MDLC Board Roster with Brief Biographies

Thomas Bonomo is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and partner with Human Services Benefits Company.  Through the firm’s consulting division, Tom is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for United Cerebral Palsy’s (UCP’s)national office in DC, and the CFO for the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV).  Tom was the CFO for UCP of Central Maryland for over 8 years and the interim Executive Director for 9 months.   “I am extremely pleased to serve on the MDLC Board.  Through grassroots efforts, programs and services, and employment efforts, I seek to empower individuals with disabilities.”

Edwin B. Brager has been a member of MDLC’s Board for over 15 years, and currently serves as the Treasurer.  Mr. Brager is a CPA and a Director of Ellin & Tucker Chartered certified public accountants and business consultants.  He is a graduate of the University of Baltimore and resides in Baltimore City.  “It gives me great pleasure to serve on MDLC’s Board and do whatever I can to support the organization’s goals to improve the lives of people with disabilities.”

Brian S. Brown is Vice-President of the MDLC Board and chairs the Fundraising Committee.  As lead trial counsel with Saul E. Kerpelman & Associates, Mr. Brown represents children who have sustained permanent brain damage and resulting cognitive deficits caused by lead poisoning.  In both his professional and personal capacities, Mr. Brown has helped individuals with disabilities receive services to which they are entitled.  A graduate of Ithaca College and the University of Baltimore School of Law, he resides in Baltimore County with his wife and three children.  He is the parent of a child with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences; his wife, Joan, is a teacher who works with students who have learning differences.  “Having seen the difficulties in navigating ‘the system’ first hand, I look forward to assisting people with disabilities in receiving the services they deserve.”

Diane Cabot has been a member of MDLC’s PAIMI Advisory Council since 2006 and joined the MDLC Board by virtue of her role as PAIMI Council Chair in December 2007.  Ms. Cabot was the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Metropolitan Baltimore from 1979 to 2000 and continued as Regional Director for the Mental Health Association of Maryland until her retirement in 2007.  Ms. Cabot has personal, familial and professional experience with mental health issues, and has worked on behalf of individuals with psychiatric disabilities since graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work in the 1950s.  The greatest inhumanity that drove her most strongly into advocacy was the use of seclusion in her son’s mental health “treatment.”  Diane believes that MDLC represents the ultimate in advocacy for persons with disabilities.  “MDLC has had a positive, unrelentingly strong influence on issues related to disabilities.”

Brian DeWitt is a Vice President at Whiting-Turner Contracting Company who holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Professional Masters of Construction.  Brian is the father of a child who sustained a traumatic brain injury, and has experienced firsthand the challenges parents face in obtaining appropriate services for their children who have disabilities.  “I am extremely honored to be part of the MDLC.  My daughter’s disabilities have motivated me to do whatever I can to make the world a better place for not only my daughter, but for all others with disabilities."  

Dana D. Farrakhan joined the MDLC Board in March 2008.  Mrs. Farrakhan is the Director of Strategic Planning and Program Development at the University of Maryland Medical Center.  She has a Masters of Health Science in Health Policy and Management from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health and resides in Randallstown, Maryland.  Ms. Farrakhan is a parent of two children with mild-moderate hearing impairment and understands first-hand the difficulties in accessing hearing and speech/language development services for children, particularly in Baltimore City.  “I am honored and excited to work with passionate members of MDLC who strive to protect the rights and improve the quality of life for people living with disabilities every day.”

Jamey E. George is the founder and Executive Director of The Freedom Center in Frederick, MD, which serves people with disabilities in Carroll and Frederick Counties.  Beyond serving her consumers, Ms. George seeks to promote understanding and acceptance in the community through the removal of physical and attitudinal barriers.  She is Chairperson of the Maryland Statewide Independent Living Council, served on the National Council on Independent Living Board of Directors from 2003-2005, currently serves on the Maryland Commission on Disabilities and the Personal Assistance Services Advisory Committee, and participates in a number of other advisory bodies and advocacy coalitions.  “It is an honor and a privilege to serve on MDLC’s Board of Directors and be part of an organization that strives to protect the rights of people with disabilities to live in the most integrated setting.”

Dr. Lenneal Henderson joined the MDLC Board in 2007, and is Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Administration, Senior Fellow in the William Donald Schaefer Center for Public Policy, and Senior Fellow in the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics at the University of Baltimore.  Dr. Henderson has served as an expert witness in electric and natural gas utility and housing cases, and has also focused on issues of housing discrimination.  He has worked with elementary and high school students who have learning disabilities.  Dr. Henderson has also consulted, taught or delivered academic papers in Europe, Africa, India, Japan, China, Australia, Israel, Jordan, Panama, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.  He is author or editor of four books and nearly one-hundred scholarly articles. 

Raymond L. Marshall is the MDLC Board Secretary and has been a member of the MDLC Board since 2005.  He is a founding partner at Chason Rosner Leary Marshall, LLC.  Mr. Marshall holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law.  He resides in Baltimore County with his family.  Mr. Marshall has worked with numerous persons with disabilities in both personal and professional settings.  His parents have disabilities, which initially sparked his interest in assisting persons with disabilities.  “I serve on MDLC’s Board because it is an important organization charged with advocating on behalf of persons who have disabilities.  I have worked on behalf of clients with disabilities in a number of pro bono cases, and have learned that those who have effective advocates tend to receive more and better services.”

