Board member, Tony Sarmiento, 'The Garlic Guru', leads the annual fall garlic planting and summer garlic harvest festivals at Koiner Farm.
We are always seeking dedicated Board members with a passion for supporting a local nonprofit and a commitment to community conservation. Learn more about Board service here.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Charities of America
Michaelen is a Certified Public Accountant with nine years of public accounting (audit and tax preparation) experience, ten years of data warehousing experience, and eleven years of leadership experience in non-profit organizations. She is currently the CFO for Charities of America (CAF) and was formerly the CFO for the Washington International School. Previously, Michaelen served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Accounting at the Humane Society of the United States and Vice President and Controller of United Way Worldwide. Michaelen holds a BBS in Accounting from the College of William & Mary and a Master’s in Taxation from the George Washington University. Michaelen lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland with her three children and two dogs.
University of Maryland
Ariel is an associate professor of urban studies and planning at the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation and a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education in the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. Her cross-disciplinary research connects the fields of urban studies, planning, and public education to better understand how to build equitable and just places for historically marginalized youth and families. Ariel has a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the UC-Berkeley, a Master in City Planning from MIT, and a BA in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She is originally from New Jersey and grew up in Free Acres, a utopian community founded in 1910 based on the principles of Henry George. She moved to Silver Spring and discovered Koiner Farm in 2017, which she has anointed as her “happy place.”
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Frederick National Laboratory
for Cancer Research
Leanna is a Clinical Research Associate at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research where she monitors clinical trials sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Prior to this, she spent several years working for charitable and philanthropic organizations. She grew up in North Carolina and graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A in Anthropology moving to the DC Metro region post-graduation. She has been involved with the Charles Koiner Conservancy since 2020 and is passionate about sharing locally grown food with the surrounding community.
Beth Py-Lieberman is the author of the 2023 book, The Object at Hand: Intriguing and Inspiring Stories from the Smithsonian Collections. Until her retirement, Py-Lieberman served as the senior museums editor at the award-winning Smithsonian magazine, where for almost four decades, she frequented the halls and galleries of the Smithsonian museums, educating magazine and online readers on the institution's history, art and science collections, and its exhibitions. Py-Lieberman has served for more than a decade as a volunteer liaison in the Montgomery Parks Community Garden Program and runs the Fenton Street Community Garden. She and her husband Jim have lived in East Silver Spring near Koiner Farm since 1986. Her daughters are Claire Murrell, a Montgomery County school teacher, and Patsy Lieberman, a clinical social worker.
Author
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Forrest is an attorney in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel. He has a B.S. in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Louisville, and a J.D. from Florida State University. Forrest is originally from western Kentucky, where he grew up farming cattle, pecans, and hickory nuts. He moved to Silver Spring in 2018, and quickly grew to love the community; Third Thursday concerts at Koiner Farm are one of his daughter’s favorite activities! In addition to his longstanding commitment to public service, Forrest strongly believes in the need for everyone to understand and deepen their connection with the land and agriculture on which we all depend.
Concord Hill School
Cynthia Coront Raso is a nonprofit professional with more than 20 years of experience in educational programming, fundraising, and community-focused initiatives. She currently serves as Director of Advancement & Community Engagement at Concord Hill School, where she leads donor relations, strategic fundraising, and outreach efforts. Her work has focused on evolving donor strategies that reflect the school’s community while creating space for families to feel supported and connected to one another. Cynthia began her career in museum education and went on to launch Art Within Reach, a business that brought interpretive programming to families of young children in DC museums. She later adapted that model to build a wide variety of family and educator programs at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center as Director of the Office of Engagement. A longtime Silver Spring resident, Cynthia is deeply invested in giving back to the vibrant, diverse community that has shaped her family’s life. She is proud to support the CKC in its mission to build meaningful community connections while promoting health and sustainability.
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Lynn Davey Rose has a diverse range of work experiences, including Lead Case Manager at US Arbitration & Mediation, Adoption Social Worker at Little Flower Adoption Service, Lead Care Manager at Prince Georges Hospital Center, Teacher and Community Organizer at Silver Spring Day School, Director of KIDZSPACE @ First Alliance Church, Director of Little Learners Cooperative Program, and Developer and Director of ChangeForce. Lynn currently serves as the Interim Director of Development and Community Partnerships at Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless.
Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless
The Aspen Institute
Sama Sabihi is the program manager for 2Gen Practice at Ascend at the Aspen Institute where her work focuses on building economic mobility and wellbeing for families. Prior to her work at Ascend, Sama served as the Program Coordinator for the Women in Engineering Program at the University of Maryland where she first learned about CKC through her efforts to build campus-community partnerships.
Sama joined Koiner Farm as a volunteer in fall of 2020 and joined the CKC Board in July 2023. Sama is deeply passionate about public service, social change, equity and inclusion efforts, and community engagement. She enjoys spending time in her neighborhood, cooking and eating food with friends and family, and listening to live music in the city.
Retired Labor Activist
Tony retired in 2017 after a long career in community/social justice work, including jobs in the labor movement, adult literacy, and services/advocacy for older adults. As a Filipino American, he has lived in upper Northwest DC and Silver Spring since 1958 and graduated from the DC Public Schools and American University with a B.A. in American Studies. His garlic, grown in his small backyard in Woodside, has won the blue ribbon at both the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair and the Maryland State Fair. He is often invited to speak about growing garlic, including as a scheduled presenter at the annual Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties, NY. Tony was introduced to the joys of composting and shoveling horse manure by both of his parents, avid vegetable and flower gardeners, at a very young age. He first met Charlie Koiner in 1990.
The Board of Directors for the Charles Koiner Conservancy conduct Board recruitment base on organizational needs each spring, with new Board terms commencing July 1st annually. Board members serve up to two consecutive three-year terms. Board meetings take place bi-monthly (every other month) with four meetings held virtually and two meetings held in-person. Board members are also expected to serve on at least one committee. Board members dedicate 1-2 hours per week to serving the organization. The Board does not have a formal give-or-get policy, but all Board members are expected to make a contribution to the organization that is meaningful to them.