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2009 People to Watch: Eastern Shore

By Andrew Keatts

Culling through the stack of nominations received for our inaugural “People to Watch” list was no easy task. As expected, the Shore is home to a diverse batch of young professionals ready to propel the region into a new generation. This list of philanthropists, entrepreneurs, developers, and artists reflects the spectrum of talented people who call the Shore home. And each is under 40 years of age; a criterion selected to identify individuals on the cusp of fulfilling greatness within their respective fields. Enjoy reading the inspiring stories of 2009’s class of People to Watch, and be sure to make your nominations today for the class of 2010 by contacting our editorial staff at Editor@WhatsUpMag.com.

Click here to see our Annapolis People to Watch.

The Community Organizer

Brian Roche, 35
Cambridge
Organizer, Choptank Heritage Trail
Quality of life usually measures who we are and what we do outside of our professional lives. For Brian Roche, quality of life is the fundamental inspiration for his professional life. “I am inspired by endeavors that benefit quality of life,” he says. “More specifically, I am inspired to use my areas of expertise to revitalize the community around me.” Roche has done just that as a volunteer in developing the Choptank Heritage Trail, a system of multi-use trails throughout Dorchester County that utilize corridors along existing railways and greenways, including connecting Cambridge to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the site of the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center. With the help of some timely grant funding, Roche, along with local government and private parties, has also volunteered with “Safe Routes to Schools,” a campaign to improve sidewalks, signage, education, and police surveillance along routes that area kids take to school each day, and which connects with phase one of the Choptank Heritage Trail. Roche, who completed graduate work in information systems at Drexel University, obtained a degree in biology and environmental studies from Swarthmore College, and is now chief technology officer at Bay Country Communications and Delmarva WiFi, has also begun expanding the prevalence of wireless broadband Internet connections to underserved areas of Dorchester County, particularly targeting retired and semi-retired property owners. With a broadband connection, Roche envisions new residents working remotely and spending more time on the Shore. “If they are here more, they can spend their money here, eat at our restaurants, shop on our main streets, and get involved in the community, lending valuable skills,” he says. An avid outdoorsy type who’s been married for four years, Roche has also helped implement a fiber-optic network in county public schools, positioning them to take full advantage of new learning technologies (he plans on incorporating local businesses and medical facilities into the network), and has established free Wi-Fi service in downtown Cambridge, attracting businesses and citizens to Main Street. Currently seeking his captain’s license, Roche hopes to eventually charter guests from the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina to downtown Cambridge in an effort to capitalize on a guest list that typically represents 15 percent of the city’s population in any given week. “This is an untapped way of helping the local tourist economy,” Roche says.

The Promoter

Mark Mangold, 32
Easton
Marketing Director, Rams Head Live and Pier Six Pavilion
Owner, Mangold Entertainment
If you’ve spent any time watching live music on the Shore over the past year, chances are you owe Mark Mangold a degree of gratitude. See, that constant stream of nationally recognized acts that suddenly decided to make the trek to this side of the Bay Bridge, well, that was kind of Mangold’s idea. “I listened to the complaints of other area music fans who were tired of driving to other places [for concerts],” Mangold says. “I wanted to provide them with the opportunity to see good concerts locally, without having to drive across the bridge.” A married father of two (Gabriella Alana, 21 months, and Brooks Alexander, four months), Mangold is marketing director for Rams Head Live and the Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore. He also runs his own company, Mangold Entertainment, which has brought over 100 concerts to the Shore, including the acclaimed concert series at Coffee East in Easton, which has included prominent national names such as Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors, Joe Ely, Deanna Bogart, the Everybodyfields, Erin McKeown, and Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens. But according to Mangold, 2008 was just the beginning. “I want to continue to let the seed that we planted in 2008 grow,” he says. “We want to continue the progress made at Coffee East as it becomes a landmark small club with a national reputation. We believe we have added an element of quality and consistency that rounds out the music scene locally and puts the Eastern Shore on par with much larger cities.” Mangold is also a co-founder of ArtHouse Live, a nonprofit theatre company based in Easton; and he and his wife, Danielle, recently created Jitterbug Junction, a children’s concert series in Easton. Putting his film and television degree from New York University to work, Mangold is a board member of the Chesapeake Film Festival, too. In addition to the film festival’s second year and a potential play from ArtHouse Live, Mangold has new ventures planned for the Shore in 2009. “Plans are in the works for concerts at bigger venues, and perhaps a few outdoor concerts,” he says. “I also would like to continue working with [Caroline County’s] Summerfest and Trappe-tober Fest, and I may begin to manage musical acts.”

