– Morning Sessions –

Kelsey Bush, J.D.

Kelsey Bush, J.D., is the Community Affairs Liaison for St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Kelsey assumed this role in August of 2020. Prior to this role, he served as the youth coordinator/local management coordinator with the Department of Aging and Human Services for 20 years. Throughout his career, Kelsey has had the opportunity to serve on a number of committees and councils, including the St. Mary’s County Public Schools Equity Task Force, Patuxent River Local Youth Advisory Committee, Continuum of Care on Homelessness for Southern Maryland, Leadership Southern Maryland, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, and the St. Mary’s City Historical Commission. During this presentation, Kelsey will provide an overview of HSMP and an update on the achievements and work of the action teams over the past year.

Tony Sigmon

Tony Sigmon is a 37 year veteran of the YMCA.  He has worked for the Y as a Summer Camp Counselor, a program director, human resources director, Executive Director, a CEO and now the Vice President of Financial Development for the YMCA of the Chesapeake.  He moved to St. Mary’s County in June of 2023 and is working with community volunteers to bring the YMCA to the community.  Tony has two children in college in North Carolina and lives locally with his Border Collie, Marci During this presentation, Tony will share the plans for the new St. Mary’s County YMCA, highlight planned programs, and share how the community can get involved.

Nicoletta Pollice

Nicoletta Pollice, is the new Outreach Specialist in the Community Programs and Outreach Division. In her role, she supports the development and distribution of informational material regarding the St. Mary’s County Department of Aging & Human Services and assists in planning and promoting outreach events. She strongly believes in public engagement, because it can lead to broader participation and to wider community input in decision-making. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising, Public Relations, and Strategic Communications from Penn State University. Nicoletta was born and raised in Italy. In 2015, she moved to the United States. Her presentation aims to inform the public about a wide variety of programs and services available to the county’s senior residents, as well as other segments of the population in need.

Maria McDonald

Maria McDonald joined Greenwell Foundation as Executive Director in May 2024. Ms. McDonald brings over 30 years of non-profit experience focused largely on fundraising, strategic growth, programmatic assessment and long-term community engagement. Her experience spans small to large organizations serving the arts, educational equity, healthcare, and community-based missions in the greater Philadelphia and Southern Maryland areas. Maria is a 2024 graduate of Leadership Southern Maryland, teaches grant writing
classes through the Non-Profit Institute at the College of Southern Maryland since moving to Southern Maryland in 2022.

Kathleen McPhaul

Dr. Kate McPhaul is a Research Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.  She received a BSN from the University of Virginia, an MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and PhD from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.  Her career has spanned public health education, practice, research and policy development in the field of occupational and environmental health. She will discuss her program “Care About Air” and the implications for health due to air quality in the indoor built environment.

Amber Grabowski

Amber Grabowski is the School-Based Health Center Manager at the St. Mary’s County Health Department. In this role, her responsibilities include oversight and management of the two School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. During this presentation, Amber will share the success story of SMCHD’s School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs). Learn about challenges, stakeholder commitment, and unexpected successes in establishing Southern Maryland’s first SBHCs.

Brianne Daly

Brianne Daly serves as the Youth Engagement Coordinator at St. Mary’s County Health Department in the Violence, Injury and Trauma Unit. She connects youth with mentoring organizations that serve as beacons of hope, fostering resilience and positive growth. Brianne brings a wealth of expertise with 20 years of experience in the dynamic field of child and family advocacy. Her commitment to the health and resilience of our communities stems from an in-depth knowledge of the intersectionality of public health issues affecting youth, including substance abuse, mental health challenges, and the impact of domestic violence on familial dynamics. Beyond her professional title, Brianne is a BEST certified Birth Doula. In those sacred moments of childbirth, she stands as a guardian of maternal and child health. Through every challenge faced and every triumph celebrated, her journey in public health has been driven by an unyielding passion for prevention and intervention.