Brennan elected chair of Habitat for Humanity board

J. Michael Brennan

J. Michael Brennan, a partner in the Towson office of Miles and Stockbridge, has been elected chair of the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. Brennan has served on the Habitat affiliate’s board for eight years, helping to oversee its merger with two other Habitat affiliates, Arundel Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity of Howard County. He is supervising the organization’s search for a new CEO. Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake serves Anne Arundel County, Baltimore, Baltimore County and Howard County.

Awards

Cardiologist Elijah Saunders, professor of medicine and head of the Section of Hypertension at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has received the 2011 Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The Nickens Award honors individuals for outstanding contributions to promote justice in medical education and health care equality. For more than 50 years, Dr. Saunders has worked to achieve medical equality and eradicate health care disparities. He is an expert on hypertension in African-Americans, consistently recognized for his patient education efforts to raise awareness of high blood pressure and for his exploration of new treatment options for African-Americans. He has devoted his career to developing innovative programs to reach patients in non-traditional settings, such as barber shops, to educate at-risk patients about the importance of cardiovascular health. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from what was then Morgan State College, Dr. Saunders was the first African-American resident in internal medicine at the University of Maryland in 1960 and the first African-American cardiologist in Maryland in 1965. After operating a private practice for 20 years, Dr. Saunders joined the faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he pursued research that advanced treatment options for hypertension. He also played an instrumental role in the desegregation of University of Maryland hospital wards in the 1960s; co-founded the Association of Black Cardiologists and later served as chairman of the board and president; co-founded, and was past president and past chairman of the board of the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks; co-founded the Heart House of the American College of Cardiology; co-founded the American Society of Hypertension; received the Louis B. Russell Award for contributions to cardiovascular minority health; served as chair of the cardiology section of the National Medical Association; and was honored by Associated Black Charities in 2009 as a “Living Legend.”

Mary Ann Scully, chairman, president and CEO of Howard Bank, has received the 2011 Howard County Good Scout Award from by the Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. Scully is chair of the Maryland Bankers Association, a trustee of Howard County General Hospital and Catholic Charities, and a member of the President’s Advisory Council of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. She is the immediate past chair of the Columbia Foundation’s board of trustees and an Alumni Laureate honoree of Loyola College.

Boards

The Maryland Institute College of Art has named two new members to its board of trustees: Reggie Wells, a MICA graduate, is the international creative director for the Hissyfit cosmetics line. He won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for his work on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Wells spoke at last December’s commencement and has helped the Annual Benefit Fashion Show. Rick Gonzalez Jr. is president of REG Architects, in West Palm Beach, Fla., and father of MICA sophomore Isabella Gonzalez. The firm, which specializes in architecture, interior design and urban planning, won a Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Award. Gonzalez is a member of the Florida Historical Commission, and has served on the Florida Board of Architecture and Interior Design. He also serves on committees and boards for University of Florida Historic Saint Augustine Inc.; Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and Planning; and the University of Florida’s School of Architecture, Historical Preservation Department. Gonzalez is secretary of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation.

Notre Dame of Maryland University, of Baltimore, has named members to its new President’s Advisory Council, an executive leadership group that will advise President Mary Pat Seurkamp on issues related to Notre Dame’s recent university transition, and provide counsel for the search and leadership transition for a new president to be named in 2012: Carroll Bodie, retired vice president and general counsel, Procter & Gamble Cosmetics; Ava E. Lias-Booker, managing partner, McGuireWoods; Cynthia Egan, president, T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services; John C. Erickson, founder, Erickson Living, and chairman and CEO of Retirement Living TV; Nancy S. Grasmick, retired superintendent of schools, State of Maryland; F. Patrick Hughes, president, Hughes and Associates; Denise Koch, news anchor, WJZ-TV; Richard E. Levine, partner, DLA Piper; Ronald R. Peterson, president, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System; Jennifer W. Reynolds, partner and director, Ward Properties; and Henry A. Rosenberg Jr., chairman of the board, Rosemore Inc. Patricia J. Mitchell, chair of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees, is an ex officio member.

Health Care

The cancer program at the Carroll Hospital Center, of Westminster, has been reaccredited by the American College of Surgeons, Commission on Cancer. The hospital’s cancer program, including the newly acquired Carroll Regional Cancer Center, was found to have exceeded all of the organization’s required criteria and was issued full accreditation with commendation. Carroll Hospital Center is a nonprofit, acute-care facility.

Insurance

Tim Michels recently was promoted to chief operations officer of IWIF Workers’ Compensation Insurance. He previously was executive vice president of claims. Paige Beck will continue to serve as chief financial officer and will also be IWIF’s chief administrative officer.