Thanks to all who joined us on June 2 to celebrate our Heroes of Collective Impact.
To learn more about the history and impact of MMF, watch our anniversary video!
MMF Celebration
Honoring Heroes of Collective Impact
June 2, 2022
5-7pm
Glen Echo Park: Bumper Car Pavilion
7300 Macarthur Boulevard
Glen Echo, MD 20812
Since launching 10 years ago, MMF has leveraged the collective impact model to address complex community problems in Montgomery County, bringing leaders together to define a problem and embrace a common agenda.
At the June 2 celebration, we honored trailblazing heroes of collective impact; leaders who have been integral to the creation and success of Nonprofit Montgomery’s collective impact initiative, Montgomery Moving Forward, over the last decade.
The Heroes of Collective Impact honored on June 2 were:
Sally Rudney and Cliff White for their sustaining philanthropic investment in collective impact.
JoAnn Barnes and Linda McMillan for their stalwart, insightful partnership and involvement of the public sector.
Kevin Beverly, Shirley Brandman, Mike Knapp, Susan Madden, Arlene Pietranton, Kathy Stevens, and Diego Uriburu for their dedicated leadership as MMF Co-Chairs over the last 10 years and commitment as representatives of the business, education, and nonprofit communities.
Sharon Friedman, the determined, passionate engine for MMF since its creation.
Scroll down or download the event program to learn more about our honorees.
Philanthropy
Sally Rudney
Sally Rudney, Philanthropic Advisor
Sally Rudney was the founding executive director of The Community Foundation in Montgomery County and served in that role for 17 years. She is now a philanthropy advisor to individuals and families. Back in 2005, Sally and colleagues launched an effort to encourage the County Government to partner more effectively with community nonprofits as the County’s population exploded and its demographics shifted dramatically. This effort led to the creation of Nonprofit Montgomery, the Nonprofit Village and a Nonprofit Advancement Fund, all supported with public and private funds. Sally was pivotalin the creation and funding of these three sister efforts, working closely with government, philanthropy, business and nonprofit leaders. This kind of collaborative approach was not common in Montgomery County in that era, and it set the stage for the launching of Montgomery Moving Forward a few years later. Sally served on the Leadership Group of MMF since its inception and was a key player in making sure that MMF had sustainable operating funds annually to ensure its success.
Cliff White
Cliff White, Founding Partner, National Electronics Warranty Corp., & Chair, Neighbors in Need Montgomery
Cliff White was a founding partner and the financial architect of NEW Corporation (now Asurion Corporation), the world’s largest consumer product protection company. He is now a partner in SWaN Investors, a diversified private investment fund with dozens of investments, including the Washington Nationals Baseball Club and Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Mr. White is an active philanthropist, honored as the 2017 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year. He serves on the board of the Greater Washington Community Foundation where he founded and chairs the Neighbors In Need Montgomery Fund, focused on helping County families help themselves out of poverty as well as emergency responses to the economic effect of COVID on these families. He is also Vice Chair of Venture Philanthropy Partners which serves vulnerable youth in the National Capital region. He and his wife, Debbie, are avid supporters of education and workforce development for young people and adults in their county and other organizations that create opportunities for vulnerable youth and residents in our county.
Public Sector
JoAnne Barnes
JoAnn Barnes, Chief, Children Youth and Family Services, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (Retired)
Ms. Barnes served Montgomery County residents through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for over thirty years. She joined the Department as the Finance Officer where she provided oversight to Montgomery County’s transition from Food Stamps to Electronic Benefit Transaction cards and managed the issuance of public assistance benefits and Child Care Subsidies. In January 2011, she became the Deputy Chief of Children, Youth and Family Services and became the Chief in 2015. In this role, she had oversight for Early Childhood Services, Child Welfare Services Child and Adolescent Services, Eligibility programs, and Positive Youth Development and managed a team of over 550 staff and a budget of over $100 million. Throughout her career at HHS, Ms. Barnes focused on service delivery and customer service. Her initiative led to the creation of staff led quality improvement teams at each of the HHS regional offices. Her team led the Ecosystem work funded by the Kresge Foundation to strengthen human service networks in specific communities of need. She holds a B.S. degree in Accounting, and Master’s of Human Services.
