2008 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. She earned her MA in regional science and BA in mathematics and Russian studies, both from the University of Pennsylvania
Kelly Martin
Regional Vice President of the Chesapeake Region, Aerotek
As a member of the Aerotek team, Kelly oversees the sales, operations and strategic direction of offices located in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Kelly’s expertise includes strategy development, industry trends and leading large staffing and recruiting programs.
Prior to joining Aerotek, Kelly held a number of senior leadership roles within other large staffing organizations, including Regional Vice President, Vice President and Global Managing Director. She has more than 25 years of experience with MSP, VMS, Master Vendor, and Vertical Market strategic workforce solutions. Ms. Martin joined Aerotek in 2008 where she served two years as a Director of National Sales and two years as a Director of Strategic Account Solutions before being promoted into her previous role as Executive Director of Strategic Sales. Thanks to her valued leadership, in 2017 Kelly was promoted into her current role as Regional Vice President of the Chesapeake region.
Kelly has received multiple awards including the company’s Significant Impact Award for her performance and commitment to Aerotek. She has also previously served on the Executive Advisory Board. Kelly is focused on mentorship and developing the next generation of leaders.
David Miller
Senior Vice President Finance, Revere Bank
Bryan Porter
Director, Ellin & Tucker
As a Director in the Audit, Accounting and Consulting Department of Ellin & Tucker, Bryan has been providing high quality audit, accounting, tax and advisory services to privately held businesses and not-for-profit organizations for over a decade.
Bryan is a trusted advisor for a wide-range of private business owners, from well-respected, multi-generational, established family businesses to investor-backed high growth start-up companies. Bryan’s exceptional knowledge of industry technical trends has solidified his reputation as a well-respected member of Ellin & Tucker’s Audit, Accounting and Consulting Department.
Bryan is also a member of Ellin & Tucker’s audit and accounting technical standards committee, which is responsible for communicating technical guidance to firm personnel, management and owenership. He is also a member of the firm’s recruiting committee and the firm’s mentoring program, which helps to train and acclimate new professional staff to the firm.
David Ralph
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (an Exelon Company)
David is the General Counsel for Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (an Exelon Company) and is responsible for providing legal counsel across all aspects of the company’s operation including representing the company in its external legal matters, rate cases, and other administrative and legal proceedings. David also manages the company’s Legal department. Before joining Exelon, David engaged in civil practice as a member of national corporate law firms where he served as a partner, concentrating in complex commercial litigation and employment law. David also served in the public sector for several years in a number of key capacities, including the chief of litigation for Baltimore City, deputy city solicitor, and finally as the city solicitor of Baltimore City. While he was the city attorney, David was responsible for negotiating the Consent Decree with the United States Department of Justice to reform and restructure the Baltimore Police Department. David earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology (summa cum laude) from Fordham University and a Juris Doctorate (cum laude) from the University of Maryland School of Law. He is also a graduate of executive programs at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Columbia University Business School.
Owen Rouse
MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC
Owen Rouse is a Vice-President in Investment Sales with MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate, a regional full service company headquartered in Baltimore, transacting investment real estate on behalf of a variety of clients.
Schooled in investment real estate within a division of Alex. Brown & Sons, Owen Rouse’s career in commercial real estate spans 35 plus year and transactional experience representing owners and buyers, structuring transactions across a broad range of asset classes and delivering exceptional outcome-based performance. Prior to joining MacKenzie, Owen’s career includes two decades with regional real estate firm Manekin LLC in a variety of roles and LaSalle Investment Mannagement (successor to Alex. Brown Kleinwort Benson Realty Advisors) in laddered responsibilities in acquisition, asset and portfolio management).
Owen has been a Habitat Board member for 24 years, was President for five years and currently sits on several committees. He is also active with Stevenson University.
Scott R. Wingrat
Principal, Cresa Baltimore
Scott is a Principal and founding member of Cresa Baltimore. By providing an array of comprehensive strategic corporate real estate services to a wide range of industries throughout the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, Scott has consistently proven himself a valuable asset to his clients and to the Cresa team. His extensive experience in the sale and leasing of office, flex and industrial properties has enabled him to successfully assist his clients in making informed real estate decisions by integrating financial analyses and qualitative information into executable, short- and long-term strategies which result in reduction of occupancy costs and increased efficiency.
