National Aquarium, Inc.

Chair

Tom is currently a senior adviser in the real estate investment banking division of Stifel Nicolaus & Co., a financial services firm. He served as managing director for Stifel and previously Legg Mason Wood Walker from June 1997 to 2005. Previously, he was president and chief financial officer of Storage USA, a real estate investment trust headquartered in Columbia, Maryland at the time.

Tom also serves on the boards of directors of Essex Property Trust, First Potomac Realty Trust and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers. He is a former governor and longstanding member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, which awarded him an Industry Achievement Award in 2009.

In addition to being the chair on the National Aquarium Board of Directors, he is a member of the Aquarium’s Conservation Committee and currently serves on the McDonogh School’s Investment Committee.

Tom received his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University, his master’s degree in taxation from Georgetown University and his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University. He resides with his wife, Betty, in Baltimore

John Bremer, a U.S. Air Force veteran and electrical engineer, has more than 20 years of experience in health care business development, product design, manufacturing and sales for government and commercial markets. He currently serves as the president of CIMED International, a manufacturer of high-quality medical equipment and facilities. John is also the founder and CEO of DIANAssociates, a telehealth service provider. Previously, he served as a senior military officer in the Air Force Medical Service Corps, primarily as a biomedical engineer. He is a long-term member of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers and current county executive appointee to the Anne Arundel County Veterans Affairs Commission. John holds a master’s degree in business administration from Webster University and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and Milwaukee School of Engineering, respectively.

Chair, Conservation Committee

Marc Bunting is CEO of the Blue Jar Family Council, a multigenerational family council that inspires and encourages future generations to understand and strengthen the Bunting/Kranzlin/Duffy family values and foster wealth.

In addition, Marc is the chief financial officer and co-founder of Alpine Food Service Solutions. Alpine was incorporated in 1996, and within two years had established itself as a unique food service provider for host locations on college campuses and hospitals within the United States. Alpine currently operates healthy food service concepts that have won numerous quality product and service awards since its inception. Marc received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Stevenson University, and earned a Wealth Management Certificate from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. A native Baltimorean, Marc serves on the board of directors for a number of organizations, such as Civic Works, Stevenson University, Outward Bound and Catholic Charities. His philanthropic ventures include his role as director of the Bunting Family Foundation. Marc resides in Monkton, Maryland, and has two daughters, Calli and Jessie.

Chair, Finance Committee

David manages Brown Advisory’s national and international growth as its chief financial officer. With a focus on building world-class teams and a strong organizational culture, David’s leadership extends into the community, where he serves on the board of several nonprofits. David has served in various financial and operations leadership roles throughout his career, and thrives in growing entrepreneurial enterprises. The intersection of finance, management and operations comes together at Brown Advisory, where David oversees all non-investment areas. He joined Brown Advisory in 1997 and co-led the management buyout transaction of Brown Advisory from Bankers Trust.

Colleen Dilenschneider is the chief market engagement officer for IMPACTS, a global leader in predictive market intelligence. Widely regarded as a leader of the next generation of nonprofit management, Colleen is an authority on the evolution and deployment of innovative community engagement practices. Using proprietary data that both identifies and predicts trends in market behavior, IMPACTS helps nonprofit organizations maintain their relevance and build affinity with audiences essential to their long-term success. Colleen has published numerous articles in both the nonprofit and general market media, and is a frequent speaker and contributor to prominent webinars and conferences. She’s a graduate of the University of Chicago and holds a master’s degree in public administration, specializing in nonprofit management, from the University of Southern California. When Colleen’s not traveling—her job takes her around the world to visit clients, do speaking engagements and work with renowned zoos, aquariums and museums all over the globe—she’s spending time with her family in one of her two home bases: Chicago and London.

Nancy served as state superintendent of Maryland Public Schools for 20 years, serving 24 districts, more than 1,000 schools and nearly 870,000 students. She began her career as a teacher at the William S. Baer School for the Deaf in Baltimore before serving as principal and associate superintendent in Baltimore County. Nancy received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Towson University, her master’s degree in deaf education from Gallaudet University and her doctorate in communicative sciences from Johns Hopkins University.

Nancy has fought to establish high standards in every Maryland classroom, and as a result, performance and expectations significantly improved. As one of her final acts as state superintendent, Nancy secured a $250 million Race to the Top grant from the U.S. Department of Education. In 2012, she was appointed as the Presidential Scholar for Innovation in Teacher and Leader Preparation at Towson University. Nancy is also a faculty member at the Kennedy-Krieger Institute, where she co-directs an innovative fellowship program to prepare administrators to be leaders in special education. Recent additions to Nancy’s lengthy list of awards are the Daily Record’s 2014 Innovator of the Year for her “All SySTEMs Go” initiative and the National Association for Gifted Children President’s Award in 2014.

