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MakingChange, Mike Couch visits.

A nonprofit organization, MakingChange has been helping people create their own financial success stories through educational programs that are user friendly and meaningful. They work with the best financial and educational institutions to assemble content around a wide array of money topics that touch the lives of people of all ages and income levels.

Founded by former Howard Community College President Dwight Burrill and his daughter, Michelle Glassburn, MakingChange began with credit counseling programs and services. In November of 2001, they changed their focus to developing and delivering financial wellness programs.

Today, MakingChange offers Group Seminars, Personal Financial Coaching, Online Courses, Free Tax Preparation, and financial skills programs for middle, high school and college students. Their clients are human service organizations, government agencies and area businesses that want to advance the financial skills of their clients and employees.

Mike Couch is the Executive Director of MakingChange, a nonprofit organization that empowers individuals and families to achieve financial stability. He joined MakingChange in 2012 after working with two local comprehensive wealth management firms as a Certified Financial Planner™.  His previous experience included corporate finance positions with General Electric and America Online.  Mike earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst and completed the MBA Fellows program at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore. He is also a graduate of the Leadership Howard County Premier Class of 2014. He currently serves as the Chair of Howard County’s Board to Promote Self-Sufficiency and is a member of various local Boards including the Association of Community Services and the HCPSS Academy of Finance Advisory Board.

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Pam Grady, Voices for Children presents.

The mission of Voices for Children is to ensure that the best interest of abused and neglected children are represented in the Howard County Circuit Court. All children referred to Voices for Children will be matched with a volunteer whose efforts are directed at expediting the placement of children into safe and permanent homes. Voices for Children was started in 1990 by a local attorney, who read an article in a law journal describing a national movement started by a Seattle Juvenile Court Judge David Soukup. In order to get essential information so he could make better decisions on the lives of abused and neglected children, he asked for volunteers in the community to become Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA’s).

Every child referred to Voices for Children is matched with a CASA volunteer who reports findings and recommendations directly to the Juvenile Master in the form of a formal, written court report at least twice a year. This report outlines the advocate’s activities, the child’s background, present circumstances, psychological and physical needs and recommends permanent placement and appropriate services for the child.

The provision of court reports as well as providing active support for the child beyond the court proceedings ensures that the child receives the services and attention that were court-ordered and monitors changing needs. The CASA volunteer gives the child a welcomed sense of consistency, helping to restore the child’s self-esteem, damaged first by the abuse suffered and then by the frightening legal process.

The goal of the program is to provide trained CASA volunteers to all children referred to us by the Howard County Circuit Court. Recruitment of volunteers to be matched to 70 children this year is our primary objective.

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Howard County Tourism & Promotion is a not-for-profit partnership based organization (501c6) dedicated to promoting all that is wonderful and unique about visiting, meeting, living and investing in Howard County, Maryland. Howard County Tourism & Promotion is recognized by Howard County Government and the Maryland Office of Tourism Development as the official Destination Marketing Organization for Howard County, Maryland. 



Founded in 1981, their mission is to increase, develop and promote tourism in Howard County by featuring the county's unique LOCATION, sites, services, products and people. 

Since 2003 they have quadrupled their total operating budget by lobbying for a legislated and dedicated hotel tax. Membership, who they refer to as “marketing partners”, have doubled in number and they enjoy a 92% renewal and retention rate. The newly renovated Welcome Center in historic Ellicott City visitation is up 76% since its ribbon-cutting. Year after-year the Tourism Team returns home from the Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit with multiple marketing awards including best website, best visitor guide and best digital campaign. With much PR savvy they have worked with National media including the New York Times, Southern Living and MONEY magazine.

Rachelina Bonacci is an innovative communications and marketing leader with 20+ years’ experience in travel / tourism management, media relations and sales for some of the industry's largest and most esteemed employers including Southwest Airlines Co. and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts.

