Our Staff & Board

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

Our Staff

Claudia Allen (she/her)
Director of Advancement
(410) 618-5633
callen[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

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

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

Savannah Imani Wade (they/she)
Grants Specialist
(410) 685-1653
siwade[at]mdhumanities[dot]org

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

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

Our Board

Chanel Johnson
Chair 
Baltimore City

Carmel Roques
Vice Chair and Governance Committee Chair
Howard County

Soo Koo
Secretary
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
Finance Committee Chair and Treasurer 
Montgomery County

Julia (Julie) Madden*
Government Liaison
Howard County

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

Dr. Elizabeth Benton
Montgomery 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 Count

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

Mary Hastler
Harford County

Dr. Shauna Knox
Montgomery County

Alicia Jones
Immediate Past Chair
Baltimore City

Dr. Kimberly R. Moffitt
Grants Committee Chair
Baltimore County

Jeanne Pirtle
St. Mary’s County

Christian Pulley
Prince George’s County

Tamar Sarnoff
Development and Communications Chair
Baltimore City 

Saima Sitwat
Baltimore City

Dr. Marshall F. Stevenson, Jr.
Somerset County

Allyson Black Woodson
Anne Arundel County

Dr. Charmaine Weston
Frederick 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

  • “[The students] learned a variety of ways to present their material and they could focus on what they wanted to learn about. The students had a choice in their learning. It was about their learning NOT what someone else felt they need to learn.”

    ​Maryland History Day teacher

  • “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

  • “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

  • “My students went deeper with primary and secondary sources than ever before. They used critical thinking skills and applied the transfer goals and essential questions on a deeper level than they could have in class. It challenged them to think deeper and defend their findings.”

    Maryland History Day 2019 Teacher

  • “A sophomore on our school’s state-champ runner-up varsity football team was so taken by Joe’s story of the sophomore year on the boat that he got his dad (the coach) and several members of his team to read the book even though they weren’t assigned it in class. Another student described a discussion she got into with her math teacher after school about the relevance of the English curriculum and used her experience with Brown’s work and the field trip to convince her teacher that humanities are just as important as STEM. Great stuff!”

    ​One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • I thought the interview was gonna be boring but since it happened I had a lot of fun learning about my veteran’s experiences.

    Standing Together: Veterans Oral History Project, student participant

  • “[I liked] witnessing three leaders in American thought discuss important issues in illuminating ways.”

    Pulitzer 100 event attendee

  • “The thing that had the most impact were the skills that I got from this project. I developed better hunting skills in terms of looking for reliable sources and I also learned to work hard and not procrastinate to achieve something great.”

    Maryland History Day student participant

  • “My participation continuance with the program comes from the great cohesiveness of our group […] everyone’s ideas and work philosophies teach me something new about how to handle my work and my own life.”

    Literature & Medicine participant

  • “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

  • “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

  • “This program is a gift, literally and figuratively!”

    One Maryland One Book 2015 teacher

  • 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

  • “Without support from Maryland Humanities, we never could have put together an exhibit and programming at this scale. This support allowed us to cover many more writers, artists and musicians in the exhibit than we otherwise could have done. It enabled us to offer at lease 50 percent more programming than we could have done on our own. The funds also enabled us to promote the exhibit and programs to a wider market. Furthermore, knowing there was a chance for this grant to be awarded, we felt able to apply for (even more) support from the local cultural arts board… We are enormously grateful.”

    Carol Allen, Director for the Library & Hays-Heighe House, Harford Community College, Major Grant recipient
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