Gadsden “Ed” Rule, LSM ’18, Past President
President
Naval Systems, Inc.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Phil Fickes, LSM ‘20 (2024)
Sr. Manager, Global Military Sales & Strategy
Bell Flight
Phil Fickes is a Bell senior manager for Global Military Sales & Strategy and oversees Bell’s foreign military sales (FMS) business development with the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland, and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and Navy International Programs Office in Washington, DC.
Prior to joining industry, Fickes served as an officer in the US Marine Corps for over 25 years. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois; an MS in management and MBA from the University of Maryland University College in Baltimore, Maryland; and is a graduate of George Washington University’s National Security Studies Program.
Vice President
Joseph “Mort” Mortensen, LSM ’16 (2026)
Colonel (Retired)
United States Marine Corps
Colonel Joe “Mort” Mortensen, USMC (Ret.) is a native of Albion, Nebraska. Mortensen enjoyed a 29-year Marine Corps career retiring in May 2009. He served in a wide variety of leadership positions that included commander, Naval Test Wing Atlantic and commanding officer, and chief test pilot, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23. After his Marine Corps career, Mortensen joined United States Federal Civil Service. He retired from federal service in July 2020.
Mortensen received an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Master of Science degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School and completed a fellowship with the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies.
Treasurer
Michelle Kowieski, LSM ’11 (2026)
Owner & Founder
The Kowieski Group
Michelle Kowieski is the owner and founder of The Kowieski Group, a local woman-owned small business focused on assisting other companies with solving their most pressing strategic growth issues. Kowieski graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a degree in Economics. She has two grown children, and lives in St. Mary’s County with her husband Mark and youngest daughter Kayla. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, photography, and perpetually learning how to golf.
Secretary
Joan Thorp, LSM ’18 (2026)
Assistant Chief of Accounting
Charles County Government
Joan Thorp graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She worked for Calvert County Government for over 13 years in the Department of Finance and Budget. In 2019, Thorp was hired as the assistant chief of accounting for Fiscal & Administrative Services, Charles County Government.
Thorp is a former president of the Scientists Cliffs Association and the Southern Maryland Chapter of the Maryland Association of CPAs. She is a member of several professional organizations including the AICPA and national GFOA. Thorp currently plays clarinet with the Southern Maryland Community Band. She currently resides in Port Republic with her husband, John. The couple has three grown daughters.
Immediate Past President
Thomas Clark, LSM ’18 (2026)
Executive Vice President
The MIL Corporation
Thomas Clark is the executive vice president for the MIL Corporation’s Rapid Engineering, Integration, and Prototyping Solutions (REPS) Sector. He is a program manager and project management professional with over 30 years of progressive engineering and technical services and business operations management experience, primarily focused on Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems.
Clark was educated during his five-year enlistment in the United States Navy where he received his information system technician rating and multiple technical certifications in information technology and systems administrations. He also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Chris Breedlove, LSM ’18 (2025)
Chief of Zoning Enforcement
Calvert County Department of Planning & Zoning
Born in Washington, DC and raised in Waldorf, Maryland, Christopher Breedlove developed a fascination with public safety at a young age. He began his career with the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police in 1999 and promoted to the rank of sergeant before retiring on disability in 2010.
Breedlove has spent over a decade with Calvert County Planning & Zoning as the chief of zoning enforcement. He also serves as an emergency services instructor for the University of Maryland, Maryland Fire Rescue Institute and supports the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department as a firefighter.
Breedlove holds a degree in fire science. He is a graduate of Leadership Southern Maryland Class of 2018 and a 2021 Leadership Maryland grad. He is married with one son. He enjoys camping and training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA.
James Bolin, LSM ’21 (2027)
Vice President of Operations
KBR
James Bolin is vice president of operations at KBR, a defense contracting company that supports the US Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies. After serving 20 years in the U.S. Navy and retiring from VX-20 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in 2005, Bolin continued DoD support as a contract flight test officer with KBR (Wyle). He quickly transitioned to management and now leads a division that comprises approximately 1,000 personnel across the United States. Bolin has a Master of Science degree in systems engineering from Southern Methodist University. He serves on the board of the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance and resides in St. Mary’s County.
