FoFC’s Board of Directors
Friends of Frederick County board currently consists of ten members. Additionally we rely on an extensive diversity of community leaders and citizens throughout Frederick County for support with decisions and positions to foster and protect our environmental health while maintaining social stability and economic prosperity. The board meets monthly and welcomes guests; please contact us if you would like to join us with an agenda item. Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter with event announcements here! Please join us!
FoFC’s 2013 Board of Directors (annual elections in February):
- William Morrow, Board Chair/Agriculture and water quality policy Will co-owns and operates Whitmore Farm, LLC in Emmitsburg, Md. This farm is certified organic and produces grass-fed meats. Born and raised in Maryland, Will moved to Frederick county in 2003 to farm. Previously, he owned and operated William Morrow Garden Design, Inc., a residential design/build landscape firm serving Washington DC and the metropolitan area. Prior to that, Will was employed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency where he set ambient water quality standards for pollutants in lakes and rivers and developed policies and procedures for implementing the Clean Water Act to mitigate pollution to surface waters.Will is a member of many organizations including the Maryland Organic Food and Farming Association., Future Harvest, Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture; Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, 1000 Friends of Maryland; Friends of Frederick County and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Will serves on the Sustainability Commission and previously served on the the Monocacy Scenic River Citizens’ Advisory Board. Will holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University.
- Richard Maranto, Board Treasurer/Our CommonWEalth direction, Rich is President of RAM Digital, a software development company that develops applications for government and private industry. He is the co-founder of Citizens for the Preservation of Middletown Valley (CPMV), a local organization that advocates for responsible land use in historic Middletown Valley. Rich is also a renewable energy advocate and blogger. He runs the LCPF blog site MdGoesGreen.org, holds monthly local sustainability gatherings called Green Drinks and produces two local solar and green home tours.
- Janice Wiles, Executive Director/Board Secretary (June 2007-present, Chair 2006-2007, Secretary 2004-2006) Janice comes to Friends of Frederick County after almost 3 decades of land use planning and mapping, wildlife and watershed management, developing environmental education campaigns, and cultivating citizen participation and effectiveness in natural resource conservation in Brazil. She served as NASA’s liaison to the Brazilian Ministry for Science and Technology on a project studying land use changes in the Amazon Basin and their impacts on local, regional and global climate. She is a graduate of the 2005 Leadership Frederick County class and is a Sustainability Commissioner for the Frederick County Commission on Environmental Sustainability.
- Richard Wiles, Board Member/Press and Policy, Public Education Richard Wiles is Vice President for Strategic Communications and Director of Research at Climate Central. Prior to joining Climate Central, Wiles was a co-founder and Executive Director of Environmental Working Group where he helped create, direct, and manage EWG’s pioneering research and communications operations. Before co-founding EWG, Wiles served as Senior Staff at the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, managing committees on a range of issues from pesticides and children’s health to organic agriculture and western water issues. Committees managed by Wiles at the NRC produced a series of landmark reports that laid the scientific foundation for path-breaking children’s health protections in federal pesticide law, and the creation of national standards for organic food. Wiles has a BA from Colgate University and a MA from California State University at Sacramento.
- Ellis Burruss, Board Member/Businessman Ellis Burruss graduated from the University of MD with a B.A. in English (and a strong minor in organic chemistry). He has lived in Brunswick for the past 31 of his 67 years. As an independent business owner during that time he has come to understand the issues facing small businesses in our community. He has shown his commitment to the community by volunteering his time and energy to these organizations: Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce (former president), Frederick County Solid Waste Advisory Committee (2007 – 2011), Friends of the Library Brunswick Branch (current), Brunswick Planning Commission (2001-present), EastAlco Citizens’ Advisory Board (2000-2003), Police Chief’s Advisory Committee (2001-2003), Downtown Business Association (1989-92), Frederick County Solid Waste Advisory Committee (1990 – 96), Frederick County Recycling Committee (1988-90), Police Committee (1988-89), Downtown Revitalization Committee (1987-90), Brunswick Museum Board of Directors (1984-87), Brunswick Economic Team (1984-85, Brunswick Library Board of Directors (1982-84) and currently participates actively in Brunswick Main Street Brunswick Economic Development Commission. Ellis owns Bellwether Printing and formerly owned Benchmark Printing
- Caroline Taylor, Executive Director, Montgomery Countryside Alliance Caroline, who has the great fortune to live with her family within Montgomery County’s Ag Reserve south of Poolesville, has worked on environmental issues for much of her professional career. Her first exposure to environmental litigation came while employed at Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. Thereafter, she had the good fortune to work with a talented group of lawyers and advocates at National Wildlife Federation on a wide range of cases and issues including: Spotted Owl, Key Deer, Exxon oil spill, food policy, forest preservation and, water resources. Her passion, though, has always been local issues including protection of the region’s groundwater and working lands. Caroline comes from a long line of farmers and ranchers, from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Idaho. She values the efforts of both Montgomery and Frederick Counties toward preservation and promotion of a vibrant working landscape and open spaces.
- Ed Hinde, Board Member Ed is Founder and Principal of Healthy Living Promotions, a marketing services firm dedicated to helping brands understand, connect and profit from relationships with the Health-Inspired. Located in the metro Washington, D.C. area, Healthy Living’s clients range from Pepsi Cola North America, Timberland, Quaker, Hain-Celestial, and Abbott Laboratories. Ed also serves as a Partner in Green Events Group, a professional services firm that helps large special events and their sponsors demonstrably reduce their environment impact. Their clients include the National Football League, Pepsi, and Major League Baseball. Ed has a long history as a very capable marketer, having served in executive roles at Pillsbury, Club Med, Adolph Coors, and Grand Metropolitan PLC before forming his own company in 2002. Ed is a 1981 graduate of the University of Texas (Austin), and received his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Colorado (Boulder) in 1984. He and his wife, MaryLynn, currently reside in Frederick, MD.
- Bob White, Board Member Bob White has been involved in Frederick County Planning for over 22 years. He has served 16 years on the Frederick County Planning Commission, including two terms as Chair, and three years on the Frederick County Board of Appeals. He also has served on many other special county boards and commissions, including the Citizens Zoning Review Committee as well as on all those involved in developing or amending the County’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. In 2010 he campaigned, unsuccessfully, for County Commissioner. He is a retired former executive with the National Electrical Contractors’ Association and a Frederick County resident since 1977.
- Dolores Milmoe, Maryland Conservation Associate with the Audubon Naturalist Society
