Board of Directors

Board Biographies​

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Mark Laidlaw (Chair)

Mark Laidlaw is an energy industry veteran having spent nearly 20 years at Constellation Energy in Baltimore.  He has experience in a broad range of areas including Corporate Finance, Treasury, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Development, and Venture Capital.  While at Constellation he has supported the development, financing, and operations of renewable energy projects, which triggered his interest in supporting environmental causes outside of work.  As the Treasurer he wants to leverage his extensive background in business and finance to help Arundel Rivers Federation achieve its mission and goals. 

 

Originally from Boston, Mark came to the area when he was stationed at the Marine Barracks 8th & I in Washington, DC where he was a member of the Silent Drill Platoon and Marine Corps Body Bearers.  As a member of the Marine Corps Honor Guard, he participated in hundreds of military ceremonies at the White House, Arlington National Cemetery, and various military bases throughout the U.S. 

Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of Maryland and an M.B.A from Loyola University.  He was a previous Board member and Treasurer for the Anne Arundel Watershed Stewards Academy. 

Mark lives in Shady Side with his wife and son.  

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Nancy Bray Booth (Vice Chair)​

Nancy comes to the Arundel Rivers Federation Board with a lifetime of experience on the
waters of the Chesapeake Bay. After being raised fishing, swimming, water skiing, crabbing,
sailing, and embracing the Bay, she eventually and predictably ended up with a career in marina
management. She has held positions at several local marinas and is well versed in boat hauling,
dockage, and boat service.
A graduate of the University of Maryland, she has resided locally in Anne Arundel County most
of her life. She raced sailboats on the Magothy River, water skied on the Severn River, and
recently managed marinas on the West and Rhode Rivers. Crabbing on the Wye River was one
of her favorite past times growing up. Cruising the Chesapeake has brought her to anchorages
and ports from Cape Charles Virginia to Havre de Grace Maryland.
Because she has spent so much time cruising and enjoying the Bay, the mission of Arundel
Rivers Federation is one she is dedicated in pursuing and promoting.

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Cate Bower (Secretary)

Cate spent her career working with not-for-profit organizations, with a special focus on strategy development and governance systems and processes. She co-founded Cygnet Strategy LLC in 2009, a consultancy working primarily with scientific and medically focused organizations. She was a principal partner with Tecker International LLC of Yardley PA and a senior executive for the Society for Human Resource Management, where she developed and implemented the organization’s ground-breaking and nationally-recognized issues management program, created its communications function, and had responsibility for communications, publications, public relations, marketing, sales, strategic planning and issues management.

An award-winning writer and strategist, she is a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives, served on the ASAE Foundation Board of Directors and the ASAE Board, chaired the Strategic Leadership Forum and served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Association Leadership. She holds a BA in English from Kent State University and is a graduate and former faculty member of the US Chamber of Commerce’s then six year Institute for Organizational Management.

Since retirement, she has refocused her efforts on supporting environmental and community issues. She is the Immediate Past Chair of the Director’s Circle of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater and continues to serve as a docent at SERC. She represented Deale, Shady Side, Churchton, West River, and Galesville on Anne Arundel County’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee, helping to create the 2040 General Development Plan. An avid gardener and former sailor, she and her husband, Ray Proulx, a retired travel and tourism executive, live on John’s Creek off the West River along with their rescue labradoodle Coco.

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Bruce Ogden (Treasurer)

​Bruce has been sailing and cruising on the Chesapeake Bay since moving to Washington DC
from Chicago 35 years ago. Bruce is past Commodore of the West River Sailing Club, a member
of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, is the co-founder of the Maryland Maritime Heritage
Foundation and held a USCG 100 Ton Master’s Credential. Bruce has been a docent at the
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center since 2016, is a member of the SERC Director’s
Circle and is honored to have been asked to serve on the Board of the Arundel Rivers
Federation.
Living, sailing and cruising on the Chesapeake Bay and the entire east coast for the past 35
years, Bruce has personally witnessed the impact of climate change on the Bay and more
specifically, the West River. These changes have led him to become more actively engaged in
the study and discussion of global climate change and efforts to improve the condition and
quality of the Rivers and the Bay in his backyard.
Prior to retiring, Bruce enjoyed a rewarding 35-year career in sales, marketing and business
development in Telecommunications, Cloud Computing and Satellite based Earth Observation
& Imagery fields for several national, multinational and international network and technology
corporations.
Bruce and his wife currently live on Chalk Point on the West River with their five old boats,
spending as much time on the water as possible and sharing their passion for our rivers and the
Chesapeake Bay with friends and family.​​​​​

