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Announcing the 2018 GRIA board candidates!

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Annual board elections take place on Wednesday, April 18, 2018! Please join us at our monthly meeting at 335 W. 27th Street, from 7-9 pm. UPDATE: The new board was approved unanimously by all residents in attendance!!

David Belew (new candidate)
2800 block of Huntingdon Avenue
David Belew moved to Baltimore after earning his B.A. in Literature at the New College of Florida. He and his wife Courtney have loved city living here for seven years and settled in a home in Remington in 2015. David enjoys the strong sense of community on his Huntingdon Avenue block, patronizing local businesses, and the neighborhood’s proximity to great trails and parks. Since 2012, David has worked in fundraising and program development roles at Baltimore cultural institutions including the National Aquarium and the Maryland Historical Society. He currently works at the latter as Manager of Grants and Community Partnerships.

Aaron Brewer (new candidate, running for secretary, 1st term)
200 block of W. 27th Street
Originally from Upstate New York, Aaron Brewer has been a resident of Baltimore since 2005 and a neighbor in Remington since 2015. He lives on 27th street with his wife Becky. He has a BFA in Interactive Media from MICA and works as a software developer for local small businesses. In the neighborhood he has contributed to Hauntingdon and the community garden on Sisson Street. He actively participates in GRIA meetings and in the local community and on NextDoor. As a board member, he hopes to take on more civic responsibility, listening to the challenges that the neighborhood is facing, and implement positive change to face those challenges. Professionally, he works in the space between user and product. This is inherently both technical and empathic. He hopes to bring these skills to the table.

Bill Cunningham (returning candidate)
500 block of W. 27th Street
Bill has been the caretaker at the Sisson Street Community Park for nearly six years and organizes quarterly community dumpster days and regularly monitors Remington’s alleys, removing or reporting debris as needed. His investigations into lead paint compliance in Remington properties inspired a Baltimore Sun article and City Council hearing. Bill is a general contractor and real estate investor. He holds a MBA in Accounting and has taught accounting courses at Baltimore universities. Bill owns and operates child care facilities in Carroll County, Maryland.

Ryan Flanigan (returning candidate)
2600 block of Hampden Avenue
Ryan is a 2017 Open Society Institute-Baltimore Community Fellow working full time on affordable housing in Remington. He is partnering with neighbors, social justice organizations, and local nonprofits to bring permanently affordable community controlled housing to Remington. He has been involved with GRIA since 2011 including serving two terms are president.

Josh Greenfeld (returning candidate)
300 block of W. 31st Street
Josh is an expert in real estate and community development in Baltimore and chairs GRIA’s Land Use Committee (LUC). The LUC helps guide business development and real estate investment in the community to facilitate smart planning and investment that benefits the entire community. Josh is the Vice President of Government Affairs for the Maryland Building Industry Association (MBIA), a trade association advocating for home builders and developers. He worked closely on the City’s new zoning code and served on the City’s most recent Task Force on Affordable and Inclusionary Housing in 2016.

Leah Irwin (returning candidate – running for vice president, 1st term)
2800 block of Huntingdon Avenue
Leah, her husband Allen, and their three cats have lived in Remington since 2015. Leah is an employment law and employee benefits lawyer with Legg Mason in Baltimore. She has been involved with leading multiple GRIA committees, including the Staff Hiring Committee, planning our annual Halloween block party, and leading the planning team for the Remington Lights art experience in 2018. Leah is trying to get #catsofremington trending on Instagram!

Maryanne Kondratenko (returning candidate)
2100 block of Huntingdon Avenue
Maryanne has been a resident of Remington for the last eight years. She retired from Home Depot as an Operations Manager. When she isn’t gardening, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen baking. You can sample her baking at GRIA meetings. She’s a certified “TreeKeeper” and has helped to care for fruit trees and street trees in the neighborhood. Maryanne has been a GRIA board member for the last five years and plans to continue to the community for as long as possible.

Phong Le (returning candidate – running for president, 1st term)
2600 block of Hampden Avenue
Phong is a professor of mathematics and computer science at Goucher College, where he also attended as an undergraduate, majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Music. His work integrates his pedagogical practices with data-driven community engagement. In the neighborhood he has volunteered on community cleanup days, Sisson Street Park, helped with the staff hiring process and has served as a board member. He is also a member of the GRIA Land Use committee. He has also presented housing data to the community as part of activities with the Remington Housing Workgroup.

Peter Morrill (returning candidate)
200 block of W. 27th Street
Peter graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Historic Preservation and Urban Planning. He currently works for the Department of Natural Resources and has lived in Remington for the last six years. Peter oversees GRIA’s commercial facade improvement program and led the process to add Remington to the National Register of Historic Places.

Nellie Power (returning candidate – running for treasurer, 3rd term)
3100 block of Huntingdon Avenue
Nellie oversees the outreach & family services division at The Arc Baltimore, Inc. She is a licensed social worker in the State of Maryland and has a long history in nonprofit management. She first became involved with GRIA when as a community member, she sought fiscal sponsorship for a Spruce Up grant application to update the Huntingdon Avenue path which extends along the 3100 block of Huntingdon to Wyman Park Drive. After that successful partnership, she joined the Board in 2014 and has been treasurer since 2016. She remains the steward of the Huntingdon Avenue Path.

Jed Weeks (returning candidate)
200 block of W. 27th Street
Jed is the Policy Director of Bikemore and has 12 years of experience with public policy and advocacy campaigns. Prior to working with Bikemore, he served as director of external relations at University of Baltimore School of Law, worked for Open Society Foundations, and served as chief special aide to Governor Jack Markell of Delaware. He’s lived in Remington for six years.

Aden Weisel (new candidate)
2700 block of Remington Avenue
Aden Weisel is the Exhibition Director and Gallery Curator for Stevenson University and the Founding Director of Gallery WW. She earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Art History, Theory, and Criticism with a concentration in Curatorial Studies. Aden has previously worked as the Gallery Director for Galerie Myrtis and the Curatorial Assistant for the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Islands at the Baltimore Museum of Art. She has been a resident of Remington for nearly four years, has lived in Baltimore for nearly nine, and is a strong proponent of the arts as a tool for building healthier communities.

Emma Simpson (new candidate)
400 block of W. 23rd Street
Emma (and her dog Nora) are Baltimore natives who moved to Remington in April 2017. Emma has worked in non-profit administration for the past five years and is currently the Operations and Development Manager for Improving Education and Bedtime in a Box. You can often find her working from the bar at R. House, running with Nora in Guilford or around Druid Hill Park, or cavorting with her roommate, KC, at one of Remington’s many watering holes. She is eager to lend her talents to GRIA as the organization matures in the coming years.