THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENTS TO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Announces Appointments to Various Boards and Commissions

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Governor Martin O’Malley announced appointments to the African American Museum Corporation Board of Directors and other various State Boards and Commissions including: the Historical Trust Board of Trustees, the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for District 11 – Montgomery County, the Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors and the Consumer Council.

“I am proud to announce the appointments to the African American Museum Corporation Board of Directors and the other various Boards and Commissions across the State. Each appointee brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will serve as an asset to the Boards they will serve on,” said Governor O’Malley. “We have worked hard to compile a list of individuals from across our State with diverse educational, career, geographic, gender and ethnic backgrounds to continue to help protect Maryland’s priorities.”

Background information on each of the appointees is below:

African American Museum Corporation Board of Directors:

Victor C. March, Sr. – Mr. March has been appointed to the African American Museum Board of Directors. He is the CEO of March Alliance, a family owned full service network of funeral home establishments in the Baltimore metro area. Mr. March is also a Certified Public Accountant, and a licensed funeral director and embalmer. March Alliance has served over 2000 families annually since 1978 and remains the largest family owned African American funeral home in the country today. Mr. March graduated from Loyola College of Maryland with a Bachelors degree in accounting in 1978. He worked at Coopers & Lybrand upon graduation and specialized in service and manufacturing clients. In 1980, he returned to his family business, and in 1988, he assumed the reins of the company, including the daily financial oversight. Mr. March is a resident of Baltimore County.

Rosalyn Fugett Wiley, Ed.D. – Dr. Wiley has been appointed to the African American Museum Board of Directors. Dr. Wiley is currently the Unit Leader for the Infants and Toddlers Program at Baltimore City Public Schools, where she has served since 2007. From 2004 to 2007, she was the Interim Director at the Judy Center for the Baltimore City Public School System, and from 1995 to 2004 she was a Special Educator for the Infants and Toddlers Program for the Baltimore City Public School System. Ms. Wiley is also currently the Secretary and Treasurer of REJ & Associates, a communications company in Baltimore. She received her Associate’s degree in Arts from Villa Julie College in 1978, received her Bachelor of Science from Towson State University in 1980, and received her Master of Science from the Johns Hopkins University in 1986. In 2006, she obtained her Doctorate of Education from Morgan State University. She has been a Board member of the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a resident of Baltimore County.

Roslyn L. Smith – Ms. Smith has been appointed to the African American Museum Board of Directors. Ms. Smith is currently the Human Resources Manager for Northrop Grumman Corporation where she has served since 1987. From 1981 to 1987, she was the Manager of the Westinghouse Corporation, Electronic Systems Group Socio-Economic Procurement Program. Prior to that, she was the Assistant to the President of the East Baltimore Community Corporation, and prior to that served as a Community Organizer for the organization. She currently serves on the Walters Art Museum Board for the African American Steering Committee and Women’s Committee, and has served on a number of other boards including the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, the United Way of Central Maryland, the NAACP – Baltimore Chapter, the Baltimore City Mental Health Systems, the Child Welfare League of America, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, among many others. She received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland College Park and received her Master of Education from Coppin State University. She has received certificates in Executive Coaching, Human Resources Management and Executive Leadership. She is a resident of Baltimore City.

Constantine Grimaldis – Mr. Grimaldis has been appointed to the African American Museum Board of Directors. Mr. Grimaldis is the owner and director of the C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore’s oldest contemporary art gallery. The gallery specializes in post World War II, American and European Art. He has been a member of the Executive Board for the Maryland Art Place since 2005. He attended the American Language Center at Columbia University in 1961, attended Alma College in Michigan from 1962 to 1963 and attended the University of Baltimore from 1965 to 1967. He is a resident of Baltimore City.

Theodore Mack – Mr. Mack has been appointed to the African American Museum Board of Directors. Mr. Mack is a retired U.S. Army Counterintelligence Officer, owner of T&B Custom Framing and Fine Art, and owner of TBM Travel Agency. He is a member of Prince Hall Masons, 33 Degree, is a charter member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, a former board member of the Associated Black Charities, and a founding member and treasurer of the Northern Arundel Cultural Preservation Society. He received his Bachelor of Science from Mt. St. Mary’s College. He is an Anne Arundel County resident.

Cheryl LaRoche, Ph.D. – Dr. LaRoche has been appointed to the African American Museum Board of Directors. Dr. LaRoche is a Professor at University of Maryland University College where she teaches African American History, Visual Culture and Identity. She is also a historical and archaeological consultant, focusing primarily on 18th and 19th century African American history. She served as a cultural heritage specialist for the URS Corporation on the President’s House archaeological site for the National Park Service in Philadelphia. She has been a consultant for a number of historical, archaeological, and preservation projects, including the Josiah Henson site for Montgomery County, the Boston African Meeting House and UMass Boston Project, and the Duffield Street Project in Brooklyn, New York. She served on the “Preserve America Summit” panel and was an adviser/participant for the African American National Historic Landmark Assessment Survey. She was one of the authors of the National Significance of the Harriet Tubman Historic Area for the National Park Service. She received her PhD in American Studies as a Ford Fellow from the University of Maryland College Park in 2004, received her Masters of Arts in Museum Studies, Objects Conservation from the State University of New York, Fashion Institute of Technology in 1994, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Art from the State University of New York, Buffalo in 1982. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture which has oversight of the Banneker Douglas Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. She is a resident of Montgomery County.