Life Director

Frank has long been considered a father figure to the National Aquarium. Baltimore City Mayor William Schaefer selected him as founding chairman of the Board of Directors—a role he held from 1977 to 1983, supervising the Aquarium’s construction phase and its first years of operation. In 1983, Frank was elected the first chairman of the National Aquarium Foundation, Inc., ensuring the stewardship of the endowment program and the organization’s financial stability. He served on the advisory board between 1986 and 1989, and served two terms on the board of governors between 1989 and 1995. Frank chaired the Board between 1991 and 1994, and was named Director Emeritus in 2000. Frank has been a valuable member of the building, corporate gifts, long-range planning and development committees. He has also served on the boards of the Walters Art Gallery, Enoch Pratt Free Library, College of Notre Dame of Maryland and United Way of Central Maryland. Frank currently resides in Ocean City, Maryland, with his wife, Mary Ellen. He’s the proud father of eight children.

Donna Morrison holds a master’s degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Towson University and an associate’s degree from Stevenson University. Donna has been employed by the Baltimore County government since 1976. Prior to her current role as deputy Baltimore County administrative officer, she served as the assistant to the director of the Baltimore County Department of Community Development. Donna currently serves on the board of directors for Stevenson University and the National Aquarium. She was a member of the 1987 Class of Leadership-Baltimore County. Donna was named among “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” in 2007 by the Daily Record and 2010 Coordinator of the Year by United Way of Central Maryland. She served as past president of the Fuel Fund of Maryland Inc. and the Stevenson University Alumni Board.

As CEO of Constellation and executive vice president of Exelon, Joseph is responsible for the marketing of electricity, natural gas and other energy-related products and services to Constellation customers, as well as ensuring the optimization of Exelon’s generation portfolio while managing risk for the company and its shareholders. Joseph previously served as senior vice president of portfolio strategy for Constellation. He joined PECO Power Team in 1996 and held a number of roles that increased in responsibility for the trading and marketing organization throughout his tenure. Joseph also serves on the board of trustees for Baltimore’s Living Classrooms Foundation.

Joseph received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut. He also completed the Exelon Leadership Institute Program in 2008 and the University of Chicago Executive Development Program in 2004. Joseph and his wife, Melissa, reside in Baltimore.

Chair, Capital Improvement Planning Committee

Chuck serves as the discipline manager of KCI’s site and facilities division, which serves both public and private sector clients on a variety of project types, including municipal and institutional facilities, military and federal installations, airports and related structures, commercial buildings and residential land development.

He also has significant experience in site and civil engineering and is a recognized expert in land development, land use and zoning issues in the mid-Atlantic. The land development practice within his group in the state of Maryland has been very active, providing analysis of properties subject to Maryland’s stormwater and impervious surface tax. In addition to serving on KCI’s board of trustees, he also serves on the board of several nonprofit organizations, including the Howard County Chamber of Commerce and Project PLASE, an advocacy group that serves Baltimore’s homeless population. Chuck is currently serving as the legislative chair for the American Council of Engineering Companies. He has been a resident of Howard County, Maryland, for more than 25 years and currently resides in Woodbine, Maryland, with Kimberly, his wife of more than 30 years.

As CEO of the National Aquarium, John leads a team of 600 full- and part-time employees and 1,000 volunteers in pursuing the Aquarium’s mission to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures. The Aquarium welcomes 1.3 million guests annually at its campus on Baltimore’s famous Inner Harbor, while touching millions more through its conservation education and engagement programs, social media platforms and conservation action initiatives. A passionate advocate for the ocean, John and his team manage one of the world’s leading aquariums and pursue local, regional and global efforts aimed at changing the way humanity views the ocean that gives us life. John joined the National Aquarium in July 2011 after 10 years as president of a San Francisco-based consulting firm that he founded to provide expert counsel to nonprofit leaders nationally and globally. During that time, his firm worked with more than 30 leading cultural and conservation organizations—including the Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Surfrider Foundation—as well as technology giant Google, where he assisted author and oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle in bringing the ocean into Google Earth, the most popular Earth visualization tool in existence.

