Interested in serving on the Community Ecology Institute Board of Directors? We are excited to connect with people who are inspired by our organization’s mission: to cultivate communities where people and nature thrive together. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to learn more.

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Click the photos below to read brief bios:

Jean (M.D., Ph.D.) is a writer, nature-lover, and social historian whose work has focused on patient-centered health reform. Jean served as the founding Executive Director of the National Physicians Alliance (now Doctors for America) and has fifteen years’ leadership experience in the non-profit sector. She is the author of Shameless: The Visionary Life of Mary Gove Nichols (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002). Raised in Columbia, Maryland, Jean is a grateful beneficiary of open-space neighborhoods, open-space schools, and developer James Rouse’s bold commitment to racial, religious, and socioeconomic integration.

Monica has been a health educator and certified fitness instructor for over twenty years. She has a BS in Clinical Laboratory Science and a Master’s degree in Nutrition. She previously worked in the county promoting healthy environments in areas facing health disparities; advocating for community gardens and increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables and environments for physical activity. She has a deep love of sustainable food systems and environmental wellness while partnering with a farm. She continues to foster the same passion and desire with partnering with CEI. She currently works at HCC as an adjunct and MLT clinical coordinator.

Margo is President and co-owner of Triple TeQ, a small business that focuses on integrating people, processes and technology to create successful projects and organizations. She has degrees in Computer Science, Astronomy and Organizational Learning and has worked with organizations such as NASA and NOAA. She is a founder of Transition Howard, which focuses on creating locally sustainable and resilient communities.

Kia is inspired by community activists and social disruptors. She builds on 25 years as a finance and accounting professional to develop both financial literacy programs and facilitate financial wellness workshops for her clients and employees of social service organizations, non-profits and small businesses.

Jen is a finance professional with the uncommon ability to weave in operational and talent management expertise. She is able to take a high-level approach to your business organization, helping all parts of the whole to work together in tandem to maximize your outcomes. Jen comes to CEI through her active engagement in the community, especially Leadership Howard County.

Kimberly is a public relations professional with over 35 years of experience working with leading for-profits, nonprofits and academic institutions in the health, wellness, science and technology sectors. She has trained as a Maryland Master Naturalist and served nonprofits that help kids and adults learn about and preserve the natural world. Her favorite thing to do is walk in the woods and observe the cycle of the seasons.

Mabrooka has taught social studies and advanced research at Atholton High School (neighbor to Freetown Farm) for 25 years. Community service, engagement, and volunteerism are her passions. She believes that sustainability education can transform young people’s lives and lead to improved mental and physical health. Mabrooka has bachelor's degrees in History and Social Studies Secondary Education, a Masters of Liberal Arts and a Masters Certification in School Administration and Supervision from Loyola University.

Akil is a committed youth mentor, student advocate, and entrepreneur with experience in leadership development and student life optimization. He is a student at Georgetown University and is pursuing degrees in Environmental Studies and Justice and Peace Studies. As host and producer of CEI's podcast, Community Blooms, Akil highlights positive environmental, health, and educational work. He also founded Your Better Four, a life skills development service for high-school students. Listen to Akil's Community Blooms podcast.

Born and raised in New York City, Carla Gates has lived in Maryland since 1992, and in Howard County for 17 Years. Carla is a Social Justice and Health Equity Advocate who has been a R.N. for over 30 years. Carla is passionate about human liberation from oppression and addressing Health Disparities. Recognizing that health disparities (such as lack of access to fresh food, healthcare, limited education and housing) is structural, Carla educates clinicians and the public about ways to engage each other equitably and to dismantle oppressive structures, leading to better health outcomes and health equity. Over the past 3 years, Carla’s interest in medicinal herbalism and how plants can complement western medicine in helping folx maintain their health has grown. Carla connects herbal healing and access to fresh food to health justice and creating health equity for all. Carla’s other labor of love is reconnecting people of the African Diaspora to their indigenous, pre-Christian, pre-Islamic spiritual traditions to heal people from the soul wounds of colonialism, racism and oppression. ADVOCACY: Carla’s advocacy began in the mid-1990s, with the Lesbian Avengers protesting for Gay Rights. Then beginning in 2015, Carla worked within her congregation to establish a monthly Black Lives Matter Vigil (that is still ongoing) in Columbia to attest to the value of Black Lives. The UUCC Black Lives Matter team (now the Anti-Racist Team) remains an active an important center of anti-racist activity in Columbia. Carla’s advocacy continued from 2015 to the present. In 2020, Carla helped found: Black Lives Activists of Columbia [MD] (BLAC) inspired by the Black Lives Activists of Kenosha (WA). BLAC has sponsored lectures for Columbia residents on Black Mental Health. On March 20, 2021 BLAC posted a statement of solidarity with our AAPI family in the face of the murders of 6 Asian American women in Atlanta. On March 24, 2021, BLAC Co-Sponsored the #StopAAPI hate rally in Columbia, MD; at which Carla spoke as a BLAC Leadership Collective member. On May 7, 2022 Carla successfully completed the Society for Diversity program to receive her Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®) certificate. Carla is currently serving on the board of the Howard Progressive Project and Black Lives of Unitarian Universalists. Advocating for a living wage, affordable housing, and educating folx about how to be engaged in their communities for good. As evidenced by Carla’s past and present activities, Carla remains committed to collective human liberation and well-being.

Vernon is a retired professor of Political Science and has a Doctor of Philosophy in Government and Politics. Vernon served for 20 years on the Howard County Council and was the first Black person elected to office in Howard County. Vernon’s policy focus on the Council were access to health, affordable housing, environmental issues and programs for youth. Vernon has served on numerous non-profit boards and has been President of the Maryland Association of Counties and the National Association of Counties. Vernon is currently a Public Policy Advisor and Political Consultant.

Eduardo is a student at Yale University majoring in Environmental Studies and in Urban Studies. He has had experience with environmental landscaping through his employment with Howard EcoWorks. He has also worked as a student assistant in Avolio's lab at John Hopkins University, with research on urban ecology: how humans affect the natural world. Last but not least, Eduardo has been volunteering, interning and working with CEI at Freetown Farm since the fall of 2019!

Leah has twenty years of experience in sustainability and environmental education program management. She has a BA in Political Science and Organismal Biology from Yale and is a LEED Green Associate. She currently serves as the Energy Manager for Howard County. Previously, she worked as the Sustainability Program Manager for Montgomery County and the Clean Water Program Director for the Izaak Walton League of America. Her family enjoys participating in CEI's Families in Nature events.

Gary started his YouTube channel, The Rusted Garden, in 2011 as a way to enjoy himself and teach others about gardening. He has since grown his following to more than 638,000 subscribers. His belief is that a garden wants to give, vegetables want to grow, and everyone can have a successful garden. Gary is also a clinical mental health therapist who worked for Johns Hopkins for the last 15 years, before retiring in 2020. He sees vegetable gardening as a global practice that brings people together across cultures and geographical boundaries.

Cindy Rivarde serves as the CEO for Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI), which in addition to providing economic development support operates the Maryland Women's Business Center, helping businesses start and grow in Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Howard Counties. Ms. Rivarde has a legal background as a commercial real estate attorney formerly working for The Rouse Company building Columbia, and she also holds an MFA in painting from Towson University. Much of her artwork focuses on the environment, especially our connection to trees and the importance of the mangrove ecosystem.

Jason is a Vice President with Elm Street Development. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Commissioner on the Patuxent River Commission, a member of the Leadership Howard County class of 2019, where he served on CEI’s project team to purchase and protect our farm property, and is the Vice Chair of Finance for the Boy Scouts of America National Pike District.