Experience that Counts

12 years working with Baltimore City School Children and Parents

Have you asked yourself what exact experience you are looking for in someone who wishes to serve as the next School Board Commissioner? As a concerned parent I know I have. For me it’s not about fancy titles or degrees, it’s about whether this person possesses the fundamental background and skill set that will aid them in guiding the school system honestly and effectively. In pondering this question, I have come up with three areas of experience that I believe someone requires to effectively serve as a member of the Baltimore Board of School Commissioners.

Experience concerning the perspective of stakeholders including students, parents and teachers

Experience that’s tied to the duties of a School Board Member

A Proven Track Record of Advocating for the Rights of Others

Experience concerning the perspective of parents, children and teachers

I possess 12 years of cumulative experience working with Baltimore City School students from at least 42 different schools. This includes:

In School Programs

I have worked with Baltimore City Students during school hours in several roles including as a substitute teacher, a volunteer with the Truancy Court Program, a Career Day Speaker, and a presenter for Law Day sponsored by the Bar Association of Baltimore City.

After School Programs

I have worked with several non-profits in Baltimore City to mentor students after school hours. Some of the organizations I have worked with include the Baltimore Area Boy Scouts Program, the Dream Academy, the Baltimore Urban Debate League, I AM Mentality, the CLICKS mentoring program sponsored by the Council on Legal Education (CLEO) and Acts 4 Youth.

In addition to mentoring, I have also interacted with students in other capacities including serving as a Baltimore City Crossing Guard (2002-2004) and working as an aftercare specialist at Madsion Avenue Family Life Center (2001).

Experience related to the duties of a School Board Member

As a Commissioner with the Baltimore City School System my roles will primarily include implementing educational policy, management of the budget, and working with my fellow school board members to address the systemic issues of the school system. I have requisite experience in all these areas and more.

Education Policy

As a special education attorney working with several non-profits, I have represented students in Baltimore City and other jurisdictions at several IEP and 504 meetings. I have also served as a member on different boards connected with educational policy including: Member and current Vice Chair of the Ethics Panel for the Baltimore City School System (2022-present), Member of the Disability Issues Advisory Board for the Prince George’s County School System (2010-2014), Member of the Ethics Panel for the Prince George’s County School System (2012-2014), and a member of the Grading Committee for the Prince George’s County School System (2016). In 2024 I was appointed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown to serve on the Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention. As a member of this Commission, I currently serve as the co-chair for the Schools Committee where I work with committee members to draft school safety policy recommendations to send to the Maryland General Assembly and the Maryland Department of Education.

Fiscal Management

My experience managing budgets began in 2009 when I was temporarily responsible for overseeing the expenses of a capital public defender’s office in Virginia. Since then, I have gained other experience working on both individual and organizational budgets. This includes prior work at a law firm as a bankruptcy attorney where I handled the budgets of several clients in relation to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. As a member and then president of the Uplands Community HOA, I was charged with overseeing financial planning for the Association and tracking expenses (2017-2020). I have also managed and dispersed grants as a Trustee for the Baltimore Bar Foundation. From 2014-2015, I coordinated the Urban Family Engagement Network Grant for the Prince George’s County PTA where I was responsible for dispensing funds and tracking spending reports.

Past Board Experience

I pride myself on being a team player and have worked on past boards for several non-profit and governmental entities. These including serving as a member of the Human Trafficking Sub Committee for then Baltimore City Council member Kristerfer Burnett. Currently, I also serve as a member of the Baltimore Public Safety Advisory Committee.

Proven Track Record of Advocacy

Outside of my experience working with students, educators and parents, I also have a proven track record of fighting for and advocating for the rights of others.

-I spent 3 years (2022-2025) as an attorney for a non-profit organization where I represented hundreds of Baltimore City residents in consumer debt cases and landlord tenant cases often saving them from becoming homeless or preventing unfair collection actions from taking place against them.

-As a member of my HOA (2017-2020) I was elected president and led the HOA through the COVID 19 pandemic where I helped to manage the budget and kept my promise to not increase assessment fees for struggling residents in the community.

-As a union member for 5 years with AFGE (2012-2016) I have marched for the rights of bargaining unit employees in several cities from Pittsburg to Minneapolis. In my role as a shop steward I also represented union members in filing grievances and EEOC complaints.

Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them

25+ years of working with students and parents

My experience includes more than working with students from Baltimore City. From 1999 through the present, I have worked with hundreds of children from around the country and around the world in various capacities:

International

In 2017 I volunteered on a mission trip to Haiti where I worked at a clinic in Cap-Haitien to teach children in a local village about the importance of Dental Hygiene.

Nationally

I have volunteered in several mock trial programs coaching and judging students from many different states. This includes working with organizations including the Empire Mock Trial, the National Bar Association Crump Law Camp and the Marshall Brennan Constitutional Literacy Program.

Washington DC

I taught Constitutional Law to Middle Students at Paul Public Charter School from 2006-2007.

I also volunteered at the Youth Service Center where I taught constitutional law to incarcerated youth 2007-2008.

I also volunteered 100 hours at Childrens Hospital visiting and reading to sick and terminal children/teens 2010-2012.

Maryland

Prince George’s County. Much of my initial experience working with children and parents stems from working with students at summer camps and after care programs beginning in 1999. I also worked as a Prince Georges County Court Appointed Special Advocate from 2005-2015 where I advocated for the needs of children in the foster care system. I also held many roles associated with the Prince George’s County School Board including serving as a constituent liaison for one of the school board members from 2010-2014. This involved presenting the school board budget at various civic organization meetings.

Baltimore County. I volunteered with the Baltimore County Court Appointed Special Advocates Program from 2017-2022). Here I advocated for the needs and rights of foster care students. I also represented a student at Lock Raven High School at a suspension hearing in 2012 as a volunteer attorney with a non-profit organization.

Montgomery County. In 2009 I worked briefly with a law firm in Rockville, Maryland assisting with juvenile cases.

Calvert County. In 2014, I represented a student at a suspension hearing as a volunteer attorney with a nonprofit organization.

Howard County. In 2025 I assisted a parent by representing her daughter at two IEP meetings with school officials to ensure that her special education accommodations were being met.

Charles County. From 2007-2008 I worked as a childcare assistant at Kindercare in Waldorf.

Harford County. From 2013-2014 I worked as a mentor with the Freestate ChalleNGe Academy in Edgewood Maryland for at risk youth.