Above all, she sincerely believes in the transformative power of travel and is a passionate advocate for the tourism industry and was honored to receive the Maryland Tourism Advocate of the Year Award in 2011.

Presently, in her 12th year as CEO of Howard County Tourism & Promotion, she is energized in thinking and operating entrepreneurially with great financial and public relations results, not only for her organization, but for Howard County as a destination and its many member businesses. The phenomenal growth of Howard County Tourism & Promotion under Bonacci's leadership, in midst of a recession, has been well chronicled in the media.

In 2015, Howard County Tourism & Promotion had another stunning year of successes that resulted in much recognition at the Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit coupled with honorary proclamations by local Government.

As the immediate past chair of the Maryland Destination Marketing Organization and recently having chaired one of the most financially successful Maryland Tourism & Travel Summits for the Maryland Tourism Coalition, she continues to be amongst the most respected and accomplished destination marketing leaders in the state.

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Dr. Joel Goodman (HAL) to present

Join us this Friday morning as Dr. Joel Goodman with the Howard Astronomical League (HAL) will tell us all about the new observatory at Alpha Ridge.

Howard Astronomical League is an amateur astronomy club located in Howard County, Maryland. They hold monthly meetings on the lower (mezzanine) level of the Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, MD, conduct public star parties at Alpha Ridge Park, and provide community outreach events at various locations – often in Howard Country Library parking lots. HAL invites everyone to be a part of astronomy in Central Maryland. Joel will discuss astronomy and space science resources in Howard County, JHU/APL New Horizons update and rocks from space and upcoming meteor showers.

The Howard Astronomical League will officially dedicate its new observatory this weekend in Marriottsville, and the public is invited to a ribbon-cutting and star-gazing party. The observatory—which the league is calling HALO (Howard Astronomical League Observatory)—houses two telescopes and a library under a 15-foot-diameter dome. A $10,000 state bond and private donations paid for construction of the observatory, which began in February, according to Howard County government.

Joel Goodman is a retired dentist. He is currently Celestial Searchers Director, Howard Astronomical League Observatory Director, STEMulatingMinds Logistics Chair and the NatureSphere/Planetarium Programmer at James and Anne Robinson Nature Center.

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FIRN is a nonprofit organization in Howard County, Maryland that empowers immigrants, refugees, asylees and other foreign-born individuals by helping them to access community resources and opportunities. FIRN provides immigration counseling and citizenship classes, interpreting & translation services, English tutoring, information and referrals and a variety of workshops.
 
FIRN grew out of an informal support service for foreign-born students at Howard Community College (HCC) and an idea by Pat Hatch for a place where immigrants could ask questions “without feeling stupid”. Pat shared her idea with the Columbia Foundation and with HCC’s teachers of English as a Second Language, whose students were continually posing questions that had little to do with English, but much to do with survival in a new culture. 


Pat and HCC joined forces. With initial seed money from the Columbia Foundation, FIRN opened its doors in October 1981, staffed only by Pat. In its first year, the project served 90 persons from 10 countries. In 1984, FIRN was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Slowly its services expanded to include immigration counseling, interpreting and other critical services. Today, FIRN serves immigrants from over 75 countries and is well known as the key resource in Central Maryland for the foreign born. It also provides valuable assistance and guidance to health and human service agencies that serve immigrant clients.

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Police Chief Gary Gardner speaks

Chief Gary L. Gardner is a 30-year veteran of the Howard County Police Department. Prior to his appointment as Chief of Police, he held  the position of Deputy Chief for Operations, overseeing the patrol districts, the operational preparedness division and the youth services division. 

Throughout his career, Chief Gardner has served in nearly every component of the department, including as the Deputy Chief for Administration, Commander of the criminal investigations bureau, Chief of Staff, Commander in the patrol division and public information officer.   His contributions and accomplishments include the realignment of patrol beats for improved response services; implementation of a crime analysis-driven system for better allocating resources in patrol operations; development of the Alpha Ridge Training Center as the head of the police planning team; and creation of the department’s Police Memorial Courtyard and Garden at headquarters. 

