Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Jason Lee
Chair
Lee Building Maintenance
Jason is involved in the Frederick community in many ways. Outside of the chamber, he is a board member of the Building Service Contractors International (BSCAI). He is a member of the Board of Associates for Hood College and serves on the business advisory for First United Bank and Trust. He is a past president of the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek.

Eric Soter
Rodgers Consulting
Eric Soter is a land planner with over 20 years of experience in the Baltimore-Washington Region and employed by Rodgers Consulting, Inc., a local land development planning and engineering consulting firm. Eric joined Rodgers Consulting, Inc. in early 2014 after 20 years in the public sector. Prior to joining Rodgers Consulting, Eric served as the Director of Planning and Community Development for Frederick County Maryland. Eric holds Bachelor’s Degrees from Towson University in Geography and Economics. In addition to serving as Chair of the Public Policy Committee on the Chamber Board, Eric serves on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County.

Jon-Mikel Bailey
Past Chair
Wood Street, Inc.
Jon-Mikel Bailey worked in sales, marketing, and business development for technology and marketing firms before co-founding the award-winning web design and development firm, Wood Street, in 2002. He speaks nationally at digital marketing conferences and events for trade organizations. Jon has been involved with the Chamber since 1999 and is honored to serve as its chair.

Jennifer Milas
Treasurer
McLean, Koehler, Sparks & Hammond
Jennifer is a CPA at McLean, Koehler, Sparks, & Hammond (MKS&H) in Frederick, MD. She is a Principal at the firm and has extensive experience in tax planning and compliance for closely held mid-size businesses and their owners. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Hood College, and has a Master’s in Taxation from American University. Jennifer resides in Frederick Maryland with her husband and two children.

Theresa Alban
Superintendent - Frederick County Public Schools
Dr. Alban has served as the proud superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools since July 2011. Bringing over 30 years of experience in public education, she recognizes the key role our school system plays in supporting our business partners and creating a vibrant community. She was named the 2017 Maryland Superintendent of the Year.

Gloria Bamforth
CorpOHS
Gloria Bamforth is the Director of Operations for CorpOHS, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frederick Regional Health System (FRHS). Gloria has enjoyed serving in various roles over the course of her 20 year career with FRHS. She uses her business and management experience to develop a well-rounded and dedicated teams. Gloria is currently the Treasurer for the Frederick County Health Care Coalition. She has a MBA with a focus in health care. In addition, to being a Six Sigma Green Belt, Gloria has earned her SHRM-SCP. She and her husband are the proud parents of two children and reside in Hagerstown with their very spoiled dog, Benjamin.

Brad Benna
Matan Companies
Brad handles Leasing and Acquisitions for the Matan Company’s Frederick and Northern Virginia commercial real estate portfolios. Prior to his career in commercial real estate, Brad worked for his father Carl at North American Housing Corp, a Frederick based home building company. Growing up as the son of a business owner, Brad has a special understanding of the life of a self-employed entrepreneur and what it takes to make it a success.

Mark Blacksten
M&T Bank
Mark Blacksten is a Vice President and Business Banking Regional Manager with M&T Bank in Frederick MD. He has worked in the Maryland banking industry for over 27 years. Mark and his team provide customized financial solutions to businesses, business owners, their employees and families. In addition to the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, Mark has and continues to volunteer on many boards and committees with focuses on healthcare and education. Mark is the 2017 recipient of the President’s Business Partner of the Year Award from Frederick Community College.

Andrea Chapdelaine
Hood College
Andrea E. Chapdelaine, the 11th president of Hood College, brings more than two decades of experience in higher education, including serving as provost and chief academic officer at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. She earned a doctorate and a master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Connecticut after she graduated cum laude from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in justice studies. In addition to her presidency, she is also a tenured faculty member in the psychology department.

Brian Gaudet
Battelle National Biodefense Institute
Brian Gaudet is the communications director for the Battelle National Biodefense Institute, with operates and manages the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has worked on Fort Detrick since Battelle was awarded the initial NBACC contract in 2006. For the last fourteen years Brian has worked exclusively in the high consequence industries of biodefense and aviation. In the 1990s he spent four years in Colorado and Idaho on economic development efforts at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Rocky Flats Plant and the Idaho National Laboratory.

Matt Holbrook
St. John Properties, Inc.
Mr. Holbrook oversees the comprehensive development, acquisition, construction, leasing and asset/property management activities for the firm’s commercial real estate portfolio in Central Maryland and Virginia.

