Leadership Howard County, which seeks to empower leaders to strengthen and transform the community, accepted 41 professionals from Howard County businesses and nonprofits into the Leadership Premier program’s class of 2023. Leadership Premier is an exploration of the Howard County community, during which participants meet with Howard County businesses and local leaders and learn about issues in the county.

The members of the class of 2023 are:

  • Adam Ababiya, Sequoia Senior Care LLC
  • Arifa Ahmed, Community Volunteer
  • Ciera Barnes, National Security Agency
  • India Bascombe, Clifton Larsen Allen
  • David Beares, 39 Minute Workout
  • Amah Binde, Howard County Department of Public Works
  • Jennifer Blondo, Key Process Partners
  • Lakey Boyd, Community Volunteer
  • Jasmine Brewer, MakingChange, Inc.
  • Heather Chapman, United Way of Central Maryland, Inc.
  • James Clark, State Farm Insurance
  • Katie Dean, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
  • Alicyn DelZoppo, Northrop Realty
  • Theresa Forget, Johns Hopkins Health System
  • Rashida George, The Howard Hughes Corporation
  • Shané Gooding, Imiivo Photo Studios, LLC
  • Michael Gough, APL Federal Credit Union
  • Kia Hodge, Enterprise Community Partners
  • Andrew Masters, Columbia Housing Center
  • Claire Matheny, Kittamaqundi Community Church
  • Cheryl Mattis, Howard County Department of Community Resources & Services
  • Christopher Miles, Shore United Bank
  • Megan Myers, Howard Community College
  • Elizabeth Ndungu, Anegada Delights Caribbean Cuisine
  • Maria Cristina Oviedo, Dragon Digital Radio/Howard Community College
  • Russell Pangburn, Sandy Spring Bank
  • Jimmy Patel, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
  • Rakesh Pillai, W.R. Grace
  • Tracy Pugh, Emergent BioSolutions
  • Ryan Rager, M&T Bank
  • Deborah Rivkin, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
  • Regina Sanderoff, BGE
  • Vera Simmons, Blossoms of Hope
  • David Smith, LightGrid, LLC
  • Alexander Sutherland, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
  • Marche Taylor Templeton, BGE
  • Robert Tirocchi, Harkins Builders, Inc.
  • Jennifer Van Kirk, Bright Minds Foundation
  • Jason Whong, Whong Community Media, LLC – The Business Monthly

The Leadership Premier program was launched in 1985 to develop capable, well-informed individuals committed to devoting their time and resources for community improvement. The program addresses countywide issues in monthly, daylong seminars where paticipants meet with established leaders in business, government and community services.

Since its inception, more than 1,450 individuals have graduated from Leadership Premier and now lead nonprofit boards and civic organizations serving Howard County.