Board

Board of Directors 2025-2026

Childlene Brooks is a Talbot County native from the Bay Hundred area. She attended the former Fredrick Douglass Elementary School in St Michaels graduated from St. Michaels High School. She completed a business course at the Baltimore Institute and taken classes at Chesapeake College. After a career at Talbot County Health Department, she joined the staff at Brookletts Place Talbot County Senior Center, where she serves as Senior Center Manager. A tireless volunteer, Childlene has served on numerous boards, including the American Cancer Society at the local, state, and regional levels, Critchlow Adkins Children’s Center, Mid-Shore Pro Bono (now Shore Legal Access), Habitat for Humanity Choptank, Talbot County Branch of the NAACP, and the Bright with Pride Temple No. 1375 of the Improved, Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World. She is currently serves on the boards of CASA of the Mid-Shore; Talbot Hospice Foundation; Frederick Douglass Honor Society; Bay Hundred Community Volunteers; Inc., Tidewater Rotary, and the Mid Shore Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. She is a co-founder of the Family Friends of Asbury & Green Chappel, Inc. which has worked to restore an abandoned and vandalized African American cemetery in Bozman. She is a lifelong member of New St. Johns United Methodist Church, Wittman, and serves on the Missions Outreach Committee.

Kathleen “Kathy” Deoudes is a native of Brockton, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Trinity College in Washington, D.C.  She is the immediate past chair of the UMMS Shore Regional Health Board of Directors. Before retirement, she worked in the Maryland State Senate as a legislative aide to state Sen. E.J. Pipkin.  She is an active community volunteer in Queen Anne’s County.  She is a past board member of the Women & Girls Fund (2016-2023) and served as president from 2019-2022.  She returns to the board as treasurer.  Kathy and her husband, Nick, live in Queenstown and enjoy spending time with their two adult children and four grandchildren.

Susie Dillon, a native of the Washington, DC area, is a dedicated educator and community leader and has made significant contributions to education and community service throughout her career.  Dillon served as head of the Upper School at The Country School from 1989 to 2005. Her commitment to education extended beyond the classroom, as evidenced by her long-standing service on the Talbot County Public School board from 1992 to 2012, including a decade as vice president from 1992 to 2002.  Her passion for education and leadership was further demonstrated by serving as trustee and chair of The Gunston School from 2006 to 2012. Dillon’s community involvement includes serving on the Talbot Hospice board from 2017 to 2023.  She previously served on the Women & Girls Fund Board from 2016 to 2022.  She and her husband, John, live in Oxford and have three grown children. 

Katharine Greenlee Henning grew up on Island Creek in Talbot County.  She holds a B.A. from Washington College, a M.B.A. from The American University’s Kogod School of Business, and completed the University of Oxford (England) Womens’ Leadership Development Program. Katharine is the owner and principal planner of Island Creek Events, a full-service event design and planning company specializing in weddings, social gatherings, corporate events, and nonprofit fundraisers.  Before founding her own business, she was the Director of Corporate and Employer Brand Strategy at an education technology company, where she played a pivotal role in redefining the company’s brand identity and orchestrating events with notable speakers, including First Lady Michelle Obama and Trevor Noah.  Katharine, her husband and two dogs split their time between Oxford and Silver Spring, Maryland. 

Zandi Nammack, a Talbot County native, has spent her entire career in education both as a teacher and administrator. She graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in psychology and holds a Masters of Science in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Zandi serves on the Boards of Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers and The Harbor Club. Her mother, Pemmy Noble, was one of the founding members of the Women & Girls Fund. After retirement, she moved back to the Eastern Shore with her husband, Tom. She has an adult daughter, son, and stepdaughter and is soon to be a grandmother.

Casey Roche moved to Dorchester County from Atlanta in 2017 where she spent several years leading young women as they navigated college. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Western Carolina University. A stand-out NCAA Division I Soccer player for WCU, a named soccer scholarship was established in her honor. Casey has traveled on mission trips with two organizations: Love Does, a human rights and education foundation, to visit their school in Uganda; and, 410 Bridge, a non-profit pursuing healthy community development in poverty-stricken nations, to help with earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. She currently works remotely in Sales for a technology company based in Hoboken, NJ.  Casey is a volunteer soccer coach with Dorchester Parks & Recreation and served as a WGF grant application reader in previous years.  She and her husband reside in the Historic West End District in Cambridge.

Alice Ryan is a Talbot County native who graduated from the Gunston School prior to earning a BS in Business Administration and Economics from Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia. After completing her education, she worked as a registered representative for E. F. Hutton in Washington DC. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, and The Gunston School. The founder of the Women & Girls Fund, Alice is a perpetual member of the board and serves as chair of the development committee. She is the mother of three children, Matthew, Stephanie, and Allison.

Beth Spurry, a native of Talbot County, is the second longest serving Women & Girls Fund board member having served four three-year terms on the Board between 2008 and 2022, including two as president. In 2024, she returned to serve as president again. Beth is the founder and CEO of Tred Avon Family Wealth, a wealth management, financial planning, and family office business in Easton. Previously, she worked at Wye Financial Group, Mercantile Trust, H.C. Wainwright, and Morgan Stanley. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree from Washington College. Among her many volunteer activities, Beth has served on the boards of For All Seasons, Academy Art Museum, and Mercersburg Academy. She lives in Trappe with her husband, Charles Capute, and has one adult daughter and four adult stepchildren.

Susan Walter is a Talbot County native whose professional life has been devoted to science education and curriculum development. She began her career focused on student-centered instruction and curriculum coordination, serving as a Science Curriculum Coordinator in Anne Arundel County, where she contributed to district-level science programming and teacher support. For the past two decades, Susan was a central figure at The Country School — working as both a classroom teacher and curriculum coordinator — before retiring in 2022. Susan holds a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education from Bridgewater College and a Master of Science in Secondary Science Education from Salisbury University. These academic credentials supported a career that blended classroom pedagogy with curriculum design, teacher mentoring, and program implementation. Even after formal retirement, Susan remains committed to student learning; she tutors learners during the academic year and runs summer tutoring sessions to help students build skills and confidence. Residing in Easton with her husband, Craig, Susan values family time, community ties, and many outdoor activities. She is the proud mother and stepmother to three daughters and adores her granddaughter. She enjoys life with her husband and Fox Red Lab, Lucy.

Fund Administrator
Meg van den Berg is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Hollins College (now University) and a master’s degree in Organization Development from The American University. As a young professional, she worked as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill, products liability and antitrust paralegal for a large law firm in Richmond, and as the first mate on a large motor yacht. Since coming to Talbot County in 1981, she has volunteered for numerous of organizations, including Memorial Hospital at Easton (now UMM Shore Regional Health), Talbot Historical Society, and the Waterfowl Festival. She was a founding member of the Women & Girls Fund in 2002, serving on its inaugural board, and since 2004 has held the position of Fund Administrator. She is a member of Talbot County Garden Club and serves as a zone co-chair for Zone VI of The Garden Club of America. She has three grown sons, three grandchildren, and one beloved Border Terrier.