Linda McMillan
Linda McMillan, Senior Legislative Analyst, Montgomery County Council (Retired)
Linda McMillan recently retired as a Senior Legislative Analyst from the central staff of the Montgomery County Council. Linda started her career in Montgomery County in 1987 in the office of Councilmember Neal Potter. Linda worked in the Office of Management and Budget for about 3 years and then returned to the Council’s central staff. When rejoining the Council staff, Linda first worked on criminal justice and juvenile justice policy and budgets and then transitioned to working on health and human services and housing/affordable housing policy and budgets. As a part of her work for the Council, Linda worked with Montgomery Moving Forward on its inaugural issue, using the collective impact model to improve the workforce development system in Montgomery County. Linda has a Master of Public Finance from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Alfred University.
MMF Co-Chairs
Kevin Beverly
Kevin Beverly, Economic Development Advocate
Kevin Beverly is the former President and CEO of Social & Scientific Systems, Inc. (SSS) in Silver Spring, MD and Executive Officer of DLH Corporation NASDAQ:DLHC. He joined SSS in 2003 and served as Vice President of Business Development and Executive Vice President and President of the company. Before joining Social & Scientific Systems, Kevin served in increasingly responsible leadership, strategy and management and sales positions at Abt Associates, BAE Systems Corporation, Computer Sciences Corporation, PSI International, the National Library of Medicine and the World Health Organization. Kevin serves as a Vice Chair on the Executive Committee of the Board of Advisors for the University of Shady Grove (USG). He chairs the Board of CollegeTracks and serves as an advisor to Children’s Opportunity Fund in Montgomery County, MD at the pleasure of the County Executive. Kevin is very active in community activities including the founding of the Mildred Beverly Memorial Family Fund which provides college scholarships for underprivileged youth in Dorchester County, MD. Kevin is a 2017 inductee into the Montgomery County Business Hall of Fame and a 2019 recipient of the World Trade Center Institute’s International Business Leadership Award. Kevin was named the 2021 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year by The Community Foundation. Kevin holds an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in library science and information services, both from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Shirley Brandman
Shirley Brandman, Education Advocate
Shirley Brandman currently works as an education advocate in Montgomery County. She is Chair of the Board of Advisors for the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) and a member of the Identity, Inc. Board of Directors. In 2014, Shirley completed two terms as an elected member of the Montgomery County Board of Education where she was twice selected to serve as President. Prior to her service on the Board of Education, Shirley worked as a special education consultant and master teacher for children with learning disabilities Shirley began her career as an attorney representing children and youth in abuse/neglect and juvenile delinquency cases in Newark. Shirley is a graduate of Yale Law School and Yale University and earned her Master1s Degree in Special Education from American University. She is a first generation American.
Mike Knapp
Mike Knapp, CEO, SkillSmart, Inc.
Mike Knapp is CEO and Co-Founder of SkillSmart and has spent his career identifying opportunities to use technology to improve people’s lives and create economic opportunity. He currently chairs the Board of Trustees at Montgomery College, is Vice Chair of the Board of Advisors at the Universities at Shady Grove, and serves on Montgomery Moving Forward and is a board member of the Healthcare Initiative Foundation and Identity, Inc. He served two terms on the County Council of Montgomery County, MD, was elected Council President and also chaired the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments, and Transportation Planning Board.
Susan Madden
Susan Madden, Chief Government Relations Officer, Montgomery College
Susan Cottle Madden is a longtime resident of Montgomery County raising her family in Silver Spring and is the chief government relations officer at Montgomery College, one of Maryland’s largest and most diverse colleges, serving more than 40,000 students in training and certification programs and degree programs. She has held positions at the Montgomery County Council, the Maryland General Assembly and in the private sector. Ms. Madden is an inaugural member of the MMF Leadership Group and a champion of social change through the use of collective impact principles.