Wes Leatherman
Generation Connect
Chairman of young professional’s committee, Generation Connect. Business and Employment Consultant with Frederick County Workforce Services. Certified Professional Resume Write, Certified Business Services Consultant, and Certified Business Engagement Professional. Mount St. Mary’s University Alumni.

Michelle Michael
AstraZeneca Biologics
Michelle Michael is the head of communications for the AstraZeneca Biologics Manufacturing Center in Frederick where she oversees employee communications and external outreach. She joined AstraZeneca in 2015 from Bechtel—a global engineering and construction firm—where she was a global communications manager. Michelle and her family live in northern Frederick County where they frequently enjoy scenic hikes.

Kara Norman
Downtown Frederick Partnership
Kara has served as the Executive Director of Downtown Frederick Partnership since October 2002. The Partnership is a nonprofit organization that works to enhance, promote and preserve the vitality and livability of Downtown Frederick. The organization implements the Main Street Program, a downtown development framework developed by the National Main Street Center that is creating success in over 1,000 cities across the US. Prior to joining the Partnership, Kara spent 5 years in San Antonio working as a neighborhood planner and a special projects coordinator. Kara also has worked in North Carolina, Iowa and Missouri. She has a bachelors from Iowa State University and a masters in planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kara has more than 20 years of experience in the planning field, working for nonprofits, government agencies and consultants.

Michael Planz
Frederick Nonprofit Alliance
Michael Planz is the CEO of Community Living, Inc. a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Michael has worked in the field of IDD for 25 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in healthcare administration. He is the current chair of the Chamber’s Nonprofit Alliance. Michael lives in Urbana with his wife and three children.

Helen Propheter
Frederick County Government
Helen Propheter, Director of Frederick County Economic Development, was appointed to the position in 2012. Helen began her career with Frederick County Government 25 years ago. She has over twenty years of experience managing programs, staff and projects. The economic development team has created numerous new initiatives for business attraction and retention to include Frederick’s Top 50 (our most influential businesses), The FRED (FrederickReal Estate Dealmakers) Awards. Homegrown Frederick (sustaining our Agriculture heritage) and ROOT (our downtown innovation center that aliens private & public partnerships with the focus of strengthening businesses roots in our county). Recently, this team welcomed Navistar Direct Marketing (200 jobs), Daly Computers (200 jobs) Emmes Corporation (100 jobs) and Asbury Communities headquarters (120 jobs) to Frederick County. They also assisted 7 larger expansions of businesses currently located in Frederick. Helen serves on the following Boards: Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Frederick County Workforce Development, the Frederick County Higher Education Board, the Downtown Hotel and Conference Center Taskforce, the Frederick Chamber Board of Directors and is a member of the noon Rotary Club of Frederick. She graduated from Mount St. Mary’s College. She lives with her family in Lake Linganore in New Market, Maryland.

Don Schilling
Frederick Regional Health System
Don has a BS degree in Accounting from Mount Saint Mary’s College and has his CPA certification. His career started in public accounting and then became involved in the manufacturing of construction products for twenty two years. During this time period he was involved with many mergers and acquisitions, day-to-day operations and held many executive management positions. For the last seventeen years, Don has been involved in the healthcare industry more specifically the Occupational Health Industry and Ambulatory Services operations of Frederick Regional Health System.

In addition Don has been married for 42 years to his wife Phyllis and has three grown children and six grandchildren. Both Don and his wife are natives of Frederick County and have been active in numerous community charities. Don is currently a Board Member of FITCI (Frederick County’s business incubator and accelerator).

Geordie Wilson
Frederick News Post
LFC Alumni
Geordie Wilson, publisher of The Frederick News-Post since 2011, handles the day-to-day operation of the 135-year-old newspaper. Over the course of his journalism career, Wilson has worked as a reporter, editor, publisher and website developer. He moved to Frederick from New Hampshire, where he was publisher of the Concord Monitor. He had worked earlier as a writer for The Seattle Times, and in mid-career as a journalist he attended business school and worked for Microsoft and other software companies.

In the Frederick community, he is a member of the board of the Literacy Council of Frederick County. He has served on the board of the Downtown Frederick Partnership, he helped launch Season of Hope and later the Unity Campaign for Frederick County, and he is a current member of the Rotary Club of Frederick. As a native of New Hampshire, Geordie grew up playing hockey on frozen ponds and he continues to play adult hockey in Frederick. He also coaches youth hockey. He and his wife, Pilar Olivo, have three children and live in downtown Frederick.

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