Charles M. Christian, Ph.D. – Dr. Christian has been appointed to the African American Museum Board of Directors. Dr. Christian currently is a Professor at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to that, he was a Professor of Social and Population Geography at the University of Maryland College Park where he taught for more than 35 years. He earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. He also has a Masters of Teaching and Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies Education from Northeastern State University. Dr. Christian has served on a number of national and state commissions, boards and task forces, and committees, including the White House Task Force on Saving Young Black Men, the Governor’s Commission on the Commemoration and Legacy of Slavery in Maryland, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum Task Force on Education, and the University of Maryland President’s Commission on Minority Issues, among others. He is also the founder of the Black Saga Competition, a learning activity that helps elementary and middle schools teach the African American experience. He is a resident of Baltimore City.

Maryland Historical Trust Board of Trustees

David Turner – Mr. Turner has been appointed to the Maryland Historical Trust Board of Trustees. Mr. Turner is a historian, and preservationist of African American, Indian and agricultural heritage. Since 1995, he has served on the Prince George’s County Local Advisory Committee, and has served as Chair of the Historic Preservation Society (HPC) in 2003.Under his leadership, the HPC successfully acquired $500,000 annual fund HPC/Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission grants for Prince George’s County. He also successfully created the African American Heritage Preservation Group for the local chapter of the NAACP. He was re-appointed to Chair the HPC in 2009. Mr. Turner is a native Texan, and studied southern history at the University of Texas at Austin and government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He has served as a national spokesman and as a speechwriter for the U.S. Marshals Service, the Department of Energy, the Office of Management and Budget and also worked for two White House administrations. He is a resident of Prince George’s County.

Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for District 11 – Montgomery County

Hong Suk “Paul” Chung – Mr. Chung has been appointed to the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for District 11 – Montgomery County. Mr. Chung is currently an attorney at Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A. where he has worked on medical malpractice and personal injury litigation since 2002. Prior to that, Mr. Chung worked for the Office of the State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County where he was an Assistant State’s Attorney. He is a member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Maryland where he serves as the Chair Emeritus for the Judicial Selection Committee, the Montgomery County Bar Association, the Korean American Bar Association of the District of Columbia, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Virginia State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in 1992 and received his Juris Doctor from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1996. He is a resident of Montgomery County.

Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors:

Laura Esquivel – Ms. Esquivel has been appointed to the Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors. Ms. Esquivel is the Founder and Principal of Esquivel Strategies, a company that develops and implements legislative and advocacy strategy, outreach, coalition and strategic communications for progressive issue and advocacy campaigns. From 2008 to 2009, she was the Senior Vice President of Political Affairs for the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute. From 2005 to 2007, she was the Director of Issues of Marketing and Research for the People for the American Way and People for the American Way Foundation. Ms. Esquivel has also served as an adjunct professor in the Political Science departments at California State University, Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Community College District. From 1993 to 1999, she served as the legislative aide to City Councilmember Jackie Goldberg in Los Angeles. She was named one of the twenty most important LGBT Latinos/as in the US by Adelante magazine in 2008 and she won the LACE award for Outstanding Public Service from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in 2000. She is also the Founder of the National Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization (LLEGO). She received her Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 1994, received her Master of Arts in Political Science from the California State University, Los Angeles in 2001, and was a National Hispana Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Senior and Executive Leadership Program. She is a resident of Montgomery County.

Consumer Council:

Jessica Contreras – Ms. Contreras has been appointed to the Consumer Council. Ms. Contreras is currently a Social Worker for Baltimore Medical System and previously served as the Hispanic/Latino Community Liaison for the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods for Baltimore City. Prior to that, she served as a social worker for Casey Family Services from 2001 to 2008, developing and coordinating Casey’s Educational programming which included GED instruction and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. From 2004 to 2005, she was a group facilitator for St. Michael’s Outreach Center and was responsible for the facilitation of “Si Puedo” a male batterer intervention group. From 2000 to 2001, she was an In-Home Interventionist at the Annapolis Family Support Center, and from 1998 to 2000, she was the Assistant for Programs and Leadership for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She currently serves on the Johns Hopkins Community Advisory Board and the University of Maryland Black and Latino Alumni Committee. She also previously served on the Latino Providers Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1998, and received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland at Baltimore in 2000. She is a resident of Baltimore City.