Arlene Pietranton
Arlene Pietranton, Chief Executive Officer of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (Retired)
Arlene A. Pietranton, PhD, CAE served as Chief Executive Officer of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) from 2004 until her retirement at the end of 2021. Before working at ASHA, Arlene held several clinical and administrative positions as a speech-language pathologist and member of the medical center administration at The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC. Arlene is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) and the only individual to date who has served as Chair of both ASAE and CESSE. She is one of only two individuals to date to have received all three of the CEO Update, Association Trends, and ASAE Key awards. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology, Master of Arts in speech- language pathology, and PhD in psychology from George Washington University. Arlene resides in Washington, DC with her husband and two adult daughters. Her interests include international history and culture, reading, theater, travel, skiing and spending time with family and friends.
Kathy Stevens
Kathy Stevens, Executive Director, Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL)
Kathy joined MCAEL in 2012. She came to MCAEL from Montgomery College, following career and volunteer experience in higher education and nonprofits, including work as a senior executive of an international, nonprofit membership organization. Further, Kathy is a fundraiser, lawyer, community organizer and mediator. An active community member, she is one of three Co-Chairs for Montgomery Moving Forward. Additionally, she serves as a board member for the Charles Koiner Conservancy for Urban Farming and a board member for Nonprofit Montgomery. She is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery and Impact Silver Spring’s Community Empowerment Program. Kathy holds her J.D. from the University of Richmond, Ed. M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and B.A. from Swarthmore College. When she is not at her desk or at a county meeting or event, Kathy can often be found hiking with her dog Blair, finding live music to listen to, and hosting dinners to bring friends and family together over a meal.
Diego Uriburu
Diego Uriburu, Executive Director, Identity, Inc.
Diego Uriburu co-founded Identity in 1998 to help immigrant youth fleeing violence, natural disasters, and grinding poverty in Latin America. Today, in pursuit of a just, equitable and inclusive society, Identity creates opportunities for Latino and other historically underserved youth across Montgomery County to realize their highest potential and thrive. Diego’s lifelong commitment to equity extends beyond his Executive Director duties. In 2019, under his leadership, Identity joined forces with the Montgomery County Chapter of the NAACP Parents’ Council to form the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence. He serves on the Boards of WorkSource Montgomery, the Montgomery County Positive Youth Development Initiative and the Meyer Foundation. Diego is a former co-chair and current member of Montgomery Moving Forward and the Latino Health Steering Committee. In 2014, the White House selected him as a César E. Chávez Champion of Change. He was honored recently with the Roscoe R. Nix Leadership Award for extraordinary contributions to Montgomery County. Diego was born and raised in Argentina and holds a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires.
Collective Impact Superhero
Sharon Friedman
Sharon Friedman, Co-Founder & Director, Montgomery Moving Forward
Ms. Friedman is Principal, Friedman Strategies, LLC, bringing her experience of 18 years as CEO of the Mental Health Association in Montgomery County (now called EveryMind) to the greater nonprofit sector. Sharon is the co-founder and Director of the county’s oldest collective impact endeavor, Montgomery Moving Forward (MMF), an initiative of Nonprofit Montgomery. During her decade-long leadership of MMF, Ms. Friedman has shepherded systems change efforts in the areas of workforce development and early care and education, both culminating in historic policy and practical innovations aimed at advancing economic opportunities for all of the County’s residents. Ms. Friedman has been a recipient of the Neighborhood Excellence Local Hero Award from the Bank of America, the Community Leader Award from Jewish Women International, the Montgomery Women Shining Star award, and most recently a 2022 Maryland Community Action Partnership Vision and Value Award. She was President of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs, and is a past Chair of the Nonprofit Montgomery Steering Committee. Her expertise has been tapped for the transition teams of the last three Montgomery County Executives, and she has been included in The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women in Maryland. Ms. Friedman received her B.S. and M.S.W. from the University of Maryland. She joined the Holy Cross Health Board of Directors in 2014 and served as chair in 2018 & 2019. Ms. Friedman lives in Rockville MD with her husband Stephen where one of their favorite pastimes is entertaining their 5 grandchildren!
Thank you to our event sponsors for the Celebration Honoring Heroes of Collective Impact!
CHAMPIONS
ACCELERATORS
INVESTORS
Partner with us to sponsor this celebration or other 10th anniversary events!