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Christopher (Chris) A. Graae (South Watershed Advisory Committee Chair)

Chris started his career after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1975, later becoming a co-founding principal of Cox Graae + Spack Architects in 1981 in Georgetown and retiring after 43 years of practice in 2018. In addition to his management role as president of the 30-person firm – which has won over 90 regional and national design awards – he led the design effort for many of the firm’s major public and private sector institutional, educational and religious commissions. These included the World Bank Headquarters, major buildings on the campuses of George Washington and Georgetown Universities, several DC public high schools, churches and synagogues – culminating in the last five years of his career dedicated to the $162m modernization of the National Landmarked Duke Ellington School of the Arts in DC. In the mid 1990’s Chris qualified to become a credentialed practitioner of U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification program and virtually all of his projects in the last 25 years were awarded LEED Silver or Gold Sustainable Design Awards.

In 2014 Chris joined the 3% of his colleagues elevated to membership in the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows for his contributions to the aesthetic, scientific, and practical efficiency of the profession. He has served on many boards of directors over the years including the DC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Abramson Scholarship Foundation and the Georgetown Business Improvement District.

Chris and his retired architect wife, Mary Kfoury, spent 35 years in DC raising their two children and pursuing their careers, finally moving to the Annapolis area in 2009 to renovate the old farmhouse in Loch Haven, treasuring every day living on their South River location. In these past 12 years Chris has been able to focus more on the needs of his community around Annapolis, including: supporting and volunteering for oyster and shoreline restoration projects with the South River and now Arundel Rivers Federation. Chris and Mary are avid sailors, gardeners and beekeepers, and raise oyster spat, osprey and purple martins.​

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Melanie Hartwig-Davis

Melanie Hartwig-Davis, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C is the Principal and Owner of HD Squared Architects, LLC in downtown Annapolis.  Her architectural practice focuses on resilient, sustainable design including historic preservation that emphasizes the importance of the built environment’s relationship and impact on the natural environment.

Mrs. Hartwig-Davis serves as vice chair of the Anne Arundel County Planning Advisory Board (PAB) where she contributes her expertise at a county planning level after having served as the at-large environmental representative of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee during AACo’s creation of the General Development Plan – Plan2040. A long-time board member of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters (MDLCVc4), Melanie’s policy expertise will serve Arundel Rivers well as the organization expands its impact not only in AACo but across the State.

Melanie and her husband, Lance, live in the South River watershed, where their Bay Scaped property is a testament to their passion for helping clean our waterways and provide habitat for our local wildlife.

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V.K. Holtzendorf (West and Rhode Watershed Advisory Committee Chair)

V.K. Holtzendorf spent 22 years in the technology business, retiring from HP in 2005. Most of my carrier was in the advanced research, life sciences industry focusing on super-computing for Department of Energy, Office of Science and life sciences projects including sequencing of the human genome with Celera Genomics.

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, she graduated from the University of Memphis with degrees in Economics. She relocated to the Annapolis area in 1990 and fell in love with the Chesapeake Bay. She became an active sailboat racer for many years and in 2001 bought a historic farm in southern Anne Arundel County.

V.K. previously served on the West/Rhode Riverkeeper Board, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) Advisory Board, the South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD), Historic London Town and Gardens Board, Maryland Organic Food and Farm Association, and the Anne Arundel Agriculture Advisory Committee. She is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Anne Arundel program.

