Equality Maryland and Equality Maryland Foundation announce the appointment of sixteen new members to the organizations' Boards of Directors. New Directors were selected after an extensive vetting and interview process completed by a ten-member Nominations Committee.

"We were extremely pleased by the number of highly qualified and diverse candidates who submitted their application for a board appointment," said Senator Richard Madaleno, co-chair of the Nominations Committee. "The varied experiences the new board members bring to the table will make Equality Maryland a strong, stable force for equality once again in Maryland."

"We are thrilled with the addition of these sixteen individuals to the board," said Patrick Wojahn, President of the Equality Maryland Foundation Board. "The combined depth of knowledge and skill they have around legislative, administrative and non-profit management activities will be a true benefit to the work of the organization."

New members of the Equality Maryland board include: Karen Blood, Angie Callahan, Joe Davy, Izzy Firth, Evan Glass, Katheryn King, Akil Patterson, Sue Silber, Pegeen Townsend and Tim Williams. They will join David Lublin, Rosemary Nicolosi, Lisa Polyak, and Mark Yost who currently serve on this Board. Joining Wojahn and Nicolosi on the Equality Maryland Foundation board are Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein, Robert Blizard, Ariel Glasner, Manuella Hancock, Marilee Lindemann, and Reverend Donna Martin. Board members will serve a two-year term, renewable for a total of six consecutive years.

The Nominations Committee was chaired by Erin Leveton who served on the Board from 1999 to 2003 and as President of the Board from 2000 to 2003, and Senator Madaleno who served on the Board from 1999 to 2002. Also serving on the Nominations Committee were Delegate Mary Washington, Chrys Kefalas, Mary Anne Arnow, Mike Meller, Kathleen Darden, Marvin Masterson, and Lori Hollander. Wojahn served as the liaison between the Committee and the existing Board.

"We have spent the past four months building Equality Maryland into an organization that will be well-managed and resourced to achieve our mission of full legal equality for the LGBT community of Maryland," said Lisa Polyak, Acting President of Equality Maryland. "The addition of these new board members is one more step in that process, and we look forward to putting their combined talents in the service of gender identity nondiscrimination and marriage equality in our state."

Additional information about all board members is available at www.equalitymaryland.org.