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Staff and Board of Directors
Consultants and Advisors
Elin Ross is the Founder and Executive Director of Cakes for Cause. She has more than 15 years of non-profit management and social services experience with diverse youth and adult populations. In 2006 she obtained her professional pastry certification from L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg. She holds a BA in Biblical Archaeology and Anthropology from Oklahoma State University and an MA in Applied Anthropology from American University in Washington, DC. She is a member of the Women’s Chefs and Restaurateurs Association and in 2007 was a recipient of their front-house management scholarship with Deann Bayless in Chicago. She was also a recipient of a Roland Mesnier pastry scholarship award in 2005. Ms. Ross founded Cakes for Cause in large part because of her work in child welfare and the foster care system for the National Youth Advocate Program during the 1990’s. She believes that the community’s commitment to youth in foster care shouldn’t end when they age out of the system unless they have real skills and opportunities. She has lived in downtown Frederick for 9 years, sits on her Neighborhood Advisory Committee and is also one of the organizers for the annual 5th Street Block Party each summer. Amanda Mizeur is the Program Director of Cakes for Cause. She holds a BA in Sociology from the College of Wooster. Her extensive experience in the restaurant industry brought her to Cakes for Cause where she is responsible for the front-house curriculum, apprentice development and supervision, and serves as the General Manager of the bakery/café. Jeanine Hurley, Ph.D., Chair of the Board of Directors, has 17 years of experience teaching English at the college and high school levels. She currently teaches at Clarksburg High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, and serves as an adjunct assistant professor of English during the summer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Prior to attending graduate school and beginning her teaching career, Hurley worked as an administrator and writer for two medical organizations in Washington, D.C. She lives in downtown Frederick, Maryland. Julie Heineman Bright, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors has more than 15 years of experience in education, non-profit management and project management. She holds a B.B.A., Business Administration from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland with a concentration in Management. She currently works for Northrup Grumman and lives in Crofton, Maryland. Stephen G. Slater, Secretary of the Board of Directors, joined the Law Offices of Thomas G. Slater in October of 2003 to practice law with his father in his hometown. After six years in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Slater graduated from the University of Maryland in 1997 and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2002 and was admitted to the bar in the same year. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Slater worked for three years on Capitol Hill for Senator Sarbanes from Maryland. Mr. Slater's practice areas include the firm's litigation work on behalf of the Frederick County Department of Social Services dealing with child abuse and neglect, as well as general practice in the areas of family law, criminal defense, and civil litigation. Stephen lives with his wife Sarah in downtown Frederick. Jennifer Swafford, Treasurer of the Board of Directors, is a lifelong resident of Frederick, Maryland. She is a graduate of University of Maryland Baltimore County with a BS in Economics. Jennifer taught Technology Education for Frederick County Public Schools for five years and now works for a local marketing firm. She is part of Cakes for Cause to help affect a positive change in her neighborhood. Jamie Shockley is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA. After graduation she spent 6 months working for an Americorp program, Casa Verde. Alongside a younger generation, in the process of obtaining their high school diploma after dropping out, the crew built a house, using green building techniques, so that a family could afford their first home. After this stint, Jamie moved from her lifelong Texas home and ended up in Frederick. She came to Cakes for Cause through a local MBA program and is looking forward to the future of this exciting program. Kevin Lollar has been a resident of Frederick County for 17 years. He was born in Harlem, New York and raised in Washington, D.C., where he grew up in a household of 4 adult women and their 17 children. He dropped out of high school and joined the Coast Guard where I was a member of the Presidential Honor Guard and then an instructor in Aviation Electronics. After the military, Kevin worked as a technician with IBM, Xerox and the Metro subway system in Washington, D.C. He left Metro and started a residential painting and small carpentry company, Lollar and Sons. While working as a painter, he attended Hood College and managed the college swimming pool during the summer. After graduating with a degree in philosophy, he attended George Washington Law School where he received a Juris Doctorate in 2000. He clerked for two judges in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County and was a staff attorney for Legal Aid in Frederick, Maryland. He is in the current class of Leadership Frederick County and serves on the Board of Directors of Heartly House, Thorpewood, PAL, East Frederick Rising and the Associate Board of Directors for Hood College. Kevin is currently the Director of Development for the Housing Authority for the City of Frederick where he oversees the HOPE VI development. Sarah Costlow recently returned to the Frederick area after having lived in Montgomery County for several years. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors since April 2008. She currently works as a program director at Clarksburg High School in Montgomery County where her responsibilities include developing enrichment activities for the high school curriculum and encouraging students to conduct mentored research projects in areas of interest to them. She leads a team of high school inventors and a team of young web designers. Sarah holds an M.S. degree in Speech Language Pathology and M.Ed. Degree in Instructional Technology. She hopes to actively support the Frederick Community and programs that benefit their youth and neighborhoods. Sandra Galliani-Smith is currenlty working as a psychotherapist in an outpatient mental health center for a non-profit organization in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Sandra has a graduate license in Clinical Professional Counseling. She received her Master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in Clinical Counseling and a Bachelor's degree from East Carolina University with a major in Psychology and a minor in child Development and Family Relations. Sandra has been a Frederick, MD resident for four years and looks forward to making differences in the lives of youth in Frederick. Jennifer Blakeslee is the Assistant Director for The Arc of Frederick County. A life long resident of Frederick County, she has background in Social Work and has worked in the field of non profits for 16 years. Jennifer’s group facilitation experience includes the Working Together Self Advocacy Group, Parent’s with Disabilities Support Group, The Arc of Frederick County’s Legislative Advocacy Committee, Sibling Workshops and Advisory Committee. Jennifer is a licensed Foster Parent with Frederick County Social Services and has presented her experiences as a Foster Parent during foster parent trainings and recruitments. Kermit L. Ross is founder and Principal of Millennium Marketing, a consultancy providing market research, strategy and planning services to telecommunications equipment suppliers. He began his telecommunications career in 1965 at Indiana Bell Telephone Company, starting in Outside Plant Construction. Beginning in 1974, he held sales, marketing and executive positions at Raychem, Seiscor Technologies, Danavox, Optilink, DSC, Teltone, Teledata and Taqua Systems. Since 1996, Mr. Ross has consulted for more than eighty five U.S. and international companies. He is a founder and a Principal of Millennium-Skyline Project and co-author of its reports: An Excess of Access and A Switch to Packet. Mr. Ross is a frequent editorial contributor to telecommunications publications and speaks regularly at industry conferences. He is a member of IEEE. He holds a BS in Mathematics from Purdue University. Dorothy Wodraska is currently the Correctional Education Specialist/Director of Federal Education Grants Programs for the Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts, Juvenile Justice Services Division. Her responsibilities for the Court include administrative coordination and oversight of juvenile detention education programs statewide, directing the Federal Education Grants Programs and coordinating the juvenile portion of the 30+ computer LEARN (Literacy Education and Resource Network) Centers throughout the state, a Court literacy initiative since 1987. Ms Wodraska is an educator and youth advocate who has taught at every level in the educational system as well as serving as a school administrator and private non-profit CEO and Executive Director. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Fontbonne University in St. Louis, MO and a Master of Education degree in Administration and Curriculum Development from the University of Missouri. Postgraduate studies include course work at Indiana University and Butler University in Indianapolis, IN.
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