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    Delmarva Education Foundation is a proud member of

      
     

    Meet the Delmarva Education Foundation Staff

     

    Rota L. Knott
    Executive Director
    rknott@delmarvaed.org

    Rota Knott joined DEF as Executive Director mid-July 2012.

    Katherine A. Harting
    Consultant

    "I am energized about DEF's potential and I have a great great deal of respect for the work of my late father as founder and visionary. I'm honored the board invited me to join the talented, dedicated team who created and built DEF into the highly-regarded and helpful organization it is today. I retired in 2007 from UMES after serving almost twenty years as media specialist for the university's Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Center, and Maryland Cooperative Extension. I earned a B.A. degree in journalism from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in educational technology leadership from the George Washington University. My career in television news production with ABC-TV led to a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University, and shortly thereafter the position of founding bureau chief of ABC News' New England Bureau in Boston. I am passionate about factual information and public service. My two children were raised here, and I live in Princess Anne, MD." Ms. Harting was executive director of DEF from February 2008 through mid-July 2012.
     
    Linda Jagusiak
    Office Manager and DEF-CAP Advisor

    "As a resident of Fruitland, Maryland I am a committee member in my son's Scout troop and support his school activities. I grew up in New York and later moved to Princess Anne, Maryland from Long Island. I earned my bachelor's degree in communications and film studies at Queens College, C.U.N.Y.  I enjoy the programs offered by the Salisbury Film Society and the Community Players of Salisbury. I strongly support the important work of teachers, and the Delmarva Education Foundation's efforts to improve the value placed on education in our communities by those who live and work in this region."

    Dianne Johnson
    DEF-CAP Advisor and Financial Aid Clearinghouse Staff Assistant

    "I have been blessed to have been involved in education for more than thirty years. I earned a bachelor's degree at Salisbury University and then taught health and physical education in Caroline and Worcester Counties. I received my master's degree in secondary education from SU and facilitated several grants in Somerset County including a federally-funded GEAR UP grant. I have been privileged to speak to groups all over the country on high school/college partnerships and best practices. Since retiring from Somerset County Public Schools I have been active with the Delmarva Education Foundation, starting as a volunteer before joining the staff. I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to meet with educators, students and parents – telling them about the opportunities available to them through DEF."

    S. Arthur Maonde
    IT / Payroll Manager

    "I have worked as the managing director of the Sylvan Learning Centers in Salisbury, Berlin, and Pocomoke City and as the IT manager of the Prometric Testing Center at Sylvan in Salisbury, Maryland. I have been volunteering my services at the Delmarva Education Foundation since its inception. I was born in Zambia and have lived in China, Rumania, and England, originally coming to the United States to study economics at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. I am happy to make this region my home, doing all I can to help students achieve because I believe education is the key to success."    		  

    Staff Alumni 

     

    		  "Dr. Don" / Donald Harting M.D., M.P.H.
    Dr. Harting was one of the founders of DEF and its senior advisor after he retired as volunteer executive director and board president. He was a board member until he died in January 2011. Dr. Harting was trained in pediatrics and public health at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Colorado. His first career was starting new programs in the U.S. Public Health Service, retiring as director of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. He was also health officer for Worcester County and lived on the lower Delmarva Peninsula for many years.
    Michael A. Nugent, Ph.D.
    Dr. Nugent was the director of DEF's college access program under the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation 2-year startup grant DEF received in 2006. He continued as a consultant for the college access services DEF provided to GEAR UP students in Wicomico and Somerset counties. Dr. Nugent teaches at UMES in Princess Anne, MD.

    		 Rex Vaughn, Ph.D.
    Dr. Vaughn was DEF's REIC database manager; creating and maintaining this important project. He earned his B.A. degree in sociology from UMES, a master's equivalency in history from Salisbury University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Howard University. He has continued his education with numerous courses and seminars, and volunteering. A strong believer that education is a key to success and advancement, he considered it a pleasure to support DEF in its mission.

    		Rhonda Elswick
    Rhonda Elswick started working at DEF as a part-time staff assistant and then in a full-time position as a DEF-CAP advisor through our partnership with UMES and the GEAR UP program at Wicomico High School. She is a Salisbury native and attended Wor-Wic Community College. She has actively volunteered in our local schools and other organizations. She cares deeply about our educational system and the need for all students to have access to educational programs that will help them advance in life.
    Don M. Harting, MA, ELS
    Don Harting was DEF's development associate and is a board-certified editor in the life sciences. He also holds certificates in medical writing and editing from the American Medical Writers Association and in Web site development from Syracuse University. He is proud to be the son of one of the visionary and courageous founders of DEF and as our grant writer for a short time he was happy to be in a position to deepen and extend the founders' legacy of helping others.

    		Sharon R. Clark-Ripper, Ed.D.
    Sharon Clark volunteered as DEF's associate executive director and assistant director for Rural Education Research and Policy for many years. She continued to support DEF as a consultant to the Board of Directors and in September 2010 accepted Board Member Emeritus status. Some of her credentials in education: Science teacher in Maryland public secondary schools for 17 years, Director of Field Experiences at Salisbury University, mentor of new teachers in Somerset County Public Schools, and facilitator of student teacher seminars at UMES.
    Mila K. Tolley
    Mila Tolley worked with DEF while a graduate student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the Guidance and Counseling program. She has enjoyed working in the public relations field and was happy to use those skills to help promote DEF. Her goal was to be a high school guidance counselor in one of our local school systems.
    Stanley D. Turner II
    Stanley Turner interned at DEF as a graduate student in the Guidance and Counseling program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). He has mentored high school seniors in danger of not graduating at Washington High School and has tutored students at Metropolitan United Methodist Church, both in Princess Anne, Maryland.
    Heather Rieken
    Heather Rieken is a graduate of Salisbury University where she studied Education, Psychology, and Marketing. She hoped to pursue a full-time career in marketing, using the education she received at SU and the experience she has acquired while working part-time at DEF.
    Lachecha Bevel-Downing
    Lachecha Bevel-Downing, a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, works in customer service for M&T Bank in Delaware and is currently a DEF board member. She received a scholarship, she found out about through the DEF financial aid database, to finish her studies at UMES and later improved her office skills working part-time for DEF.

    If you agree that the Delmarva Education Foundation is a useful and valuable community service, we can use your help. Volunteers are needed to help gather and prepare information for publication. If you wish to support this effort, please contact us.