|
Larry Stafford, Jr. (he/him) Larry Stafford found his lifetime passion for organizing at the age of 17 as a student volunteer and eventually as a staff member for ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). There he fought against the closure of low-income apartment complexes in some of the most marginalized communities within Prince George’s County and registered hundreds of voters. He has since worked on numerous electoral and issue-based campaigns around the country including leading field efforts for races up and down the ballot from Gubernatorial contests to City Council races. He became Executive Director of Progressive Maryland in 2015 where he has helped grow the organizations budget by 700%, led the organizations electoral efforts which have reached over 500,000 Maryland voters, and elected scores of progressive candidates including 8 who defeated established incumbents. Larry also leads the organizations 501c3 arm the Progressive Maryland Education Fund which has shifted the policy landscape during his tenure resulting in victories for working people such as a $15 minimum wage, paid sick leave, police accountability, and publicly financed elections. Larry is committed to investing in the power and potential of Progressive Maryland's working class membership base and continuing to win progressive changes at the local, state, and national level. Email: [email protected] |
|
Anne-Margaret Denlinger (she/her) Anne-Margaret has 20 years of administrative and operations experience in the private sector and higher education, including nearly a decade (on and off) in her family’s own business. After that business was sold, she wanted to transition her operations skills to an organization that supports causes she is truly passionate about, which brought her to Progressive Maryland. She is a Maryland native with an undergraduate degree in German from Towson University and a master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Birmingham in the U.K. Her time spent overseas, sparked a passion for politics and progressive movements like those throughout Europe that have led to more support and safety nets for all people. Her own personal journey with chronic illness and disability broadened her scope of interest to include healthcare reform and accessibility. Her free time is spent with her husband, son, and their ever growing brood of four-legged friends. Email: [email protected]
|
|
Christianne Marguerite (she/her) Christianne is a seasoned leader in digital communications and has been with Progressive Maryland for over five years. In her role leading the dynamic communications team, she oversees the organization’s comprehensive communications strategy, including email and text marketing, social media, digital advertising, press relations, database management, digital automations, and creative content production. She also leads narrative strategy for the organization's many campaigns, manages digital advocacy tools, and supports progressive candidates in their electoral efforts. Additionally, Christianne directs a large team of staff, contractors, and volunteers, ensuring seamless execution of statewide communications initiatives that amplify the voices of working families and advance progressive change. Christianne holds a B.A. in Global Environmental Change & Sustainability and Africana Studies, as well as an M.S. in Environmental Science & Policy, both from The Johns Hopkins University. Prior to her work at Progressive Maryland, she served as the Communications Manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Global League of Employees of African Descent and as the Clean Coastal Water Campaign Coordinator, where she led community-based watershed planning, policy advocacy, and behavior change projects to address nitrogen pollution and improve water quality in New York and Connecticut. A nature enthusiast and adventurer, Christianne enjoys hiking, running, rock climbing, skiing, and camping with her wife and their dog. Christianne resides in Baltimore City, where she continues to champion progressive change. Email: [email protected]
Legislative Coordinator Erica is a dedicated community advocate whose organizing roots began as a student activist at the University of Maryland, College Park and have extended throughout the DMV and Baltimore City. A proud Baltimorean and the daughter of Latin American immigrants, Erica draws inspiration from her lived experiences growing up in West Baltimore, where she both witnessed and experienced the impact of systemic inequality as well as the strength of community resistance. She earned a double degree in African American Studies, U.S. Latina/o Studies, and American Studies from the University of Maryland. After graduating, she served as a Faculty Research Assistant in the Department of African American Studies and later as a Policy Analyst for CASA before joining Progressive Maryland. From organizing her first youth-led rally in Baltimore to supporting community-led initiatives across the region, Erica brings a deep commitment to grassroots organizing and social justice. Her work is grounded in a belief in the power of collective action and that every community deserves justice, investment, and the opportunity to thrive. In her free time, Erica enjoys studying, fitness, and music as well as hanging out with her Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc. (SIA) sorors. Email: [email protected]
Climate Policy Analyst Iman Habib is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and found her passion for combatting climate change and environmental justice after revisiting Pakistan in 2016. She has always had an interest in global studies and the impact of climate change on different communities around the world. Iman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and graduated with her Master of Science in Environmental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in May 2024. While at Hopkins, Iman worked as a research assistant on two environmental health projects in the areas of exposure science, or the ways in which humans come into contact with environmental hazards, and environmental epidemiology. Iman has always had a passion for bridging the gap between research and policy and served as a TA for a Risk Policy course where she advised students on their risk communication/mitigation plan. Iman also TA’ed for a course that paired students with local Baltimore community-based organizations to tackle various environmental justice issues. This allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which Baltimore communities face environmental racism and she hopes to use this insight to better inform her work at Progressive Maryland. Outside of her professional life, Iman enjoys painting, running, travelling, and trying out new coffee spots! Email: [email protected] |
