On February 7, the Board of Directors and staff of ChesMRC, and friends of the Center came together to enjoy good food, refreshing drinks, and to honor long-serving Board members, Rosalee (Rose) Potter and Harvey Zendt. We also welcomed new Board members, Linda Toyo Obayashi and Dr. Lorelly Solano.
Harvey had served on the Board since 2017. He served as Interim President in 2019 and assumed the role of President in 2020. Harvey brought valuable experience to the Board. He had been an educator for 35 years, leading schools in several states including Pennsylvania and Delaware. Locally, he co-founded ChesMRC’s Easton High School mentoring program for Hispanic students who were preparing for college. Throughout his service on the Board, Harvey demonstrated his commitment to education. He has chaired the Board’s Scholarship Committee and coached students who have received scholarships with enthusiasm and dedication since 2022. We are grateful that he has agreed to continue as chair of the Committee.
Rose joined the Board in 2016. She served as Vice President from 2020 through 2024. In that role and as a member of the Nominating and the Scholarship Committees, Rose’s contribution to the work of the Board was noteworthy in that she helped to make critical decisions about the direction ChesMRC would take, including complex staffing decisions. She was also instrumental in recruiting other dedicated Board members. As a native of the Eastern Shore and a well-respected member of the community, Rose was an effective ambassador for the Center, spreading the word about its mission and services. Her continued involvement with ChesMRC will be welcomed.
As much as Harvey and Rose will be missed as Board members, ChesMRC is excited and happy to welcome two new Board members, Linda Toyo Obayashi and Dr. Lorelly Solano, who will, without a doubt, fill the ‘big shoes’ Harvey and Rose once filled so admirably.
Recently retired from the World Bank after 17 years of service, Toyo brings professional experience in the fields of law, dispute resolution, and employment issues to the Board. She attended Vassar College and the International Christian College in Tokyo and received her law degree from Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey. Toyo was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil to a Japanese American mother and a Japanese father. She sits on the Board’s Nominating Committee and the Working Group on Immigration Policy Impacts. She is also working with the community group that is partnering with ChesMRC to offer citizenship classes for immigrants who aspire to become US citizens.
Lorelly is currently the Director of the Chesapeake College Cambridge Center. Prior to assuming that role, she was the Development Director at ChesMRC and we are happy to welcome her back as a Board member. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Costa Rica, her place of birth, and later completed a Masters’ degree in Natural Resources Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her developing interest in sustainable community development led her to earn a Ph.D in Public Policy and Urban Affairs from the University of Delaware. Lorelly sits on the Board’s Development and Communications, and Scholarship Committees.
Lorelly’s and Toyo’s concern for ChesMRC’s clients and their needs coupled with the knowledge and skills they both bring to the Board will contribute significantly to ChesMRC’s ability to fulfill its mission.