The Aviator

John Galdieri, 34
Queenstown
Owner, Trident Aircraft
Like many of us, John Galdieri fell in love with aircraft of all kinds at a young age. But unlike many of us, that love never waned, instead developing into a passion that persisted through adolescence and into adulthood. At 15, Galdieri took his first flying lesson, a reward from his father for getting straight As on his report card. By the time the young aviator was accepted into the Naval Academy during his senior year of high school, he had already earned his private pilot’s license. Though his preferred path at the Academy never came to pass, Galdieri never wavered from his life’s passion. “I had intentions of becoming a naval aviator after the Academy,” he explains. “When I was denied that opportunity, I pursued a career as a civilian aviator by flying in all of my off-duty time.” Fast-forward to 2004, when Galdieri laid the foundation for his business, Trident Aircraft. “I was approached by an individual at the airport who asked if I could help him earn his pilot’s license. I said yes, and three-and-a-half years later we have 10 aircrafts, 14 employees, and are flying in excess of 700 hours a month at our operation out of the Bay Bridge Airport,” Galdieri says. Trident Aircraft now certifies several pilots a month and provides work to flight instructors from all over the country. “It rarely feels like work due to my passion for what I am doing,” Galdieri enthuses. In 2009, Trident Aircraft, which quadrupled in size and scope between 2007 and 2008, is expanding its operation to Easton Airport and expects to fly over 6,000 hours of training, a 50 percent increase from 2008. Currently the sole provider of Cirrus certified flight training (a high-tech, high-speed, four-passenger personal aircraft) on the Eastern Shore, Galdieri hopes to grow Trident’s fleet of Cirrus aircraft from one to four in the new year. And after exceeding his initial five-year plan in just two years, Galdieri has recalibrated his goals in light of that success with a plan that now includes 20 flight-training aircraft, a light-aircraft charter service, and extensive growth in his aircraft management services. “I feel that the light-aircraft market will continue to grow due to the struggles of the airline industry,” he says. “Although we cannot compete with their pricing, we offer incredible convenience for those who place great value on their time.”

The Teacher

Robert Forloney, 34
St. Michaels
Director of Education, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM)
After working at various museums and cultural institutions in New York City, Robert Forloney relocated to the Eastern Shore two years ago, looking for a lifestyle change and ready to demonstrate the impact a first-rate institution can lend to the region in which it’s located. “By contributing the perspective that centuries of living in this place provides, the museum can help residents, visitors, and policy makers understand and manage the region’s extraordinary cultural and natural resources,” he says. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Forloney moved to New York to attend college, staying for 10 years and earning his master’s degree in humanities and social thought from New York University, and then working for several museums, including the American Museum of Natural History. Forloney is committed to incorporating the Eastern Shore community in his plans to improve the CBMM in the immediate future: community participation through advisory councils will present history in the most engaging, and therefore meaningful, ways possible; relationships with teachers and local schools, including open houses and professional development, will aim to involve students with the museum throughout the school year; and hands-on activities will provide on-the-water experiences for youth and families. “The objective is to make the museum a place where visitors return frequently because they know they will find something educational and exciting,” Forloney says. A board member of the Maryland Association of History Museums, Forloney is also a member of the Academy Art Museum, Adkins Arboretum, Talbot County Historical Society, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Talbot County Visual Arts Center, and the American Association for Museums. He also co-organized (along with What’s Up? Eastern Shore contributor Sarah Brophy) a “Green Drinks” program for the Mid-Shore. “We hold two-hour gatherings that begin informally and segue into presentations on topics such as greening public parks, reforming recycling programs in the community, and eating local,” he says. “The group contains [anyone] who is interested in helping advance sustainability on the Eastern Shore.” Consistent in Forloney’s professional and philanthropic interests is a commitment to collaboration and creativity. “This is why I’m so inspired by museums and cultural institutions—you have a diverse group of people, drawing from various specialties, prior experiences, and interests, supporting one another and lending their strengths to a common cause,” he says.

