James W. Preston, Sr. – Board Chair
James is the Director of Advocacy, Mediation and Court Process Services at Justice & Mediation Service Center. Prior to joining the MCS Board of Directors, James worked for the Financial Management Service, Department of the Treasury for 37 years. He retired in January 2007, as the Diversity Program Manager. James is a contract teacher in the Center for Business and Industry Training, Prince George's Community College, Largo, Maryland. He teaches skill-based courses in Effective Mediation Techniques and Conflict Management. Additionally, James teaches workforce development seminars for clients of the college such as the Prince George's County Government.
Rosemary Fennell – Board Vice-Chair
Rosemary is the Program Manager for the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) Program, a birth-12th grade literacy initiative administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. While at ED, she also has served as a Sr. Education Specialist in the Office of Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs (Title I) and the Office for Civil Rights. Recently, Rosemary served as an education advisor to the Secretariat for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She is a long-time supporter of nonprofit organizations concerned with building cooperative intergroup relations and has convened and lectured at numerous forums to promote on education and peace-building, including at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Rosemary has served on the MCS Board of Directors since the organization’s inception.
Mai Shintani – Board Treasurer
Mai is a Program Specialist/Analyst at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She was selected to join the 2015 cohort of Emerging Leaders Program. Mai has diverse experiences in research, data analysis, and project/program management. She is multi-lingual and has spent time in the field working with local communities in the USA, Cambodia, China, Nepal, and The Gambia. Mai has Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Soka University of America and a Master’s in International Affairs and Human Rights from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Edward Epps – Board Secretary
Ned is a Program Analyst at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He resides in Baltimore, MD and works at HUD's Baltimore field office. Ned has worked at HUD since 2010, focusing on public housing the Northeast region of the U.S.; much of Ned's work has dealt with troubled housing authorities and the analysis of occupancy, leasing, capital improvements, and governance. Ned joined HUD after serving two years in Morocco with the U.S. Peace Corps. Ned's primary projects in Morocco were in small business development and education at an association for people with disabilities in the desert city of Tinghir. Ned is originally from Manhattan, KS and earned his Bachelor’s degrees in Italian, Art, and Painting from the University of Kansas. He continues to make art and is also an active musician in the Baltimore community. Ned also is active in the Baltimore area chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.
Dawn Barton
Dawn is a Senior User Experience Designer at PBS with a passion for usability, accessibility, and information design. She designs flows and experiences for PBS Learning Media, a supplemental media delivery system for educators, and for a content management system for PBS member stations called Bento. She was previously the Information Architecture Manager for the American Psychological Association, where she designed an integrated email sign-up solution, user flows for a professional social networking community, improvements and new flows for the main, sister, and child sites of the APA and also managed metadata and search usability. Dawn has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master's degree in Information Science from the School of Information at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. While earning her graduate degree, she served on the School of Information Alumni Board and the Board of the School of Information Student Association. She has also served on the DC Rollergirls Board of Directors while chairing the Special Events Committee.
Bonnie J. Cain
Virginia Frazier
Virginia Frazier has over 20 years of experience providing accounting, tax and financial planning advice to her clients. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Maryland and has worked in various industries including public accounting, hospitality, media, and retail. She is also a Registered Investment Advisor. After graduating from Howard University, Virginia began her professional career at Arthur Andersen. She has also worked for several publically-traded and privately-owned companies. In 2007, Virginia launched Sankofa Financial Group, LLC. Sankofa's main purpose is to educate individuals, families and entrepreneurs in the area of money management and investing. SFG provides services in the areas of tax planning and preparation, business reporting and consulting, wealth management, and insurance. Virginia is a member of the Maryland Association of CPA’s Board of Directors and also serves on their Financial Literacy Advisory Board. She is also an Endorsed Local Provider for tax services with the Dave Ramsey Program. Virginia has a desire to help people understand how to be good stewards of their financial assets and has presented several workshops on financial planning and money management from God’s perspective. She is a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Laurel, MD where she is the Director of the Music Department and also serves on the church’s Finance Ministry.
Anne T. Henderson
Anne is a senior consultant to the Community Involvement Program at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Her specialty is the relationship between families and schools, and its impact on students’ success in school and through life. Since 1981, she has steadily tracked research and effective practice on how engaging families can improve student achievement, especially in diverse and low-income communities. Anne has published on the topic of the relationship between families and schools. Anne is a writing contributor to the Evidence series and is the author of Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships. A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Anne graduated from Oberlin College, and received a Master’s Degree in politics from Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University. She has worked in Civil Rights and Anti-Poverty programs for the federal government and the New Jersey Department of Education. She left New Jersey to help start the National Committee for Citizens in Education, a group that aimed to put the public back into the public schools.
Barbara J. Hopkins
Barbara has been a passionate educator for quite literally her entire life. She has been an Educational Consultant for over 30 years, with expertise in project management for over 20 years. Barbara specializes in strategic planning, coalition building, and partnership development. This is her second stint on the MCS Board of Directors, which she previously chaired.
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