Chief Gardner has a Master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University and is a graduate of the F.B.I.’s National Academy. He is a member of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, the International Chiefs of Police Association and the F.B.I. National Academy Associates. He is also an active supporter of Maryland Special Olympics and other law enforcement-related charities. Chief Gardner is also a graduate of Leadership Howard County, class of 2006. 

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Fidos for Freedom

Fidos for Freedom, Inc. was established in 1987 and was originally an obedience organization located on Main St in Laurel.  Everyone involved do so as volunteers at Fidos — except for the handyman, office manager and bookkeeper. They train four types of dogs at Fidos: hearing dogs for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, service dogs for mobility assistance, PTSD dogs for our military service people and our therapy dogs  who are our ambassadors of good will! Fidos service a 75 mile radius and their mission is "to improve the quality of life for people in the Baltimore/Washington and Annapolis area through the use of their specially trained dogs". Fidos is located at 1200 Sandy Spring Rd. in Laurel and their phone number is (301) 490-4005. Fidos is also proud to be certified with the ADI-Assistance Dogs International.

Debbie has been a volunteer with Fidos for Freedom for over 17 yrs and is now working with her 6th therapy dog. She is the event coordinator and co-therapy dog coordinator for the organization. Debbie started her therapy dog work working with hospice patients at GBMC-Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Her therapy dogs have participated in the reading program called DEAR (dogs educating and assisting readers), have worked with autistic children and adults, in oncology and pediatrics and general medicine as well as assisted living and rehab patients. Her last three therapy dogs have also acted as "demo" dogs demonstrating the skills that are required of assistance dogs.

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Mission 14 is embarking on a new model of fundraising to enact social change and the many steps toward eradicating human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children.

Eric is a seasoned entrepreneur, outdoorsman and envisioner who has successfully launched businesses, government agencies and non-profits. It is not a surprise that he is the kind of person that would want to team up with Mission 14 on this ground breaking initiative to fight human trafficking. He brings a clear understanding that partnerships and engaging youth in this generational battle is essential to eradicating this global injustice.

"30+ million people are enslaved worldwide, more than at any time in history. It is a $100 billion criminal enterprise, second only to drugs. Most of us do not know that slavery is thriving because slaves aren’t sold publically anymore, but this heinous injustice of human trafficking persists. In the U.S., alone, there are some 100,000 to 300,000 of our children at risk of being trafficked for sex each year and we can all do, must do something to stop it.

Learn about what one man Nick Cienski is doing at Mission 14 with the 6 Summits Challenge, a world record attempt to climb 6 of the highest mountains in the world in 2015 to bring attention to human trafficking and provide each of us tools to fight this battle locally, nationally and internationally. Now that we know, we must complete the work of Wilberforce, Lincoln and King and others until this crime against humanity is finally eradicated. Yes, we need to BE BRAVE, Learn How and Act Now."

“This human travesty is on-going in every city and suburb in the United States and throughout the world, and yet we are either ignorant of its existence, or believe there is nothing one person can do, as I did for so many years. It is modern day slavery in another form, and once I learned about the magnitude of this injustice, I was compelled to act.”

Born in Munich, Germany to a U.S. foreign service family, Eric’s passion for building awareness of human trafficking has been fueled by his Christian faith, work in youth ministry and participation in a wide variety of charitable missions in the U.S. and overseas. Although not a mountain climber like Nick or an incredibly talented artist like his wife Sandi, Eric shares their commitment to be a difference maker and sense of adventure as an avid sailor, cyclist and kayaker.

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Join us this week to hear from our County Executive, Allan Kittleman. 

Allan Kittleman was elected on November 4th, 2014 to serve as Howard County’s 9th County Executive. Executive Kittleman previously served in the Maryland General Assembly as the Senator representing District 9 from 2004 to 2014.  In 1998 and again in 2002, Kittleman was elected to serve on the Howard County Council to represent Council District 5. 