The Musician

Kentavius (K.J.) Jones, 26
Easton
Musician
Beginning with listening to his father’s vinyl collection, Kentavius Jones (K.J. to friends) began steadily pursuing his career in music long before he moved to Easton as a shy 10 year old. “My influences—Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix—are what inspired my pursuit to make sonic documentation and performance my lifelong career,” he says. Both a blessing and a curse, being the new kid afforded Jones the solitude necessary to immerse himself in “a sea of sound,” as he says, and allowed him to pursue the world of music he had yet to discover. Supported by lessons in choral singing and classical guitar, he began crafting his art during this time, and by high school had emerged from his shell, ready to unleash the inertia of creativity that had built inside him during his younger years. In 2003, Jones started his first band. As guitarist and lead singer, he began developing his dynamic stage presence to accent his soulful voice. Creating music is now both his business and his recreation. “I pretty much play music all the time,” he says. “I’m always practicing, working things out. I’ve got to be great.” His songs derive from classical artistic inspirations: tragedy and triumph. “You know, the good and bad that life throws at us,” he says. “A great song can be the result of a horrible life experience, as can the beauty and bravery I see in others.” Five years after forming his first band, Jones’ career is on its way. He’s played to sold-out crowds on both sides of the Bay Bridge, and is now traveling to Los Angeles to work on his newest album and music video with some of that city’s most accomplished producers. This year will see the release of that album, which will include his recognized tracks, “Floor” and “Proposal,” as well as a tour of East Coast colleges. “I’m calling the tour ‘Go Green and Get Down,’” says Jones. “I’m going to donate half of what I make at each stop to the students of that school, which they’ll be able to donate to whichever environmental organization they wish.”

The Urban Planner

Chad Malkus, 36
Cambridge
President, Cambridge Main Street
Born and raised in Cambridge, Chad Malkus, as president of Cambridge Main Street, is now tasked with filling the city’s remaining empty storefronts and continuing the historic district’s revitalization process. Also managing attorney for the Cambridge branch of the Baltimore-based law firm of Hodes, Pessin & Katz, Malkus says his primary goal is to bring new businesses to “The Heart of the Chesapeake” and to increase the size and scope of the city’s annual events, specifically the Groove City Jazz & Blues Festival and Taste of Cambridge. A showcase of regional talent, the Jazz & Blues Festival, Malkus hopes, will help recapture the city’s old nickname: Groove City. “We used to be a hub for many of the jazz greats,” he says. “It’s part of our heritage.” In terms of recruiting new businesses (such as Sugar Magnolia Consignment Boutique, which is owned and operated by his wife, Steffanie), Malkus plans to tackle the bureaucratic and redundant permitting processes that slow construction projects in the downtown area. “A great deal of money can be lost by investors who get bogged down in needless red tape,” he says. As Cambridge becomes increasingly business friendly (with some help from the president of its Main Street program), Malkus says his law practice is well positioned to continue expanding in a county he calls “truly the heart of the Eastern Shore, the most centrally located among all the Shore counties.” Having grown up in the area, hunting and fishing on the Little Blackwater near his father’s farm, Malkus says he looks forward to doing the same with his two sons. “Unlike other parts of the Shore, Cambridge has the unique qualities of hundreds of miles of creeks and waterways, coupled with an industrial past and a modern, tourist-centered future with the Hyatt, the Harriet Tubman Heritage Area, and the Main Street and Arts and Entertainment District,” he says. Malkus has a vision for that “modern, tourist-centered future” that would come to pass in only five years. In addition to a vibrant mix of downtown shops, boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants and pubs of all sizes and varieties, with many professionals living and working in the downtown area, the Cambridge of 2013 will also have directly linked the Choptank River and Cambridge Creek to the city’s historic business district. “We want to give people a reason to pull off Route 50, or venture away from the Hyatt, to explore our community, meet the fantastic people, and enjoy all the sights, tastes, and sounds that we offer.”