Prior to this, John spent 16 years in leadership positions at U.S. aquariums. He was the first CEO of the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, where he built the facility, team and vision for Tampa Bay’s leading cultural attraction. He also served for nine years on the leadership team of the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium as its vice president of marketing and development, joining the aquarium a year before its opening. While in college, John began his career as a diver and aquarist, an experience he credits with giving him great appreciation for the work of everyone on the Aquarium team. John holds a degree in strategic management from Dominican University of California. He is a scuba diver, open-water swimmer, sailor and surfer, and is fluent in Spanish. His weekly radio show and podcast on WYPR public radio, “A Blue View,” explores important issues related to the aquatic world. John and his spouse, Susan, are proud residents of Canton, Baltimore’s historic waterfront district.

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was sworn in as Baltimore’s 49th mayor on February 4, 2010. In November 2011, she was elected to her first full term, and focused her administration on growing Baltimore’s population by 10,000 families over the next decade by improving public safety and public education, and by strengthening city neighborhoods. Following the re-election of former President Barack Obama, Stephanie was elected as secretary of the Democratic National Committee. She also served in key leadership positions in the U.S. Conference of Mayors and was elected to the USCM Board of Trustees in 2010. The Daily Record named Stephanie one of “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” in 2007 and 2011, and the National Congress of Black Women named her a Shirley Chisholm Memorial Award Trailblazer. Stephanie graduated from Oberlin College and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law. A member of the Federal Bar Association and the Maryland State Bar Association, she lives in Baltimore’s Coldspring neighborhood with her husband, Kent Blake, and their young daughter, Sophia.

Chair, Philanthropy Committee

Currently a partner and director of commercial real estate firm Ward Properties, Jennifer has spent more than 28 years in the asset management business, most recently serving as vice chair and chief investment officer at Legg Mason Trust. Jennifer served as chair of the board of governors of the National Aquarium from 2011 to 2013, is past chair of the National Aquarium Foundation, Inc. and has been a member of the National Aquarium Board of Directors since 1994. Jennifer has been a trustee of Dickinson College since 2000, and currently serves as chair of the board of trustees. She co-chaired the First in America capital campaign at Dickinson College between 2006 and 2011.

In addition, she is a board member of First Mariner Bank and serves on the investment committees of the Walters Art Museum, Sheppard Pratt Investment Corp. and President’s Advisory Council of Notre Dame of Maryland University. She has twice been named one of “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” by the Daily Record and is a past recipient of the Distinguished Women Award from the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. Jennifer received her undergraduate degree from Dickinson College, a master’s of finance from Loyola College and is a chartered financial analyst.

Chair, National Aquarium Foundation

Toby Thompson serves as the vice president of equity and asset allocation at T. Rowe Price. Prior to joining the investment firm in 2010, he served as director of investments at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) National Pension Fund. Before joining the IAM, Toby was a principal with Brown Investment Advisory, an independent investment management firm with several locations along the East Coast and throughout the United Kingdom. In addition to supporting the National Aquarium’s Board of Directors, Toby also serves as the chair of the National Aquarium Foundation, Inc. Toby holds a bachelor’s of science in business economics from Towson University and a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University Maryland.

Chuck is currently the vice president of strategic partnerships and government relations for the United Way of Central Maryland. Previously, he was treasurer for Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s campaign and has maintained close ties to the mayor and Baltimore City Hall. Chuck is a longtime friend to the Aquarium, serving in the past as a valuable member of the Governance and Nominating Subcommittee. He also serves on the board for the CollegeBound Foundation and chairs the Multicultural Marketing Committee for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association Board of Directors.

Jaki is a native Baltimorean and University of Maryland, College Park graduate. She holds a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University’s prestigious Maxwell School and has been employed by IBM for nearly two decades in their public sector consulting division. Jaki’s clients have included the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. For the past five years, she has served as the subcontracts manager for a Transportation Security Administration project. Jaki has been an active supporter in a number of other charitable causes in the community, including the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts, the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, Grassroots and the Maryland Food Bank. In her spare time, Jaki enjoys spending time with her husband and two beautiful daughters.

Elizabeth serves as the senior adviser to the commissioner of the Large Business and International Division of the Internal Revenue Service. She is a principal adviser responsible for providing policy-level legal and technical analysis and advice, proactively identifying emerging trends that impact tax administration and developing key stakeholder relationships outside the IRS. Prior to returning to public service in 2008, Elizabeth was the director of governmental affairs at the National Association of Bond Lawyers. She also served as a director in the Washington national tax offices of KPMG LLP and PwC LLP and was an associate at Latham & Watkins. Elizabeth received a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law, a master’s degree in accountancy/taxation from the University of Houston and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from the University of Texas. Her professional memberships include the Texas State and District of Columbia Bar Associations, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Bar Association. Elizabeth serves on the board of directors for the Coral Reef Alliance. She is also a volunteer diver at the National Aquarium.