President
Marta McLellan Ross
Ross is NPR’s Vice President of Government and External affairs, representing public radio stations across the United States in policy matters, and Executive Sponsor of NPR AI Labs. Ross has 15 years experience as a congressional advisory expert in multiple roles, including in the Senate, with international public media, and as Director of Legislative Affairs at the Defense Logistics Agency. She leads Girl Scout Troops 23006 and 2427.
Secretary
Melanie Dzwonchyk
Dzwonchyk worked as the editor of the Laurel Leader and also the Howard County Times and Columbia Flier under the Baltimore Sun Media Group until her retirement in 2017. She is a board member of the Laurel Historical Society, and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland.
Treasurer
Joe Murchison
Murchison founded the non-profit Side by Side, and served as an executive director there for over a decade. As a professional journalist he reported for the Fauquier Democrat, Richmond News Leader, Columbia Flier and Laurel Leader. Murchison served as an editor at the Laurel Leader newspaper from 1990 to 2007, and as an editor at Patuxent Publishing from 1983-2007. He has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a masters from the University of Virginia.
General Counsel
Michael Walls
Walls has practiced as a criminal defense lawyer for over 30 years, and is the founder of C. Michael Walls, Attorney at Law, LLC, located in Laurel MD. Walls graduated from University of Maryland with a Journalism degree, and earned a JD from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Nora Urbieta Eidelman
Nora was born in Asunción, Paraguay, moved to the United States in 1988, and has lived in Prince George’s County since 1995. She is the Church Administrator & Outreach Director for the College Park United Methodist Church. She also serves on the Ethics Commission for the City of College Park, Maryland and the Maryland Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council. Nora has served as the Deputy Director of Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County, Inc., and Chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission for Prince Georges’ County. In December 2019, Nora was awarded the William L. Marbury Outstanding Advocate Award by Maryland Legal Services Corporation. This recognition is awarded annually to a non-attorney who has demonstrated outstanding service representing the civil legal needs of low-income Marylanders, or by expanding access to justice. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Maryland Global Campus, 2006, with a Minor in Paralegal Studies.
Merrill Hartson
Hartson is a retired reporter, editor and manager whose 44-year career with the Associated Press included coverage of the White House, Congress and the Justice Department. He graduated from the State University of New York-Oswego.
T. Carter Ross
Ross manages communications and outreach for Hyattsville Aging in Place and Prince George’s County Village Connection. He serves on the PGCPS Parent and Community Advisory Council as the District 3 parent representative and recording secretary. Ross is the former chair and current recorder of the City of Hyattsville Ethics Commission. He is a communications professional and consultant with experience in trade associations, broadcasting, and construction materials industries. He is originally from Louisiana, but has been a Hyattsville resident since 1998.
Stephanie Stullich
Stullich serves as a chair of the College Park Advisory Planning Commission. She was a research analyst at the U.S. Department of Education from 1991 to 2022, and served on the College Park City Council from 2007 to 2017. She has a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree from Indiana University. Stullich is also a cat intake coordinator and foster mom for Beltsville Community Cats, and fosters cats for the City of College Park.
Tara Susman-Peña
At the non-profit IREX, Susman-Peña led research, development, and innovation initiatives as well as advising on international projects designed to improve information ecosystems. Her experience includes strategic planning, human-centered research and design, impact, evaluation, and international development policy. She has significant fundraising experience, including cultivating relationships with donors, and designing and writing grant proposals.
Previously, Tara was a lecturer at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland and at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Earlier experience includes work at international nonprofit Internews in its Center for Innovation and Learning, where she led research on media development, information ecosystems, innovation, and aid effectiveness. She has published extensively on issues related to media, communications technology, and innovation in development. As a consultant, she provided strategic communications and planning to the World Bank Group, US government contractors, nonprofits, and small businesses. Earlier in her career, Tara worked in audience research at NPR, and in commercial market research and communications strategy. She has lived in Havana, Cuba, and is fluent in Spanish. She has an MA in sociocultural anthropology from Columbia University and a BA in religious studies from Yale University.