The Environmentalist

Heather Buritsch, 36
Easton
Director, Talbot Master Gardener Program
Most of us could use a little guidance when it comes to what it means to “go green.” Each week, it seems, national news informs us that some of the things we’ve been doing to increase environmental sustainability really aren’t so green after all. But that’s why Heather Buritsch and the Talbot County Master Gardeners are here. As an urban horticultural educator and the Talbot Master Gardener Program coordinator, Buritsch educates the county as to what the country’s most popular directive—go green—really means, especially as it applies to landscaping and gardening. And since “going green” is of special interest to Eastern Shore residents, thanks to our proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, this program (which was first adopted by the University of Maryland in 1978) is useful to everyone as a means of knowledge sharing. It provides participants 40 hours of training on sustainable practices of garden-space cultivation and landscape maintenance. After completing an exam at the end of the training period, certified Master Gardeners agree to work in their communities to implement and spread the practices learned in the program. In a lot of ways, the program is the eco-equivalent of the old Chinese proverb of giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish. “I am inspired by miracles in nature and by when I feel I have really reached someone and made a difference,” Buritsch says. To date, Buritsch and the Talbot Master Gardener Program have reached over 80 volunteers. Buritsch, however, plans to broaden the program’s reach by targeting two audiences on opposing ends of the demographic spectrum. “I would like to expand our Master Gardener outreach program to reach all of the nursing homes in the county through our Therapeutic Gardening program, and to expand the Junior Master Gardener Program to middle school, as well as all Talbot County schools,” she says. And while the Master Gardener Program continues to grow, Buritsch is also looking to grow another county project. “I’d like to reach at least 100 homeowners per year through our Bay-Wise Landscape Maintenance education program,” she says. Bay-Wise, another nonprofit project of the Maryland Cooperative Extension, provides personal consultation services regarding residential or commercial landscaping, teaching Bay-friendly fundamentals while offering certification to compliant landscapes.

The Developer

Keasha Haythe, 34
Easton
Economic Development Director, Dorchester County Economic Development Department
With economic struggles plaguing the country at-large, it’s hard not to take note of the continued progress Dorchester County is making. A certified economic development director, Keasha Haythe, who formerly had the same title in Talbot County, has now taken that experience one county south, where she continues putting her certification to use. “My certification has exposed me to diverse issues and real-life case studies that can be applied here to motivate growth,” she says. “[It] demonstrates that the professional… has a combination of knowledge and experience, proven by successfully passing the rigorous certification exam.” In a general sense, Haythe plans to focus on workforce development by instilling in educators and businesses the correlation between education and economic development. More specifically, Haythe’s focus is on completing the proposed Business and Technology Park, a collaborative effort between her office, the City of Cambridge, and state and federal agencies, which she hopes to unveil in the fourth quarter of 2009. “The Business and Technology Park will create employment opportunities and diversify the county by attracting industry sectors not currently located in Dorchester County,” she says. “[It] will increase tax revenues, provide higher-wage job opportunities, and reduce the unemployment rate.” Born and raised in Trappe, Haythe says she and her family (her husband and three children) have no desire to live anywhere else. “The Eastern Shore has tight-knit communities and a great educational system, with small class sizes and teachers that truly love the students,” she says. And while the county continues making progress in an economic sense, Haythe’s appointment by the Dorchester County government as the county’s first African American department head indicates progress of a different kind. An ordained evangelist under the TriLife Christian Center in Easton, Haythe also volunteers as a Character Counts! coach in Talbot County and serves on the board of the Talbot County Democratic Forum. As for the future, Haythe needs to decide whether she intends to run for elected office in 2010. Completing a lengthy list of objectives as economic development director is a prerequisite for a potential run, but Haythe says such a decision would also need the consensus of her family. “If my husband and children disagree, then the decision has already been made,” she says.

The Artist

Jennifer Wagner, 30
St. Michaels
Mosaic Artist and Muralist
At the site of last year’s devastating fire in downtown Cambridge, there now stands a 60-foot mural, a work of art inspired, funded, and created by its community. The artist behind the project, Jennifer Wagner, says the mural created something nice in place of something frustrating and controversial, and points out that everyone in the community owns it; there is a communal sense of pride. “I think murals represent hope and break down barriers,” she says. “I think they are a great way to tell a story.” The mural that tells Wagner’s story may need even more than 60 feet. Born in Cambridge and raised in St. Michaels, Wagner moved to Santa Cruz, California, after high school. Working as a petitioner, Wagner established grass-roots momentum, from San Diego to San Francisco, for petitions she hoped would become ballot initiatives. Enjoying life, Wagner then sailed down the Intra-Coastal Waterway to Angelfish Creek, Florida, before spending six months sailing through the Exumas, a group of more than 350 islands and cays in the Bahamas. After giving birth to her son while living aboard a sailboat in Annapolis, Wagner began feeling a pull to return home. “I needed to be away in order to appreciate what an amazing place this is,” she says. “I never found people I liked as much, either.” Now back on the Shore and working full-time as a mosaic artist and muralist, Wagner has set in motion multiple projects that will encourage the healing and sense of community she finds central to the medium. In the works is a new mural on the side of the Hunt Insurance building on downtown Cambridge’s Race Street, in a courtyard known as Cannery Way, titled Points of Pride in the History of Cambridge. The Choptank River, represented entirely in mosaic, will be the mural’s focal point. The town, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and farmlands will each be represented, while a group of people—a Native American, a farmer, a jazz musician, and a person tonguing for oysters—look over the scene. “It is going to be incredible,” Wagner says. She’s also launched The Mural Arts Cambridge program, a group of dedicated people who believe that large, public arts projects will benefit the city. Creating public arts projects, Wagner believes, builds rapport for future interactions by collaborating on small, non-controversial decisions. “There is a healing that can take place; I saw it with the last mural,” she says. “These murals will make people proud.”