In 2008 she and her husband founded West River Cruises, with the P/V RICHARD LEE, 110-passenger tour boat serving the South, West, and Rhode Rivers and Herring Bay. Their mission was to get citizens and children out on the rivers to create more advocates for the Bay. They offered educational programs, sunset cruises, and charter events and worked closely with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and their outreach programs. They still manage a small farm and share it with locally famous donkeys and farm dogs. They both have 100-ton Merchant Mariner Masters Licenses and Private Pilot Licenses and enjoy experiencing the Bay from land, water and air.​

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Dr. Howard Kea

Howard Kea currently serves as the Program Manager for NASA Agency Organizational Development Program. Dr. Kea previously served as a Human Resource Business Partner Supervisor and Executive Coach in the NASA Human Resource Office. Prior to that Dr. Kea was a Systems Engineer Supervisor for NASA Satellite Operations.

Dr. Kea blends his engineering background and behavioral science expertise to provide HR consulting services to help customers meet their mission goals and objectives. He has coached engineers, scientists and managers to overcome roadblocks to become more effective as leaders and team members.
Dr. Kea as also been involved in consulting with organizations across the Agency in helping leaders lead change and improve in performance and organizational effectiveness. He has several certifications that include executive coaching, change management and organizational behavioral analysis.
Previously Dr. Kea worked as an Associate Branch Chief in the Software Engineering
Division, Systems Integration and Engineering Branch at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
He also worked 7 years in DoD with the U.S. Army Materiel Command and Naval Sea Systems
Command. Dr. Kea’s community service includes past president of the GWU Engineering Alumni
Association, past Commodore of the Universal Sailing Club, past president of the Columbia Beach Citizens Improvement Association and currently Adult Leader with Sea Scout Ship 1959 based in Annapolis. Dr. Kea is also a martial arts instructor and owns and operates DC Metro Soo Bahk Do Martial Arts Academy, Inc. a 501c3 non-profit.
Dr. Kea has a BS in Engineering and Technology from the University of Akron, Master in Engineering Management from George Washington University and a PhD in Leadership and Organizational Change from Antioch University. He lives with his wife, Nicola (Dr. Nikki) Smith-Kea and their son Tyler in the Historic Columbia Beach Community in Shady Side, MD.

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Mike Krissoff (Cap’n Mike)

Born in Washington DC, Mike Krissoff grew up on the waters of Anne Arundel County, starting with his own 12- foot wooden rowboat at the age of 7 in Shady Side, now cruising with a custom-built 46′ Chesapeake Bay deadrise berthed on Little Aberdeen Creek on the South River. Along the way were Lasers, Hobie Cats, a variety of one-design racing sailboats and log canoes, and countless days of race committee work with the Eastport and Annapolis Yacht Clubs.

Named South River Federation’s 2017 Volunteer of the Year, Cap’n Mike, a 50-Ton US Coast Guard Master, a past commodore and 35-year member of Eastport Yacht Club, and a 25-year member of AYC, has hosted hundreds of days on the water for volunteer and non-profit organizations for fundraising and appreciation activities, kayaking, stand-up paddling, biking and fishing friends, even a for wedding guests.

Now retired from a 40-year career in non-profit trade association management, Cap’n Mike enjoys sharing his knowledge of the Chesapeake’s history and traditions, its charm and beauty, wildlife, and special settings known best only to the locals.​​​

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John Nugent

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Robert (Bob) G. Ottenhoff

Robert G. Ottenhoff is a veteran leader and expert in nonprofit organizations, philanthropy and media. He was the founder and served as the inaugural General Manager of WBGO-FM from 1977 to 1987 and Acting President from 2020-2021.  He took a brief leave of absence while at WBGO-FM to act as Senior Vice President for Representation at National Public Radio (NPR).

After leaving WBGO, he was the Executive Director of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority, which operated four public television stations and a statewide radio network. He was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) from 1992 to 2000. While at PBS he also served as Acting President and Acting Senior Vice President of Programming for nearly one year.

He served as inaugural president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) based in Washington D.C from 2002 until 2020. CDP works with foundations, corporations, and individuals and seeks to transform how donors think about, respond and contribute to natural disasters.  Prior to joining CDP, he spent a decade as president and CEO of GuideStar, an industry leader in the use of providing high-quality data to help donors make better decisions and improve nonprofit practice. He holds a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University and was awarded a B.A. from Calvin College in Michigan.

