Nick Carter
Maryland Critical Areas Commission for Caroline County
Retired, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Goldsboro, MD
Nick Carter has been a Board member since February, 2009. Nick spent three decades as a biologist and aquatic scientist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and has an intimate familiarity with the Choptank River. His writings have been influential on a number of significant projects including the restoration of Poplar Island. He lives in Denton, actively patrols the upper Choptank, and is a member of the Caroline County Critical Areas Commission.
Dr. Thomas Fisher, Professor
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Horn Point Laboratory
Cambridge, MD
Dr. Fisher joined MRC’s Board in February, 2009. He is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on the ecology and water-quality of the Choptank River, as well as on all of our local tributaries including the Miles and Wye Rivers. Tom received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 and his doctorate from Duke University in 1975 in Biological Oceanography. After two post-doctoral appointments, he joined the faculty of the Horn Point Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in 1978, where he is now a full professor. Dr. Fisher specializes in terrestrial and atmospheric nutrients and how they affect aquatic systems, nutrient recycling, and primary production of aquatic systems. He has been studying the Choptank River since 1979 and has authored dozens of peer reviewed scientific publications.
Brice Gamber
Prior President of Talbot Creekwatchers
Retired, Managing Director of The Chubb Insurance Group
Easton, MD
Brice Gamber, a graduate of Washington & Lee University, retired as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of The Chubb Insurance Group. He lives on Irish Creek where he has been active in the Choptank River watershed as a member of the Talbot County Creekwatchers and served as President during 2009 and 2010. Brice is also Vice Chair of the Coastal and Watershed Resources Advisory Committee to the Department of Natural Resources.
Lisa Marie Ghezzi
Talbot County Master Gardener
Retired, Partner Dealy Strategy Group
Easton, MD
Lisa received a BA in History from University of California, Berkeley and MBA from Georgetown University, emphasizing in finance. Lisa joined The Dealy Strategy Group, a small consulting firm specializing in satellite communications, and became a partner in 1999. Lisa has been a Master Gardener for eleven years, and is Bay-Wise certified. Lisa authored “From My Backyard to Our Bay.” She is an active member of the Talbot County Master Gardeners, DNR Diamondback Terrapin Working Group, Maryland’s Five Year Herp Atlas Project, and Choptank Tributary Team.
Rodanthe Hanrahan
Retired
Easton, MD
Rodanthe is a Massachusetts native who moved to Talbot County in 2001. She and her family live on the Miles River and have a 500-acre farm on the Wye River. Rodanthe earned a BS in Energy Studies from Brown University and a MBA from Georgetown University. She enjoyed a career in energy development and consulting in the US, the UK, and Asia before retiring to raise her three children. An active volunteer and leader in the community, Rodanthe currently serves on the Boards of the Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore and the Academy Art Museum. Past board leadership roles include Treasurer of The Country School and Vice President of the YMCA of the Chesapeake.
Jeffrey Hale Horstman, Chairman of the Board
COO Retirement Plan Services
Susquehanna Wealth Management
Valley Forge Asset Management Corp.
Wilmington, DE
Jeff joined MRC’s Board in June, 2010 and was elected Chairman in June, 2011. He is a graduate of Washington College in Chestertown. Jeff spent much of his boyhood growing up on the Wye River on the 1500 acres of land that his family later donated to the Aspen Institute and the University of Maryland’s Wye Research Center. He is an entrepreneur and recently sold a pension financial management company that he had started and built, remaining on as a director of wealth management. Jeff has significant environmental and philanthropic experience and has served on a number of boards. For decades his family has provided leadership as stewards for Wye River conservation efforts.
Timothy D. Junkin, Esq.
MRC Executive Director
Easton, MD
Tim Junkin is the founder and Executive Director of MRC. He is an attorney with thirty years of experience as a trial lawyer and advocate of civil rights, an award winning writer with three books under publication (all centered around the Choptank River-Eastern Bay area), and a teacher. His books, in chronological order, are The Waterman, Good Counsel, and Bloodsworth. He has also published numerous magazine and newspaper articles. He co-founded and for two decades served as the managing partner of a private law firm in Washington D.C. Tim obtained a B.A. degree, cum laude, from the University of Maryland in 1973, and completed his law studies at Georgetown University Law Center in 1977, where he graduated as a Law Fellow. He has taught at American University, Georgetown University Law Center, Harvard University Law School, and the Bethesda Writer’s Center. Tim founded MRC (previously the Choptank River Eastern Bay Conservancy) in the fall of 2008 and has served as its director since that time.
John Kelly
President, Kelly Benefit Strategies
Hunt Valley, Maryland
John is a graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, President of Kelly Benefit Strategies, and Chief Innovation & Strategic Planning Officer of Kelly & Associates Insurance Group, Inc. (KELLY), the parent company of KBS. John pioneered KELLY’s unique Total Benefits Solution® technology, payroll product, and consultative approach to serving employers and their employee benefit needs. John is also a cycling enthusiast, and promotes cycling by sponsoring a regional club and a men’s professional team, all in an effort to bring awareness to health and wellness as the primary solution to America’s healthcare challenges. He is an active board member of the Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, a member of the University of Maryland School of Medicine Board of Visitors, and serves as an elder and Bible teacher at Grace Fellowship Church.
Sherrie Petermann
Petermann Designs LLC
Easton, MD
Sherrie Petermann joined MRC’s Board in June, 2009. Sherrie is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a successful businesswoman in Easton, Maryland where she is the principal of an interior design firm. She has been active on school boards and committees in the area for two decades. She served as a trustee on the Academy Art Museum Board of Directors in Easton and for many years was actively involved with The Country School.
Al Sikes
Retired, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
Easton, MD
Al Sikes’ career has spanned law, business, and government. On the federal government level, Mr. Sikes held the post of Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in President George H. W. Bush’s administration. From 1986 to 1989 he served in President Reagan’s administration as the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Commerce Department. Mr. Sikes’ career began in his home state of Missouri where he served in state government as an Assistant Attorney General and later headed the Missouri Department of Consumer Affairs, Regulation, and Licensing. He is the founder of the Reading Excellence and Discovery Foundation (READ), which uses a distinctive combination of personal and direct instruction in teaching at-risk children to read at grade level. He chairs the Board of Trustees of The Trinity Forum and serves on the Board of Directors of the Easton YMCA and the Academy Art Museum. He lives on the Miles River.
Colin Walsh
Easton, MD
Colin has been a denizen of the Eastern Shore for most of his life, and presently lives on the Miles River. An avid fisherman and outdoorsman, he is enthusiastic about the preservation of our community and environment. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors at Pickering Creek Audubon Center.