Kittleman was a partner with Herwig & Humphreys, LLP before serving as Of Counsel at Godwin, Erlandsson, Vernon & Daney where his practice concentrated on representing employers in worker’s compensation matters.  

Kittleman is a graduate of Atholton High School and the University of Maryland Baltimore County.  In 1988, Allan graduated from the University of Maryland Law School.   

During his tenure in the Maryland General Assembly, Kittleman was known as a bipartisan leader and tireless advocate for legislative causes designed to strengthen Maryland public schools, stimulate economic growth, and increase transparency in government, among others.  

As County Executive, Allan Kittleman will work with State and Local school administrators to ensure Howard County Public Schools provide a world class education in every part of the County.  Allan will cross party lines to work with members of the Howard County Council on ways to make local government more efficient and responsive to county residents.  

Allan lives with his wife Robin in West Friendship and has four children, Haley, Mary, Robby and James. 

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Kasey Turner, Jailbreak Brewing Co. visits

Kasey Turner is the founder and COO of Jailbreak Brewing Company in Laurel, Maryland. His BS in computer engineering and a MS in computer science prepared him well for drinking beer, but it was his undiagnosed OCD and previous experience running a cybersecurity company that best prepared
him for starting a brewery. No, he does not make the beer (nor would you want him to).

“The actual name 'Jailbreak' is a freedom expression. For us it was freedom from the office job. For others, Jailbreak can mean something totally different. The bottom line is that we hope our beer is an escape from whatever drama is in your life.”

2015 will bring more of their products to market in package form – all in six packs and cases of 12oz cans. They have a full time R&D brewer, Michael Nevas, whose job is to brew up to 4 new pilot batches per week. Those will be served only in the taproom in Laurel, and customers can give direct feedback on whether to make those beers on our production system.

This direct engagement and feedback will help them determine which beers "go public", and this process also means that every time you come to their taproom it will be a different flavor experience.

Right now they are working through about 20 recipe ideas that began to roll out through the taproom in January. By mid-year they hope to have one of these R&D recipes graduate to the production system every other month or so.

If you get the chance you really should make a trip to Laurel and check out the beginnings of a new era in Howard County.

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The Howard County Farm Bureau is a private, non-profit membership organization. It is completely controlled by its members through the democratic process and is financed by voluntary membership dues. It is one of the 23 Maryland county organizations that make up the Maryland Farm Bureau.

Farm Bureau, the voice of agriculture, is a free, independent, non-governmental voluntary association of farm families and those with related interest.

The Maryland Farm Bureau’s purpose is to increase net farm income and improve the quality of life by providing a legislative voice, increasing public understanding and promoting member involvement.

Howie Feaga was born and raised in Howard County on the farm that he now owns today: “Merry Acres Farm”. He started milking cows at the age of 13; bought the family milking herd over time and operated as the dairy owner for 22 years. He sold the cows in 1998 to start boarding horses full time and now board 45 horses and make close to 150 acres of hay annually. They also grow a small amount of wheat and corn.

Howie has served on the “Board of Trustees” for the Glenelg United Methodist church, the “Board of Directors for Dairy Herd Improvement Association and the “Board of Directors” for Sire Power (a breeding coop). He also has served on the “Farm Service Agency” for 14 years, been on the Ag Preservation Board for the past 7 years and is a member of the Howard County Fair Board, served on the “Board of Directors” for Maryland State Farm Bureau for 6 years, serves as the President of the Howard County Farm Bureau since 2006 and a member of the “Montgomery/Howard Farmers Club”.

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This week's Program: Fire Chief John Butler

Join us in welcoming Fire Chief John Butler to our meeting this week.

Fire Chief John Butler has been with the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services since 1993.  He was appointed Fire Chief on January 20, 2015, becoming the 10th person to lead the Department and the first Chief to have held every rank within the department.  Prior to becoming Fire Chief, he served as Deputy Chief and head of the Operations Command.  Before joining the fire service, Chief Butler served in Panama and the Persian Gulf War as a U.S. Marine, and was the recipient of awards as a combat veteran, firefighter and paramedic.