The Brewmaster

Lori Moritz, 39
St. Michaels
Brewmaster, Eastern Shore Brewing
Ever since 1997, when Wild Goose Brewery merged with Frederick Brewing Company, the Eastern Shore was without a licensed craft brewery to call its own—but as of this past September, that’s no longer the case. Lori Moritz and her husband, Adrian, moved to the Shore a little over a year ago with plans to open Eastern Shore Brewing, a brewery and tasting room serving, fittingly, “craft brewed beer from the Eastern Shore of Maryland.” Located in St. Michaels, the brewery currently serves three regionally inspired ales—St. Michaels Ale, Lighthause Ale, and Knot So Pale Ale. Moritz says the brewery is the culmination of her and her husband’s desire to own a business together. “We realized that one of our all-time favorite pastimes [beer], along with a lot of hard work, could make our dreams come true,” she says. Still in its early days, Eastern Shore Brewing, with Moritz at the helm, has already begun giving back to the community it calls home, one bottle at a time. She is working towards implementing a program for donating a portion of the sales from each six-pack to the Save the Bay Foundation. She’s also fostered a relationship with nearby Dogwood Organic Farms whereby the brewery will donate all of its spent grain to the farm for use as feed or compost. “Once the brewing process is complete, there is a large amount of leftover grain, 700 to 1,000 pounds per batch,” she says. “I wanted to do something with [it] instead of spending time, money, and landfill space taking it to the dump.” Moritz is also a non-voting member of The Pink Boots Society, an organization of 57 women formed “to inspire, encourage, and empower women to become professionals in the beer industry.” Moritz says she plans to craft a beer “for the ladies,” a plan inspired by her involvement in the society. “It’s really helped me in understanding an untapped (no pun intended) market,” she says. “I’m anxious to brew something that appeals to women and keeps them coming back.” In the coming years, Moritz plans to increase not only the varieties of beer offered, but also the capacity of beer produced. “I would like Eastern Shore Brewing beer to be sold in many of the bars and restaurants throughout Maryland, and to distribute to select areas of the East Coast,” she says.

The Captain

Drew McMullen, 39
Chestertown
President, Sultana Projects, Inc.
Unsatisfied with his work in international finance in New York City, McMullen relocated to the Eastern Shore in 1994 and, three years later, founded Sultana Projects. Now, after 10 years, Sultana Projects reaches over 15,000 students each year with a curriculum that includes sailing on the restored, 1768 schooner Sultana, exploring early American history on the trail of Captain John Smith, and studying the history and science of the Chesapeake in a classroom setting. With a decade of experience now under his belt, McMullen maintains lofty ambitions for Sultana Projects in the future. Beginning in 2009, he plans to increase the organization’s reach and capacity by building a land-based education center in Chestertown. From there, he plans to take on the Herculean project of building a second schooner. “I enjoy life and work much more when I’m contributing in a unique way—doing some sort of work that might not otherwise get done,” he says. “This was definitely part of the attraction when a group of friends and I founded Sultana Projects.” It was this mentality that led McMullen to leave his career in finance. “I liked my work in New York, but I always knew that there were hundreds of people ready to step into my position who could do just as well,” he says. McMullen was immediately drawn to the challenge of building a replica of an 18th-century schooner and raising the necessary funds to create the network and curriculum for the vessel to become integral to many Eastern Shore schools. “Ten years later, it’s very satisfying to see Sultana reach 15,000 students each year and to know that my individual contribution (along with many others’) had something to do with it,” he says. McMullen and his wife, Claire—who was raised in Cairo, speaks five languages, including Arabic, and is the daughter of a German supertanker captain—plan to race their 12-1/2-foot wooden “Beetle Cat” sailboat in the national Beetle Cat Championships this year. “If we aren’t working, sleeping, or eating, you will probably find the whole family [including Savannah, 11, and Evan, 4] out on one of our boats.”

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