THE TEAM

Elizabeth degi mount

celeste perilla, MSW

meredith dombroski

Executive Director

Elizabeth joined DBFA as executive director in 2015. Under Mount’s leadership, DBFA has expanded the focus of its advocacy mission to press for good schools, safe streets, and great neighborhoods- the three things that matter most to families when choosing where to live. Over the past year, she has directed DBFA's effort to increase the organization’s visibility and impact across the city. 

Mount has an extensive background working to address issues of systemic gender and racial violence, and has served as a consultant to nonprofit organizations, NGO’s, and government agencies on issues including gender-based violence and women’s empowerment initiatives. Prior to coming to DBFA, Mount spearheaded the creation of the George Mason University Center for the Study of Gender and Conflict, where she served as the founding executive director. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the George Mason University School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. An avid proponent of city living, Mount lives with her husband, son and Labrador in a Ridgely’s Delight row home the family renovated in 2014. Her favorite food is takeout from Amiccis in Little Italy. To edit, click on the text to start adding your own words.

Advocacy director

Celeste is a strategic planner with expertise in project startups and inclusive community engagement. She’s been engaged in public school advocacy and capacity building for the past five years, working closely with parent leaders in public charter and traditional community schools. She engineered DBFA’s #FixTheGap campaign in 2017, mobilizing hundreds of parents in Baltimore and Annapolis to call for adequate school funding. Celeste is a native Baltimorean and Baltimore City School graduate. She lives in Remington.​

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR 

Meredith is a marketing and communications professional leading DBFA’s outreach efforts, membership, and event programming.  A big believer that it takes a village to raise a family, Meredith’s passion is connecting people.  She provides resources for new parents, and insights on city focused family friendly events.
Prior to joining DBFA, Meredith spent years working in advertising and outreach, as well as an extensive history of volunteering in her children’s schools and her community.
Meredith lives in Bolton Hill with her husband and two children.
 

Meet Our BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR

Jon kucskar, esq.

Jon Kucskar serves as Senior Advisor at the Maryland Public Service Commission. Previously, Jon served as Deputy Legal Counsel to Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Senior Attorney at the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). Jon received a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law, and a B.S. from Boston College. 
In addition, Jon serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and Board member of the Mount Royal Improvement Association. He previously served as president of the law school's Alumni Board and as a volunteer attorney for the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Advocacy & Justice Clinic. Jon is a 2017 graduate of Leadership Maryland. He lives in Bolton Hill with his wife, two daughters (ages 6 and 2) and German Shorthaired Pointer.

​VICE PRESIDENT

scott kashnow

Scott Kashnow is a Baltimore native employed as an application developer at the Maryland Department of Health. Scott began his professional career as a Carpenter, completing his union apprenticeship in 1998. In 2007, Scott earned his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and his Master of Information Systems in 2010.
Scott serves his neighborhood as the Vice President of the Franklin Square Community Association. He also serves on the board of AHC Greater Baltimore, as the Vice President for the Friends of Carroll Park, and as a steering committee member for the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance. For the Southwest Partnership (which he cofounded in 2011), he is the Secretary and the Chair of the Preservation Committee. Scott lives in Franklin Square with his wife and their two sons. Two dogs and one cat also call their 150-year-old rowhouse "home" but are not much help with repairs and renovations.

GALA CHAIR

EILEEN WOLD

Eileen Wold, a Professor at Maryland Institute College of Art, is a conceptual visual artist whose research focuses on issues of sustainability in landscape, energy production, and urban environments.  Wold received her MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and has been a professor of Visual Arts at several Baltimore Universities.   She has two children and has lived in Baltimore City for ten years. 

Dr. Rebecca Gershenson Smith, PhD, Founder
In 2007, Dr. Rebecca Gershenson Smith, founding Board President Judy O'Brien, founding Board Vice President Emily  Hiller, along with the help of many others, envisioned a community development nonprofit focused on fostering and promoting family life in downtown Baltimore. During the organization's first two years, Rebecca took on many of the key roles in the organization, including defining advocacy priorities, developing the initial strategic plan, building key relationships with community leaders, directing DBFA's many committee chairs, and authoring the mission, vision statements, and core values that guided DBFA's first decade. 

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Judy O'Brien, Founding Board President, Advisory Council
North Charles Street Design

Allison Pendell Jones, Past DBFA President and Chair, Community Engagement Committee 
Assistant Director, Resident Services, Greater Baltimore AHC, Inc.

Dr. John Bullock, PhD Legislative Committee and past DBFA Executive Director
​Councilman, Baltimore City Council 

Christie Getman, Governance Committee
Director - Program Performance and Quality, Mercy Corps
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Kim Humphrey, Esq., Education & Children's Programming Committee
ACLU of Maryland

Marianne Navarro, Legislative Committee
Mayor's Office of Economic & Neighborhood Development

Joshua J. Gayfield, Legal Committee
Associate Miles & Stockbridge

Aisha Isackson, Education Committee
​President at Isackson Design Group, LLC

Kerry DeVilbiss, Chair, Walkability & Sustainable Transit Committee
Downtown Partnership of Baltimore

Carol Ott, Legislative Committee
​Housing Policy Watch

Jeff Ratnow, Resource Development Committee
Sight-in-Site Real Estate Consulting

Sloane Whelan, Legislative Committee
Senior Vice President, KOFA Public Affairs

Hugh Bethell, Chair, Advisory Council
Port Networks

Tisha Edwards, Advisory Council
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Brooke Lierman, Advisory Council
Maryland State House of Delegates

Bill Ferguson, Advisory Council
Maryland State Senator