Who We Are

Email: uammara@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Policy and Legislation

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

To get involved with the UMB community.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: amanda.barnes@law.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Community Outreach

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I want to serve on the Staff Senate to learn more about the different departments and schools on campus and to become more engaged with my peers. The Staff Senate will allow me to develop relationships with others and become a contributor to campus initiatives and university goals.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: mbesser@rx.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Communications

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I am currently an alternate senator and have learned so much about how the staff senate comes together to participate in shared governance. Amazing work is being done by this small but mighty group. The plethora of committees we are invited to serve on touches many areas of the campus. I am happy to serve where and when I can for the greater good of the university, faculty, staff, and students.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: sbrandal@umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: University Life

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

My passion is the people of University of Maryland, Baltimore. I bring integrity, loyalty, respect and compassion into all I do on campus as I advance the mission of the Department of Environmental Health and Safety. As a Staff Senator, I wish to represent the voices our community, across all walks of campus, and advocate on their behalf for a workplace that is inclusive, empowering, healthy and safe.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: blclark@umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: University Life

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I am interested in serving on the Staff Senate because I am always aiming to make the job experience here the best for all staff. I would love to advocate for my peers and myself on important issues so true changes can be made. I am interested in contributing to creating and changing policies and procedures that would benefit the staff here, as well as UMB as a whole. Another interest of mine would be to increase engagement and collaboration of the UMB staff. I am currently the Chair-Elect for the School of Nursing Staff Council, so I am interested in serving in a very similar capacity on a larger scale!

Term Ends: 2026

Email: jcodd@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Policy and Legislation

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I wanted to serve as a staff senator to give a voice to staff and to help advance our mission and values.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: scoppage@som.umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: Community Outreach

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I'm interested in learning the different topics and concerns of the UMB community. While being a part of the solutions interacting with staff members from different schools, divisions and central offices at UMB.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: taylor.deboer@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Executive Committee, Community Outreach

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

To support the health, equity, safety, and work-life balance of UMB’s staff. 

Term Ends: 2026

Email: a.graham@law.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Executive Committee, Community Outreach

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

As a member of the UMB Staff Senate, I look forward to collaborating with my fellow senators to draw on the strengths and skills we have honed over the course of our varied careers to further improve the tight-knit community that is the UMB family. I hope to encourage respectful, earnest, and open dialogue across our campus and to facilitate a more open and inclusive system. I also look forward to drawing on the institutional knowledge of the senate to encourage professional growth on both the individual and campuswide levels.

Term Ends: 2025

Email:  vhilllawson@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Council for University System Staff

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

To make a positive impact in the work lives of our UMB community by serving as a professional resource and voice in promoting healthy work environments and a workplace where employees feel safe when seeking guidance.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: thockensmith@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Executive Committee

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I hope to learn more about UMB, its workings, and the outreach performed by the University. I also hope to build relationships with staff senators and senior leadership across UMB. Once I am able to see and learn, I hope to use this information and these relationships to effect change on behalf of my staff and all UMB staff and faculty.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: adeitz@som.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Executive Committee, Board of Regents

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

Regardless of what our core roles are at UMB, I do not believe that any of us are here purely to benefit ourselves. This belief leads me to presume that some, if not many, of us may struggle to articulate what we need from our employers in order to not simply feel, but also know that we are valued for both what we do and who we are. My goals as a staff senator are to connect with other UMB staff, listen to and hear their needs, understand what barriers they encounter, and co-create initiatives that could sustainably help our community for years to come.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: thowarth@rx.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Policy and Legislation

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I want to learn more about how UMB works and how the many schools work together to support staff members. I want to collaborate with others and learn about the work that they do.

Term Ends: 2026

Email: jmaher@som.umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: Policy and Legislation

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

To be a connector and advocate for my UMB colleagues!