Chief Butler was born in Monrovia, Liberia. He is a graduate of Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Baltimore with a triple major in history, government and management.  He has advanced degrees from the Johns Hopkins University Public Safety Leadership Program, and from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s “Leadership in Crisis” Executive Education Program. In March 2012, he returned to his native Liberia with the Fire Rescue Alliance Non-Profit to help rebuild the nation’s fire department. He is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.  He lives in Ellicott City with his wife; they have three adult children.

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Dr. Florin Selaru, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Florin Selaru was born in Romania. He went to medical school in Bucharest and in 2000 came to the USA with his wife, also a physician, to complete their medical education. Florin went on to obtain training at University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University. He trained in Internal Medicine, then in Gastroenterology. His training also included basic science, in particular cancer research training. He is now a professor at Johns Hopkins. His activities include patient care, endoscopic procedures, as well as running his own cancer research laboratory. His interest in identifying better models for health care delivery prompted him to register and be accepted for an Executive MBA at Carey School of Business, Johns Hopkins. He will graduate in March 2015.

These same interests prompted him to start, along with his wife, a primary care clinic in Columbia, MD. https://www.clarii.com

Dr. Selaru''s overarching goal is to deliver medical products and technologies to cancer patients, through an integrative approach that combines mathematics and data analysis, clinical gastroenterology, molecular and cell biology, engineering and business administration.

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Tabby Fique, Howard County Conservancy

Tabby stops by this Friday to tell us all about what’s happening at the Conservancy. Hear all about volunteer opportunities, group activities, special events and other ways you can get involved.

Tabby is the Land Manager and Easement Coordinator for the Howard County Conservancy at Mt. Pleasant. She has been with the Conservancy in various capacities since 2005. With degrees in business administration and environmental studies from UMBC, she is also a Maryland Master Naturalist and a Howard County Master Gardener.

As Land Manager, Tabby is in charge of the 232 acre grounds of the Mt. Pleasant location, the captive animals on site, and various educational programs. As Easement Coordinator, she handles all responsibilities of their easement programs. Tabby works closely with volu

nteers to accomplish ground and garden maintenance activities, routine animal care, education programs and annual easement monitoring.

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Blanka McClammer became involved with Better BedRest in 1993, being instrumental in inviting the organization to share the information on the maternity unit. She has been a board member for the last 5+ years assisting in carrying out the mission of the organization.

Better Bedrest provides services to high risk pregnant women who have been placed on bed rest and are unable to pay some of their bills, as they are not working. They provide them with a grant up to $500 and pay their bills that are delinquent.
 
Survival of the organization depends on the generosity of various organizations and donations from individuals. Better Bedrest also hold several fundraisers each year to help raise  money to give as many grants as possible to women.

Blanka McClammer is a registered nurse with 39 years of maternal and neonatal nursing experience. The last 32 years of her career were spent in management; as a nurse manager of Obstetrical unit at HCGH and other hospitals; and as a Director of Clinical Education. Her experience consists of  faculty appointments at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and other school of nursing schools to designing maternity units and newborn nursery at a local hospital. Currently, she is the Director of Patient Safety and Nursing Excellence at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
 
Learn more at www.betterbedrest.org

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Join us this Friday as Jennifer Bodensiek stops by to tell us all about Junior Achievement of Central Maryland. Jennifer has been the president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland since 2009. Junior Achievement of Central Maryland serves Maryland’s young people, educators, and business community. With the support of 3,000 volunteers, Junior Achievement reaches more than43,000 youth with financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship programs throughout the Baltimore region. Launched just four years ago, Junior Achievement’s Howard County initiative provides more than 5,000 students and families with the knowledge and skills they need to own their own economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.