Yonelle Moore Lee, Esq., LSM ’22 (2027)
Yonelle Moore Lee, Esq., is an attorney, mediator, and part owner of an investment club and a real estate investment company. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of the District of Columbia and a Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University School of Law. Moore Lee serves as member of the Charles County Board of Education and as vice chair of the American Bar Association’s GP, Solo and Small Firm Division’s Women’s Initiative Network and Judiciary Committees. She is also the Region IV Treasurer of the National Bar Association and Recording Secretary of the Southern Maryland Chain Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. Moore Lee is a Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she was also elected to the Eastern Regional Nominating Committee. She resides in Charles County with her husband Jonathan and their three children, Gabrielle, Jonathan Junior, and Jackson.
Daniel Palmieri, LEAP ’22 (2025)
Senior Program Analyst/Training Specialist III
Naval Systems, Inc.
Dan Palmieri is a senior program analyst/training specialist III for the SYSCOM Security Cooperation Office (SSCO) at Naval Systems, Inc., where he manages hybrid meeting facilitation and developmental training for the US Navy International Programs workforce. He also ensures all Navy government personnel and contractors receive proper training to support and qualify for their positions and provides certification pathways for employees looking to advance and promote.
Palmieri has over 13 years of professional experience in financial and technical analysis, new business development, contract management, and training. He received his Bachelor of Arts in political science and international economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2009 and is currently earning his Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Charles Roach LSM ’18 (2026)
President & CEO
Cedar Point Federal Credit Union
Charles Roach was named President and CEO of Cedar Point Federal Credit Union in February 2016. He has been with Cedar Point since 2006, previously serving as the Chief Financial Officer.
As a credit union executive, Roach has been responsible for financial management, strategic planning, facilities expansion, technology implementation, commercial lending, employee development, and marketing. He is a consistent and proactive performer with a history of delivering thriving membership and asset growth, new product development, excellent sales programs, and enhanced member service strategies. Roach is a Certified Public Accountant who earned his bachelor’s in accounting from Black Hill State University.
Active as a volunteer in community service, he has served as Treasurer of the St. Mary’s County Chamber of Commerce, Chairperson of the St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation, Chairperson of the Cedar Lane Senior Living Community, and a Board Member of the St. Mary’s County Public School’s Building Trades Foundation. He and his wife, April, have five children.
Patricia Stine, LSM ’22 (2027)
Executive Director
Pure Play Everyday, Inc.
Patricia Stine, Executive Director of Pure Play Every Day, Inc., is dedicated to helping children thrive emotionally, socially, physically and intellectually. Throughout her more than 30-year career as a play environment designer, preschool teacher, curriculum developer, administrator and entrepreneur, Stine has focused on empowering others to give children an abundance of playfully engaging learning opportunities. She co-founded the nonprofit Pure Play Every Day, Inc., in 2017 to bring open-ended, self-directed play, using loose parts, to children at community events. She also provides workshops for adults to help them understand the benefits and value of play for children. Stine advocates for children as a Play Ambassador for the U.S. Play Coalition, Outreach Chairman for the Charles County Early Childhood Advisory Council, and member of the Charles County Commission for Women. She resides in Charles County.
Angela Walters Small, LSM ’16 (2024)
Public Information Officer and Director of Communications
College of Southern Maryland
Angela Walters Small is the public information officer and director of communications for the College of Southern Maryland. Prior to this role, she was a public information specialist and PIO for Calvert County Government. Small holds a B.A. degree in communications from the American University and has more than 35 years of communication experience.
Born and raised in Southern Maryland, Small spent the first seven years of her career as a journalist, photographer, and editor-in-chief working at weekly newspapers throughout Southern Maryland. From there she spent 10 years with Constellation Energy providing corporate communications, media relations, leadership and employee communications, and crisis communications support at the Fortune 200 company’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and Constellation Nuclear Services. Small took a few years to stay home and raise her newborn twin daughters in 2004 and returned to the workforce in 2011 as the manager of strategic leadership support and site contract lead for OMNITEC Solutions, a defense contractor at NAS Patuxent River. In that role, she served as the lead speechwriter and supported all leadership communication efforts for the commander of Naval Air Systems Command.
Small is currently a non-voting member of the Calvert County Economic Development Advisory Commission and serves as the PIO for the Maryland-Fire Rescue Services Memorial Foundation.
Rick Steinmetz, LSM ’20 (2025)
Partner
The Law Offices of Baldwin, Briscoe & Steinmetz, P.C.