|
Janay Fenner is from Baltimore Maryland and went to Baltimore City College High School. In her time there, she helped organize two walk-outs and protests. The last protest she organized was for students to join in on a Freddy Gray protest, where they walked from their school to downtown Baltimore to protest against police brutality. She graduated from Mount St. Mary's University in 2021 with a BA in Communications, and again in August 2022 with a MA in Communications. She was on the track and field team, hosted her own radio show, and was a member of the Black Student Union. She has always known she wanted to do communications work. In her free time, she likes to watch sports, work out, and travel. Email: [email protected] |
|
Max Socol (he/him) Max Socol has been campaigning for social justice since he first began organizing against the Iraq War as a high school student. Raised in politically active Jewish and Quaker communities in the civil rights landmark of Greensboro, North Carolina, Max found his way to Maryland when he enrolled at St. John's College in Annapolis. He worked as a Jewish educator for several years after graduation, while organizing in the movements for debt forgiveness, an end to home evictions, and Palestinian human rights. He became a state leader in Rev. William Barber's Moral Monday's movement and the struggle for voting rights and economic justice in North Carolina, before returning to the DC area as a National Organizer and Campaigns Manager for Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. Max lives in Silver Spring with his wife Dr. Allison Rose Socol and their two children. |
|
Patty Snee (she/her) After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1980 Patty moved to Philadelphia where she took a job with an energetic group of grassroots organizers who were building statewide Citizen Action organizations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and other states around the country. For the next three decades Patty had the opportunity to build coalitions, create multissue and intersectional issue organizing campaigns, and to train hundreds of staff who helped grow the movement for women’s, LGBTQ, economic, and environmental justice causes. In her leadership roles with the CLEC Canvass Network and the Progressive Action Network she developed a national grassroots operation that raised tens of millions of dollars for more than forty different groups through door to door, phone canvass, and major donor programs. Patty also has extensive experience working on elections - voter outreach, education and turnout campaigns, in particular. She joined the PMD staff in 2020 and her first responsibility was to launch the organization’s MPLI candidate training program. Since then, she has been building the organization’s healthcare justice work, recruiting the organization’s longest serving Task Force and deploying PMD’s most resilient issue campaigns. Patty also plays a leadership role at the state level with our partners at the Patient Worker Collaborative and at End Medical Debt Maryland, as well as at the national level as co-chair of the People’s Action Health Care Cohort. Patty lives with her wife Ellen and their dog Chipper in Takoma Park. Email: [email protected] |
|
Shannon Talbert (She/Her) Shannon Talbert is a dedicated advocate with a passion for building campaigns that bridge divides, resonating with people in boardrooms and at dinner tables. As the lead organizing consultant to Progressive Maryland's Black Workers Center, she brings her extensive expertise to enhance workforce development, with a specific focus on returning citizens in Prince George's County. As a Managing Partner at The Firm, a visionary creative agency with a mission to create campaigns that build power for Black women and families, Shannon is committed to empowering Black people in order to enhance our communities. In her previous role as the Senior Director of Movement Building at Color Of Change, Shannon was instrumental in launching a groundbreaking program to elect progressive prosecutors to reduce mass incarceration. Her work led to electing 31 progressive prosectors. She led efforts that engaged more than 60,000 people, emphasizing the power of organizing and collective action. Shannon's innovative approach included the development of two organizing curriculums and the launch of a distributed organizing program that significantly enhanced leadership development within communities. Shannon's journey in advocacy began with one of the most influential modern movements — Obama for America. She started as an organizer on Barack Obama's 2007 primary campaign in South Carolina, where her primary focus was on increasing Black voter participation. Shannon also dedicated five years to championing women's and girls' education issues in the United Arab Emirates. She holds a degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park and hails from Atlanta, Georgia. She currently resides in Northeast Washington, D.C. In her free time, Shannon enjoys gardening, cycling, and reading, reflecting her commitment to personal growth and community development. Email: [email protected] |
|
Shelby Kestler Kearney (She/Her) Shelby Kestler Kearney is the Development Director at Progressive Maryland and brings over a decade of experience leading fundraising strategy and donor engagement. She has held several senior roles, including Development Director for the NewDEAL, Campaign Board Senior Manager at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Campaign and Candidate Fundraiser at the Human Rights Campaign, and positions on campaigns for Congressman Jamie Raskin and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid. Throughout her career, Shelby has built a strong track record of strengthening organizations and campaigns through strategic development and lasting donor relationships. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Shelby is a graduate of The Catholic University of America. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys needlepointing and spending time with her two dogs, Lupo, a chocolate Labrador, and Remy, a mini Goldendoodle. Email: [email protected] |
|
|
|
Woody Woodruff (he/him) A former opinion editor of the now-defunct daily Prince George's Journal and instructor in composition, media writing, and journalism at Prince George's Community College, he has a Ph.D in Mass Communication from the Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. He lives in Lanham, MD. Email: [email protected] |
|
For all finance and administrative matters please contact [email protected]. |
Erica Puentes (she/her) 
Iman Habib (she/her) 
Janay Fenner (she/her)
SirJames Weaver (he/him)
Steven Askew (he/him)