Leadership Howard County, which seeks to empower leaders to strengthen and transform the community, accepted 41 professionals from Howard County businesses and nonprofits into the Leadership Premier program’s class of 2025. Leadership Premier is an exploration of the Howard County community, during which participants meet with Howard County businesses and local leaders and learn about issues in the county.

The members of the class of 2025 are:

 Donyel Bacon, United States Department of Defense

 Liz Banach, Community Advocate

 Meredith Barclay, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

 Sherman Braxton, Baltimore City Fire Department

 Cherie Brooks, Power52 Foundation

 Antoinette Brown, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland

 Tamika Bybee, Howard Community College

 Chuck Chandler, Residence Inn Fulton at Maple Lawn

 Auna Cooper, United Way of Central Maryland

 Vera Davies, Howard County Library System

 Lynda Eisenberg, Howard County government

 Felix Facchine, Howard County government

 Celina Figueroa, Howard Hughes Corp.

 Jeff Fink, Howard County Public School System

 Mike Garcia, Bon Secours Foundation

 Melissa Green Parker, Community Advocate

 Vinicio Guzman, Hispanicpreneurs

 Ahmad Hachicho, Allen + Shariff Corp.

 Jamar Herry, Howard County government

 Kierra Kimmie, Howard County Economic Development Authority

 Chet Knaup, Spectrum Energy

 Wendy Letow, Respite Retreats

 Bryan Linkous, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

 Shawn MacInnes, Columbia Association

 Uche Maple, Noteworthy Consulting

 Camille Mazelev, Maze Consulting LLC

 Renee McSwain, Sagelight Integrative Wellness Center

 Christopher Mills, First Citizens Bank

 Gabriel Moreno, Luminus Network for New Americans

 Ngozi Obineme, HopeWorks of Howard County Inc.

 Darshni Patel, Howard County Economic Development Authority

 Marie Ritzenberg, OriginPoint

 Eric Rosenberg, M&T Bank

 Carrie Ross, Community Action Council of Howard County

 Sandy Sicinski, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

 Cindy Skalny, Howard County government

 Yolanda Vazquez, Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office

 Jay Vidyarthi, Community Foundation of Howard County

 Wende Weber, Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.

 Keli Wilson, DCI Consulting

 Bofta Yimam, StoryLede

The Leadership Premier program was launched in 1985 to develop capable, well-informed individuals committed to devoting their time and resources for community improvement. The program addresses countywide issues in monthly, daylong seminars where participants meet with established leaders in business, government and community services. Since its inception, more than 1,500 individuals have graduated from Leadership Premier and now lead nonprofit boards and civic organizations serving Howard County.

Leadership Howard County provides innovative programs designed to empower and connect community leaders and keep them engaged in the critical issues facing Howard County and the region. Drawn from private businesses, nonprofits and the public sector, Leadership Howard County participants share a common interest in learning more about their community and a commitment to making a positive impact. (www.leadershiphc.org)