Kudos go out to several movers and shakers in the region, including:
Cheryl Koch
- Occupation: Vice president of support services at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore City
- Home: Windsor Mill
- Achievement: In her new role, Koch will oversee support areas such as facilities and environmental services, and serve as the capital budget administrator for the medical center. Throughout her 15 years at the medical center, she has served in various clinical and administrative areas, including overseeing the food service, nutrition and service excellence programs.
William Roberts
- Occupation: Verizon’s regional president for Maryland and Washington D.C.
- Home: Baltimore
- Achievement: The Verizon Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, awarded a $30,000 grant to the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County. This is the third year Verizon has provided funding — totaling $70,000 — to support residential, educational and clinical services for victims of domestic violence. The grant will help the nonprofit assist women, children and men in crisis by providing emergency and long-term shelter, legal assistance, counseling, intervention, and education services.
“Domestic violence is a pervasive social issue that affects every segment of our population. During the past two years, the Verizon Foundation has committed nearly $10 million to support domestic violence prevention efforts.”
Ellen Moyer
- Occupation: Annapolis mayor
- Home: Annapolis
- Achievement: Moyer recently participated in the eighth annual Mayors Innovation Project that brings together mayors from across the country to discuss core urban issues affecting the quality of life for city residents, such as transportation, economic development and local food systems. The network of mayors met in Madison, Wis., at the beginning of this month to share ideas on “high road” politics involving shared prosperity, environmental sustainability and democratic government. Moyer said the conference provided a wealth of information about cultural poverty and transportation, which are issues she began studying in November to improve Annapolis.
“We were one of the first groups that started with the Mayors Innovation Project three years ago, and the discussion has always been very valuable. The discussions of the different issues have been very helpful, and I’ve certainly borrowed from them in the past. I’ve learned from the good things that other places are doing.
William McMahon
- Occupation: Howard police chief
- Home: Ellicott City
- Achievement: The Howard police department recently hosted the 25th annual National Night Out to take a stand against crime in local communities. The event promoted community participation in Harper’s Choice Village Center, Oakland Mills Village Center, Whiskey Bottom Shopping Center and Long Reach Village Center. Police asked residents to turn on outside lights and spend at least one hour in front of their houses or in their communities to send a message to criminals that communities are banding together to fight crime.
“This was a great opportunity to go out and meet with people and find out what their issues are that we can help them with. We don’t claim that the department can solve all the problems on our own, we certainly need the community’s support.”
Richard Krieg
- Occupation: President and CEO of Horizon Foundation
- Home: Howard County
- Achievement: After awarding $3.5 million to Howard County General Hospital and $500,000 to the Howard County Health Department to upgrade access to health care services, Krieg has announced a series of awards to further improve the community “health safety net.” Krieg said the foundation, the county’s largest philanthropy, awarded $100,000 to support the North Laurel Multiservice Center and $15,000 to the Salvation Army to help with eviction and utility turnoff assistance. He also said $20,000 will assist families facing mental health issues, and an additional $23,000 will go to Neighbor Ride, a program helping seniors get to the services they need.
“Due to a variety of factors — among them the present economic recession, job layoffs, increased energy costs and higher food prices — there’s been a sharp upturn in families in need. It’s become far more difficult for lower-income Howard County families to survive at the margin.”