Mitchell Mirviss has served on the MDLC Board since 2000.  He is a partner at the law firm of Venable LLP, co-chairs the firm’s appellate practice group, and is former chair of its pro bono committee.  Mr. Mirviss has been active in disability, civil rights, and children’s issues for the past 27 years.  Since 1988, he has served as class counsel for all children in Baltimore City’s foster care system, and has represented children with disabilities in numerous other pro bono cases.  A resident of Montgomery County, Mr. Mirviss is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Yale University.  "MDLC’s exceptionally talented, expert, and dedicated staff ranks as one of the premier public interest law agencies in the country.  It has been a privilege to help them in their efforts to obtain justice and improve conditions and access for individuals with disabilities across the state.” 

Dr. Alicia Morgan-Cooper is a pediatrician in private solo practice.  She is a native Baltimorian who received her B.S. degree from American University and her medical degree from The Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.  She completed her residency training at The Children's Hospital at Sinai.  Upon completion of residency, she entered private practice where she has treated many children with various disabilities.  Having this experience brings an awareness of disability issues to her role as a board member.  "I see my patients encounter needless barriers and I am motivated to be part of MDLC by the inroads the organization has made for disability rights."

Dr. Ligia Peralta joined the MDLC Board in 2007, and is Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Chief Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, and the STAR TRACK Adolescent HIV Program at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children, University of Maryland School of Medicine.  Dr. Peralta has years of experience in pediatric and adolescent health, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and chronic care.  She is responsible for developing, supervising, evaluating and managing HIV prevention and education programs, clinical services and research initiatives for adolescents with and at risk for HIV, STDs and pregnancy.  Dr. Peralta expanded the Adolescent services to include “One Stop Shopping” with multiple services at a single site, a model of comprehensive care that has been successful in engaging and retaining youth in care and is viewed as a local and national resource for programs seeking to provide services for youths.  Dr. Peralta has served on a plethora of research and working groups in her field, and has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2000 Latinos of Distinction Award conferred by the Food and Drug Administration and the White House.  Her work has included spearheading the National HIV Agenda in her native country, the Dominican Republic, and work in Mexico, Thailand and Brazil.

Victoria R. Robinson has been a member of the MDLC Board since 1995.  She is a 1984 graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law.  She is currently employed as an attorney with the Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland, primarily representing persons with disabilities in Social Security and other public benefit cases.  She has also done pro bono work representing individuals in guardianship proceedings.  Originally from New York, Victoria has lived in Baltimore City for over 20 years.  Having seen firsthand the inhumane treatment and cruelty visited upon the residents of the infamous Willowbrook State institution, Ms. Robinson formed an early determination and desire that no person should ever have to suffer such degradation.  “The work of MDLC in advocating for community based care and monitoring State facilities is work that ensures this country’s past treatment of people with disabilities is just that, a thing of the past.”

Stephen J. Sfekas holds a B.S. and J.D. from Georgetown University and a Masters in History from Yale.  While serving in Maryland’s Attorney General’s office, he gained extensive experience in Medicaid.  Mr. Sfekas has been in private practice, at Saul Ewing and as a solo practitioner, since 1981, practicing health care law.  His clients have included hospital systems and other health care institutions, physicians and physician groups, and community providers of services to persons with developmental disabilities.  He has taught health care law and administrative law in the graduate school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and has been a regular lecturer on health issues at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.  Mr. Sfekas co-chaired Governor Martin O’Malley’s Transition Work Group on Disabilities which recommended, among other things, the closure of the Rosewood Center.  “I have gravitated toward the disability rights movement because it embodies such human values as hope, possibility and empowerment.  I am delighted to make a contribution to the fine work of MDLC by serving on its board.”

Michael Susko has a long standing personal and professional interest in the rights of psychiatric survivors.  He is the current board President and a former President of MDLC’s PAIMI (Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness) Council and current President of Citizens for Responsible Care and Research (CIRCARE), which advocates for the protection of human subjects in scientific research.  Mr. Susko has worked with homeless individuals, currently works with young adults in foster care and has been involved in compiling oral histories of psychiatric survivors.  “MDLC shares my philosophy that the rights of people with mental health diagnoses must be respected at all times.”

Michael Taylor was institutionalized in Rosewood State Residential Center for 30 years.  He regained his freedom in 1999 and has been active in the self-advocacy movement ever since.  Mr. Taylor is involved with People on the Go, the Cross Disability Rights Coalition, and has advocated for deinstitutionalization with The Arc of Maryland’s “Living Free” Campaign.  He works full time at Best Buddies Maryland and loves having his own apartment in the community.  “The most important work for MDLC to do is help people leave institutions and live in the community.”

Morris Turner brings personal and professional disability experience to MDLC’s Board.  He lives in Montgomery County, has significant cerebral palsy and holds a B.S. degree in Economics from Frostburg State University.  As Legislative Analyst to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Select Education and Civil Rights, Mr. Turner developed an ADA compliance outline to evaluate the accessibility of federal buildings and conducted accessibility surveys of Congressional buildings.  He remains active in the disability community and participates in inclusive, adaptive wilderness activities.  “The key to my motivation for serving on MDLC’s Board is the quintessential role the organization plays in moving the disability agenda forward.”

Qiana Wells-Haridat has expertise in both K-12 and higher education, with over ten years of experience in the education industry.  Ms. Wells is currently employed with Laureate Online Education in the Product Management Division where she is responsible for program growth, design, and development in the Public Policy and Administration discipline.  Ms. Wells is a graduate of Columbia University who has a strong commitment to volunteerism and social justice.  “I am both honored and thrilled to assist in improving the lives of people with disabilities by helping to develop MDLC and implement its vision and mission.”

July 2008