Bon Secour’s Eck gets papal award

Sr. Patricia A. Eck, congregation leader for the Sisters of Bon Secours of Paris and chairperson of Bon Secours Ministries, the sponsor for Bon Secours Health System, of Marriottsville, has received the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, the highest honor given to a member of a religious community by the Vatican. Sr. Eck has dedicated her ministry to the care of the sick, particularly the poor or marginalized. She has served in clinical nursing, health care administration, and sponsorship and governance for Bon Secours Health System, including on the Leadership Team of the Sisters of Bon Secours, U.S.A., and she was a primary leader in creating Bon Secours Ministries. Sr. Eck has been chairperson of the Catholic Health Association, and received its Sister Mary Concilia Moran Award. She has served as chairperson of the Corporate Members of Mercy Housing and is now on the Catholic Medical Mission Board.

Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University; master’s in nursing from Catholic University.

Resides in: Marriottsville

Recent vacation: Fourth of July celebration cruise on the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Halifax to Boston and back to New York.

Hobbies: horseback riding; animals in general.

Favorite books: Scripture, especially the books of Luke and John; “The Prophetic Imagination” by Walter Brueggemann; mysteries for fun while traveling.

Currently reading: “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life” by James Martin; “Kill Me If You Can” by James Patterson.

Favorite food: chocolate chip cookies

Favorite quotation: “The struggle for a more humane world is not an option, it is an integral part of spreading the gospel.” — from the documents of the Church and Sisters of Bon Secours

Boards

Fred Sherrill has been named president of the board of directors for Monarch Academy Public Charter School, in Glen Burnie, and Michael Wodka has been elected to the board. Sherrill is vice president and financial advisor with RBC Wealth Management, of Annapolis, where he helps clients manage their money and advises them on financial services. He previously was regional vice president of Bridges Learning Systems. He also has held leadership positions at Redefining Actions & Decisions Educational Programs and the Aspen (Colo.) School District. Wodka is assistant director of design with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City. He also has been a member of The Children’s Guild board.

Cathy Purple Cherry, of Purple Cherry Architects, of Annapolis, has been appointed to the AutismOne board of directors. AutismOne is a national nonprofit charity organization started by a small group of parents of children with autism. It works to raise awareness of autism and education and therapies, biomedical research and treatments, advocacy and more through outreach in forums such as national conferences, Autism Digest magazine and radio. Cherry, whose 20-year-old son has autism, has devoted a studio of her firm to Purposeful Architecture — designing buildings for people with special needs.

Community Foundation of Harford County has elected Kathleen A. Beck and Kenneth M. Ferrara to three-year terms on its board of directors. Beck is vice president–wealth management for PNC Bank in Baltimore. She previously worked at J.P. Morgan Securities, in Washington, D.C., and at T. Rowe Price Associates, in Owings Mills. Beck has an MBA from Loyola University Maryland and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Baltimore. She serves on the boards of Advocates for Children and Youth and Family and Children’s Services–Harford County. Ferrara is vice president and executive director of the Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation, in charge of securing philanthropic support for Upper Chesapeake Health’s patient services. He has 20 years of fundraising experience, including as director of individual capital giving and annual giving programs at Loyola University Maryland. He has an MBA from Loyola’s Sellinger School of Business and Management and a bachelor’s degree from Loyola.

The Corporate Volunteer Council of Montgomery County has chosen its leaders for 2012. Board officers: president, Will Schroeder, Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker; VP Finance, Scott Dinkel, Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union; VP Administration: Rebecca Reyes, Catalyst Health Solutions; VP Communications, Laura Rowles, Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce; VP Membership, Theresa Testoni, Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism; VP Programs, Kallie Wasserman, NIH Charities; immediate past president, Matt Hodgson, hodgsonConsulting; and general counsel, Ray McKenzie, The Law Office of Raymond T. McKenzie. Directors: Debbi Jarvis, PEPCO; Debbie Lazovick, Target Marketing Group; Gary Rosenthal, The Gary Rosenthal Collection; Gloria Arnold, Bethesda Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce; Helaine Barry, M&T Bank; Kasey Kaseman, Kaseman’s Consulting; Kelly Gibson Caplan, Washington Gas; Liz Huntley, MedImmune; Louise Allentuck, Allentuck Landscaping; Mitchell Wool, Bean Bag Deli and Catering; Ron Dimaranan, Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union; Teresa Witt, Adventist HealthCare; and Tim Kerns, TerpSys.

Mike Croxson, president of CareOne Services and chief operating officer of Ascend One Corp., of Columbia, has joined the board of directors of Better Business Bureau Greater Maryland. Croxson is treasurer of the board of directors of The Columbia Foundation, and past president of the board of directors of Maryland Works. CareOne Services is a subsidiary of the Ascend One Corp. family of businesses, which help consumers get out of debt, strengthen their finances and better manage their money.

Consulting

Howard S. Freedlander, former deputy state treasurer for external affairs from 2003 to 2011, has joined The Artemis Group as a senior consultant focusing on procurement and state policy issues. Freedlander, who retired in 2003 with the rank of colonel from the Maryland National Guard, served as executive officer/director of public affairs and legislative liaison for the Military Department. He serves on the boards of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and Leadership Maryland.