Richard Steinmetz was born and raised in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He received a BA in political science from East Stroudsburg University and earned his law degree from Catholic University (DC). He has been practicing law for over 15 years, first as an associate at Andrews, Bongar, Starkey & Clagett, P.A. and, currently, as a partner at Baldwin, Briscoe & Steinmetz, PC in Lexington Park.
Steinmetz is married, has two daughters, and resides in La Plata. He is a member of the Leonardtown Rotary Club and South Potomac Church in White Plains, Maryland. He is an avid runner, likes to read, and has a wide variety of literary interests, mostly encompassing history and biographies. He also enjoys activities with his family and playing with his dogs.
Christina Taylor, LEAP ’22 (2025)
Project Manager, Health Resilience Tract
Chickasaw Nations Industries
Christina Taylor is a project manager for the health resilience tract at Chickasaw Nations Industries (CNI), a federally chartered corporation. She works with clients to execute projects and serves as a cross functional liaison, pledging to positively represent multiple entities simultaneously.
Taylor has worked in the nonprofit sector and in sales, marketing, communications, and higher education technology. She serves as a core team lead volunteer with Black Girls Code, a not-for-profit organization focusing on providing technology education for African American girls and students. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Spelman College and is pursuing dual master’s degrees in business administration and higher education administration at George Washington University.
Marsha Williams, Esq., LSM ’21 (2025)
Partner
Williams, McClernan & Stack, LLC
Marsha Williams has been a practicing attorney in Southern Maryland for over twenty years. Raised in Camden, NJ, she attended Rutgers University – New Brunswick (Douglass College), where, in 1997, she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and a Certificate in Criminology. In 2000, Williams earned her Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law.
Upon graduating from law school, Williams began her legal career with the House of Ruth of Maryland. In 2002, she joined Maryland Legal Aid – Southern Maryland Office as a Staff Attorney and, in 2014, was promoted to Senior Attorney. In January 2018, she partnered with two other women to form Williams, McClernan & Stack, LLC. Williams is married and has one son.
Gadsden “Ed” Rule, LSM ’18, Past President
President
Naval Systems, Inc.
Samuel C.P. Baldwin, Jr., Esq., LSM ’16, Past President
Senior Partner & Founder
The Law Offices of Baldwin, Briscoe & Steinmetz, P.C.
Lee Capristo, LSM ’11, Past President
Director of Publications
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Mary Beth Cook, LSM ’17, LMd ‘19, Past President
Director, Planning & Zoning
Calvert County Department of Planning & Zoning
Mark De Luca, LSM ’10, Past President
Systems Engineer
Holmes-Tucker International, Inc.
John Felicitas, LSM ’13, Past President
Retired Educator
Robin Finnacom, LMd ’98, Founding Board Member
Coordinator, St. Mary’s County, Nonprofit Institute
College of Southern Maryland
Tom Jarboe, LMd ’06, Founding Member & Past President
President & CEO
AIRtec, Inc.
Bert Johnston, LMd ’07, Past President
Aerospace Defense Consultant
Johnston Consulting
Dolores Martin, LMd ’06, Founding Member & Past President
Retired Healthcare Professional
Cathy Meyers, LMd ’98, Past Treasurer
Executive Director
The Center for Children, Inc.
Patrick Murphy, LMd ’06, Founding Member & Past President
Director & Lead Managing Counsel
Robert Half | Protiviti | Protiviti Government Services
Wilson Parran, LMd ’99, LSM ’09, Founding Board Member
Retired Deputy County Administrator
Matt Scassero, LMd ’07, Past President
Director
UMD UAS Test Site
Linda Vassallo, LMd ’07, Past President
Consultant
Susan Mudd Vogel, LSM ’09, Past President
Chief Development Officer
Melanoma Research Foundation
Mary Washington, LSM ’09, Founding Board Member
Member
Board of Education, St. Mary’s County.
Ray Wernecke, LMd ’06, Founding Member & Past President
Senior Advisor
PSI Pax, Inc.
Harriet Yaffe, LMd ’01, Founding Board Member
44425 Airport Road, Suite 220
California, MD 20619
44425 Airport Road, Suite 220
California, MD 20619
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 524
Leonardtown, MD 20650
Alumni Login
44425 Airport Road, Suite 220
California, MD 20619
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 524
Leonardtown, MD 20650
Alumni Login