Jennifer previously served Junior Achievement’s parent organization, JA Worldwide, in key leadership positions including vice president of development and JA USA director of capstone experiences. Jennifer also served as a major gift officer for Johns Hopkins University and assistant vice president for Bank of America. Jennifer is a graduate of Virginia Tech and resides in Ellicott City with her husband Ed and their two sons.

Friday morning, Jennifer will touch on:

Building the Next Generation for Success.
 
Read the news for an hour and you will find the consistent theme: Economic and workplace change is happening at a scale never experienced before. At the same time, our children are ill-prepared to enter college and the workforce. As a community, how do we help our young people thrive and succeed in a rapidly changing global economy? Don't miss it!

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Visit from Geoff Arnold of the Frederick Keys

This Friday we welcome Geoff Arnold, Broadcasting and Public Relations Manager for the Frederick Keys. 

Geoff Arnold enters his second season for the Frederick Keys, the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. In this role, he serves as the team’s radio play-by-play announcer, works as the club’s primary liaison to the media and assists with Keys marketing initiatives. Prior to joining the Keys, Arnold spent the previous two seasons as the Assistant Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and as the Broadcaster and Media Relations Administrator for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. A 2010 graduate of Dickinson College, Arnold began his professional career as a minor league baseball umpire in the Gulf Coast League.

 
Geoff will discuss:

• How minor league baseball and the player development process works
• How are major league and minor league teams run differently
• What a minor league offseason entails for a minor league staff/players
• Keys to the big leagues/what Keys fans can be excited for in 2015

 

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Cathy Smith Visits

This week we welcome Cathy Smith from Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center to tell us about her newest program, Don't Do Nothing. Cathy has been raising awareness and community support for Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center for the last 7 years. She is the outreach coordinator for Change Matters, the student-led fundraising initiative, having successfully raised over $150,000 in change since its inception in 2008. She is also the event coordinator for Soup’r Sundae, now in its 7th year. Mark your calendars: Soup’r Sundae will be held at Wilde Lake HS on Sunday, March 22nd from 12:00 – 2:00 pm.

Cathy is visiting with us to share a new suicide prevention program being implemented in Howard County High Schools. Don’t Do Nothing is part of the high school Change Matters program getting kids to realize they are empowered to help a friend in crisis. Don’t Do Nothing educates students about the signs of suicidal thoughts and urges them to intervene if they suspect a friend is in trouble. It also encourages students to raise money for Grassroots, which operates a 24-hour crisis hotline.

Suicide is a serious issue, particularly among teens. According to a 2011 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 16 percent of high school students nationwide considered suicide that year and 7.8 percent actually attempted suicide. Extrapolating that number to Howard County means there were 1,291 student suicide attempts in Howard County last year.

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Join us this week as we welcome Todd Olson to tell us all about the great new things that are happening with this fantastic annual event.

The mission of the Columbia Festival of the Arts is to present a world class celebration of the arts and entertainment that attracts, engages and inspires the broad and diverse community it serves.

TODD OLSON is in his first year as Executive Director of the Columbia Festival of the Arts. Before that he spent 11 years as Artistic Director of American Stage Theatre Company in St. Petersburg, FL. Last season Todd received the “Best of the Bay” Award for “Best Director” for Wit, and won the Theatre Tampa Bay Award for “Outstanding Director” for The Amish Project. He was also last year’s recipient of the Florida Professional Theatre Association’s Richard G. Fallon Award for Excellence in Professional Theatre.

Todd has directed over 150 plays, musicals, and operas, including My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, (which he co-created) at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, and I Left My Heart (also co-created) at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Original works include Casa Blue, the last moments in the life of Frida Kahlo, and Joe Corso Re-Enters from the Wings, which won the 2012 Holland New Voices Playwright Award at the Great Plains Theatre Conference and is now published on Amazon.com.

Todd received his M.F.A. from The University of North Carolina, and is a graduate from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard. Todd lives in Columbia with his wife Charlotte, and three children, Jonas, Corinna, and May.

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