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Sherry Schiller

Sherry is the founder and director of the Schiller Center for Connective Change, a nonprofit organization that helps organizational leaders create positive change. In addition to consulting, she has taught at many universities, including the University of Michigan and George Washington University. Her books, Dispelling the Megatrends Myth: A Leader’s Guide to Managing Change, and Hum offer strategies to lead with greater purpose and harmony.

In 2023, Sherry and her rescue pup Sunny moved to live fulltime in their Galesville cottage. She is an enthusiastic sailor, voracious reader, amateur painter, avid cook, and intrepid traveler. She finds being nestled on a bend of Lerch Creek endlessly fascinating and restorative. Feeling beckoned to become a better environmental steward, she recently replaced lawn with native plants and installed a living shoreline.

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Eric Swanson

Eric is an international expert and advisor on conservation finance, environmental markets, and conservation-related investment. He is currently engaged as a consulting Senior Conservation Finance Advisor for The Paulson Institute. Eric retired from full-time work after a 40-year career in the conservation field, most recently as COO of Forest Trends and Ecosystem Marketplace, where he provided strategic oversight across the institution’s programs on private and public finance, impact investing, biodiversity mitigation, and other areas of conservation finance.

 

Prior to that, Eric served as Managing Director of WWF’s Conservation Finance and Conservation Strategies programs where he had oversight of WWF’s environmental finance projects including carbon finance, impact investing, biodiversity offsets, conservation trust funds, debt for nature swaps, and in-country fee, tax and compensation programs. Eric lives on the South River and served 25 years ago on the first board of the South River Federation.

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Terese Schlachter

By sea, Terese Schlachter is an avid open water swimmer who tries to see those
occasional tangles with submerged aquatic grasses and jellyfish as a positive sign of a
thriving river.
By land, she is an award-winning book author, Emmy award-winning video producer,
freelance writer, and Chief Storyteller and founder of Ridgeback Communications.
Over the past two years she’s been traveling the country signing copies of her recently
released biography/memoir Finding Waypoints, A Warrior’s Journey Towards Peace
and Purpose (Schaffner Press, 2023) Before becoming an author, she founded
Ridgeback Communications, a video production company focused on veteran service
organizations, government agencies, colleges, and local school systems. She received
three Emmy awards for her documentary work for the Department of Defense, (2007-
2015) covering issues surrounding the physical and emotional wounds of war.
Terese grew up along the shores of Lake Erie, spending summers cruising the Great
Lakes with her family. She began her career in local television news as a reporter and
after really botching several live reports, took a more well-suited place behind the
camera as a producer. She worked newsrooms in Toledo, Louisville, Detroit, Miami and
Baltimore, finally landing at NBC’s Washington, DC bureau, where she covered politics
and other more natural disasters, while also helping to launch the cable channel
formerly known as MSNBC.
Terese earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at the Solstice Program of Lasell
University in Boston in 2020. She writes for UpStART, an Annapolis-based arts
magazine, and is working on her next book project. She is a water fitness instructor, an
avid SUP boarder, cyclist, hiker, and spends many hours sanding and varnishing
Eleanor-the-elderly-boat. She lives with her husband, Jon, and Lillian the Ridgeback
dog, along the West River in beautiful Shady Side, Maryland.

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Steve Urbanzcyk

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Amelia Whitman

Amelia grew up in Galesville and now lives on the Mayo peninsula with her husband, Jeff, and their rescue labradoodle, Kobe. Amelia has been a real estate agent for 14 years working in Anne Arundel County. Currently, Amelia is President of Admirals Reach Condo Association in Annapolis. She is a member of several committees at Maryland Realtors & Anne Arundel County Association of Realtors, including the legislative committee and vice chair of the forms committee. She recently severed on the Region 9 committee for Anne Arundel County’s comprehensive re-zoning. Amelia graduated from Johns Hopkins University where she rowed on the crew team. She is an avid sailor and boater.  Amelia enjoys gardening and is enrolled in the 2025 Watershed Stewards Academy.