Prior to joining Cresa Baltimore, Mr. Wingrat acted as Real Estate Advisor for MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services of Lutherville, Maryland, where he worked as both a landlord and tenant representative, handling lease management, space planning, lease negotiations and relocation services for a number of prominent Baltimore area companies. Scott also worked for several other local real estate firms including Preston Partners/Preston Scheffenacker Properties, Inc., Corridor Reznick, and MacKenzie Management.
Mark Heird
President, DAP Global Inc.
Mark R. Heird is a seasoned business executive with 40 years of experience with leading consumer packaged organizations.
Heird is currently the President of DAP Global, Inc., a division of RPM International (NYSE symbol: RPM). RPM is a world leader in specialty coatings, sealants, building materials and related services. In the U.S., DAP is the leading manufacturer and supplier of caulks, sealants, foam, adhesives, and patch and repair products. Heird joined DAP in September 2021 with the focus and vision of furthering the company’s rich history of first-to-market innovations.
Prior to joining DAP, Heird served as Executive Vice President of Sales for Rust-Oleum North America, a division of RPM. Heird held multiple leadership roles at Rust-Oleum over the course of his 21 years with the company. It was here that he developed extensive experience in managing relationships and driving growth at America’s leading Home Improvement and Mass retailers including Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, and Walmart.
Previously, Heird served as a sales executive with The Clorox Co. and Procter & Gamble. Heird earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from University of Maryland, College Park.
JohnDre Jennings
Executive Director, Druid Heights Community Development Corporation
JohnDre Jennings, serves as the Executive Director at Druid Heights Community Development Corporation. In this role Ms. Jennings works with the Druid Heights Team to administer the nonprofit services which include community outreach, housing counseling, real estate development and returning citizens programs. Prior to this role she served as the Director of Real Estate Development for several years where she was responsible for leading development efforts in the Druid Heights community located in West Baltimore. Throughout her career she has served with various non-profit organizations in the areas of national service, housing, community development, international and local community outreach.
Ms. Jennings began working in the field of National Service through an AmeriCorps Program with the Fellowship of Lights Youth and Community Services as a Lead Counselor in Baltimore, Maryland. After receiving a B.A. in Sociology from Morgan State University, Ms. Jennings received the honor of becoming a Fulbright Scholar and served in South Korea with the 2004-2005 class. After completing the Fulbright Program, she continued her dedication to youth development and elected to serve a 2nd term of AmeriCorps within the Volunteer Maryland Program. In this role she was able to implement a youth engagement volunteer program and establish several community partnerships for a local high school in Baltimore City. Due to her achievements gained from the community & partnership programs, she was introduced to the Community Schools Initiative; where she became a Community Schools Coordinator. In this position, she worked with several schools to implement and establish programs and resources for students, parents and community members.
After working in this capacity, Ms. Jennings understood the importance of Community Development and sought to work in the public sector. Ms. Jennings worked for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development as a lead Community Development Officer where she assisted to administer community projects over the State of Maryland. After working for 9 years within the public sector, Ms. Jennings continues to value the importance of working in the housing & community development field. Through her service she seeks to empower communities of color within the nonprofit sector. In her spare time Ms. Jennings enjoys reading, jazz and traveling. Ms. Jennings lives in Baltimore, MD with her son.
Gabriela Infante
Director of Corporate ESG at T. Rowe Price
Gabriela (Gaby) Infante is the director of Corporate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and provides strategic leadership and hands-on coordination, development, and implementation of ESG initiatives at T. Rowe Price. She is responsible for monitoring T. Rowe Price’s corporate environmental impact and for driving the integration of ESG considerations into the firm’s business strategy. She is a dynamic leader with 15 years of experience at the intersection of law, asset management, sustainability, and environmental and social risk mitigation.
Yale MBA (focused on Sustainability) and Berkeley Law School graduate committed to bolstering the nexus between environmental / social sustainability and financial services. Gaby has been with T. Rowe Price since 2020, beginning in the Legal, Compliance and Audit Department. Before joining T. Rowe, Gaby was employed by S&P Global in New York City as an analyst in the sustainable finance team. Prior to S&P Global, Gaby was employed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), in Washington, D.C, as an ESG specialist and adviser.
Before the pandemic, Gaby embarked on an annual trip with Habitat for Humanity Global Village, where she had the opportunity to volunteer in builds in Alaska and Central America, among other experiences. Outside work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, their two dogs and fish, in Baltimore, MD.