Education

Makeba L. Clay has been appointed executive director of diversity and equal opportunity by the College of Southern Maryland. Most recently, as director of the Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding at Princeton University, Clay focused on creating greater levels of access, equity and inclusion for students, faculty and staff. Before that, she was director of the Leadership Institute for International Public Policy and associate director of student affairs at the University of Maryland. Clay’s career in higher education began at McDaniel College, where she served as assistant director of the Department of Residence Life, and at Johns Hopkins University, where she held the same title. She has served on the boards of the American Council on Education Women’s Network, Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, and Princeton in Africa. Clay is the immediate past president of the National Association of Black Women in Higher Education.

The College of Southern Maryland recently received a $2,500 donation from Booz Allen Hamilton for its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) efforts. The college is hosting four robotics competitions, one of which began this week, and is preparing a week of STEM activities in April that will include a regional robotics competition, a regional STEM conference for educators, the Fourth Annual Youth in Technology Conference for middle and high school students, and a job fair that will include employers from STEM-related fields.

Finance

Mark Buren has been hired as a director of AloStar Business Credit, in Baltimore, where he will focus on the lending needs of small- and medium-sized businesses in the Mid-Atlantic. Buren was most recently a vice president for Wells Fargo Capital Finance in Baltimore. He has more than 20 years of business development experience in asset-based lending. Buren has a bachelor’s degree from Towson University and an MBA from the University of Baltimore. He previously served on the board of trustees of the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center. AloStar Business Credit is the asset-based lending arm of AloStar Bank of Commerce.

Government

Kenneth S. Apfel, professor of the practice and director of the Management, Finance and Leadership Program at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, has been appointed to the board of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. Prior to his academic career, Apfel served in senior federal policymaking positions, including, during the Clinton administration, as commissioner of the Social Security Administration, associate director for human resources at the Office of Management and Budget in the White House, and as assistant secretary for management and budget at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Apfel also served as legislative director to then-Sen. Bill Bradley, and on the staff of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.

Health Care

Vipul N. Nanavanti has joined the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital at Mercy Medical Center. He is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in upper extremities, shoulder and elbow surgery, and wrist and hand surgery. Dr. Nanavanti previously worked at Eastern Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in South Windsor, Conn. After receiving his medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden, N.J., he completed his general surgery internship, and orthopedic surgery residency, and fellowships in hand, shoulder and elbow surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Nanavanti was assistant professor of shoulder, elbow & upper extremity surgery at State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y. He will see patients at Mercy’s downtown Baltimore location and at Overlea Personal Physicians and Lutherville Personal Physicians.

Dr. Kulleni Gebreyes, senior vice president at the Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care, recently was appointed by the Maryland Health Reform Coordinating Council to its Health Care Delivery Reform Subcommittee. A board-certified emergency medicine physician, Dr. Gebreyes is a practicing clinician with Six Sigma certification and extensive experience in private-public sector collaborations, health information technology, and quality improvement. Gov. Martin O’Malley created the council in 2010 to advise on policies and procedures for recent and future federal health reform.

Mercy Medical Center’s Forensic Nurse Examiner program has received a $24,020 grant from the Verizon Foundation to support its work of preventing violence and promoting safety among middle and high school girls in Baltimore. The grant will fund the Violence Prevention and Safety Education for Girls Program, which is intended to prevent domestic violence and violence associated with teenage relationships. Forensic nurses, who are RNs with specialized training, will conduct the program.

Internet

Michael Homon has joined EarthLink Business as vice president of business operations for the advanced services team, the sales unit responsible for the largest and most complex customers and opportunities. He is based in EarthLink’s Baltimore office. Homon previously was chief financial officer for Aristotle International Inc., a global political campaign technology, software and services company; vice president of operations and finance for government-intelligence focused Viziant Corp.; vice president of finance and controller for Global Secure Corp; and director of finance and controller for Online Resources Corp. EarthLink provides Internet Protocol infrastructure and services to medium-sized and large businesses, enterprise customers.

Landscaping

Carl Weber has been named an area manager by Ruppert Landscape for its Maryland Landscape Management Branch in Laytonsville. Weber has nine years of industry experience, a bachelor’s degree in Crop and Soil Environmental Science and an MBA. He will be responsible for the sale, renewal and production of the branch’s landscape management work as well as estimating, personnel training and development, property enhancements, design and customer satisfaction.

Marketing

The Baltimore chapter of the American Marketing Association has received a 2010-2011 Excellence Award from the organization’s international headquarters. The Baltimore chapter was recognized for Leadership Overall Excellence for its best-in-class performance and for Membership Special Merit for outstanding performance.

Nonprofits

Karla Raettig has been hired as executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. She previously was director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Louisiana Coastal Restoration Program. Raettig, who has over a decade of experience in environmental advocacy and litigation, replaces Cindy Schwartz, who had been executive director since 2006.

Lauren Ritchie has been hired as public relations and events coordinator of the Towson-based International Dyslexia Association, a nonprofit dedicated to the study and treatment of dyslexia. Ritchie, a graduate of Towson University, completed an internship with the IDA as an undergraduate. She will be responsible for overseeing public relations efforts and will assist in planning its annual conference.

Real Estate

Broad Street Realty, a commercial real estate services firm in Bethesda, was recently recognized on Washingtonian magazine’s list of 50 Great Places to Work. The firm ranked seventh for Great Pay, eighth for Flexibility, and ninth for Good Coffee, based on employee surveys.

Restaurants

Randi Hilfiger has been appointed director of catering for Hotel Monaco Baltimore. Hilfiger most recently worked for the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel as social catering sales manager; before that she was director of special events for Starlight Affairs, an event specialist and a director of consulting and special event marketing at Chef’s Expressions and social catering sales manager and convention services manager for Marriott Hunt Valley.