Term Ends: 2025

Email: nkenge@som.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Communications

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I decided to run for Staff Senate to be a voice for the campus community representing their needs and concerns. Participation in the Staff Senate is also an opportunity to get to know fellow employees across campus through Staff Senate committees and service projects.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: fromero@som.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Executive Committee, Communications

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

As a mission-driven individual, I ran for the Staff Senate to have the chance to provide my feedback, input, and perspective in matters related to JEDI on campus. I also want to do my part to help improve the UMB community and make UMB a place where everyone staff member feels appreciated and feels they belong.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: ksikorski@som.umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: Board of Regents

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I completed the Emerging Leaders Course in 2022. Staff Senate seems like it could be a way to apply what I learned in the course. I love working for UMB and I don’t plan to leave anytime soon, so I want to make it a convivial workplace for myself and others for years to come. I think this role would allow me to employ my varied skill set and would fulfill my personal desire to make a positive impact on the lives of people around me.

Term Ends: 2026

Email: nia.speaks@ssw.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Executive Committee, Policy and Legislation

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I wanted to be a Staff Senator to connect people to resources and to be an advocate for UMB staff. Being an advocate for staff, community outreach, and collaboration across the University is important to me.

Term Ends: 2026

Email: tspindle@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Board of Regents

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I want to be a voice that influences change, inspires innovation, and makes a difference for our staff and the local community. As a servant leader who truly admires the core values of our institution, I feel it’s critical to collaborate and connect with various stakeholders to gain a deeper understanding of how our University is run and what we could do together to make it even better!

Term Ends: 2025

Email: rstolle@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: University Life

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

To collaborate with other UMB schools and to advocate for a more flexible and equitable telework policy. 

Term Ends: 2025

Email: hterech@law.umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: Board of Regents

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I believe I possess the qualities necessary to be an effective advocate, particularly in a university setting where the voices of staff members are crucial. My natural inclination toward advocacy, coupled with my emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills, makes me well-suited for this role. I believe that my ability to empathize with others and understand their perspectives will enable me to e*ectively communicate and advocate on behalf of the staff members. My experience navigating complex interpersonal dynamics with sensitivity and understanding is an invaluable skill that is transferable to most circumstances. I believe in consensus and fostering collaboration among colleagues. I am adept at identifying issues and developing practical solutions that address the underlying problems. I believe that my ability to think critically and strategically could be helpful.  

Term Ends: 2026

Email: kelly.ward@umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Board of Regents

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

Throughout my personal and professional life, I have served as a bridge, connecting family, friends and colleagues to resources, tools, ideas, and to each other. The Staff Senate is a perfect place for me to continue that mission, allowing me to get to know more about the UMB community and the culture and to help identify organizational needs across campus.  

Term Ends: 2025

Email: cway@umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: Communications

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I am interested in serving on the Staff Senate as an opportunity to reinforce connections among staff across the campus, and strengthen the flow of information to and from UMB staff.

Term Ends: 2025

Email: aweldon@som.umaryland.edu 

Senate Committees: Executive Committee, Council for University System Staff

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

My interest in serving on Staff Senate arises from the strong sense of community I discovered since joining UMB in 2011. As I transitioned from my initial department at UM BTB into CVD, I have expanded my on-campus and interdepartmental networks through various professional development programs and while growing in my current role. I met faculty, staff, and trainees who show a passion for making a difference at UMB and beyond, which has inspired me to contribute my best in my role and as a member of the community. My discovery, specifically through my participation in the current cohort of Emerging Leaders and being mentored from the Research Administration Committee, reveals that that UMB is a thriving and caring community because of its staff. UMB’s staff, in my observation, brings together superb skills that bring all of UMB ideas to fruition. Serving on Staff Senate would be my personal way to return some of the care I have been fortunate to receive to the community.

Term Ends: 2026

Email: lei.zhang@ihv.umaryland.edu

Senate Committees: Council for University System Staff

Reason for Becoming a Senator: 

I want to let more UMB staff know about the duties of the Staff Senate and pay attention to the work the Staff Senate is doing.

Term Ends: 2025