Our Client Advisory Board has also agreed to field questions and comments from our clients. Please feel free to contact any of the board members with your concerns.
Richard Bass is a Group Vice President with the Investment Division of M&T Bank. Mr. Bass has been with the bank over 25 years and heads up the Corporate Trust Division. He was hired at First National Bank of Maryland, later acquired by M&T, by Saxon Birdsong in 1983 to start the Corporate Trust Division of the Bank. It is now the 5th largest corporate trust function in the United States. Richard is a native of East Tennessee and received his BS in finance from the University of Tennessee in 1976. Richard lives in Howard County with his wife Gina and their two daughters, one a junior at Atholton High School and the oldest a sophomore at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. When not working or with his family, Richard can be found on the golf course with Bob Ray.
Telephone: 240-786-5439
Email:
Ric has spent the 37 years of his professional life serving the health care needs of the Native American population working in the Indian Health Service (IHS). He began as a Commissioned Officer and clinical dentist on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the poorest county in the nation. After six years of providing clinical care, he was selected for long-term training and earned two masters degrees and a PhD that covered the fields of public health and community development at the University of Michigan and organization development at the Leadership Institute of Spokane. He spent the next 11 years serving the IHS in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1993 he moved to the IHS Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland serving as the agency's performance planning officer until retiring from the Commissioned Corps in 2000. Since 2000 he has served the IHS continuously as a mentor and performance management consultant while also working with EPA, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Institutes of Health. Ric's wife, Isabel, is the Deputy Director at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, which requires Ric to serve as periodic Mr. Mom on top of his role as Assistant Scoutmaster for son Adam's (13) Boy Scout troop. Ric enjoys the outdoors including scouting activities, fishing, hunting, biking, and most recently the cruel sport of golf.
Telephone: 301-943-4507
Email:
Richard Burne is a research scientist at Raytheon-BBN Technologies located in Columbia, Maryland. Prior to Raytheon-BBN, he worked for 24 years at Honeywell International as a research manager in aerospace electronics. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Electrical Engineering and received his master's and doctoral degrees in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester, New York. Richard's combined background in biological and computer systems has afforded him the opportunity to perform unique research relating bio-sonar systems of bats to advanced signal processing systems. Richard and his wife, Lynn, have been Howard County residents since 1981. They enjoy traveling, scuba diving, gardening, reading and spending time with their two daughters.
Telephone: 443-844-7951
Email:
Dave Carter is a Project Manager at The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where he has worked for nearly 35 years. Dave has lived in Columbia since 1973 with his wife, Mary, a Case Manager at Howard County General Hospital. At home, Dave and Mary are kept busy with their pet dachshunds and enjoy running (for exercise rather than glory), skiing (although never enough opportunities to do so), and travel (which will hopefully increase when they retire in a couple years).
Telephone: 443-778-5578
Email:
Mavis is a native of North Carolina, and after a varied employment background, settled in Columbia, MD where she owned and operated a successful mail-order business for many years. Since retiring, Mavis moved to the Charlestown Retirement Community located in Catonsville, Maryland. She loves people and is an active volunteer at Charlestown. Mavis enjoys travelling, yoga and word-search puzzles in addition to spending time with friends.
Telephone: Contact BWFA
Tom spent 25 years at Verizon Communications as a Financial Analyst, Budget Manager, and Marketing Consultant. After taking early retirement from Verizon, Tom has spent time as a Chess Instructor, a volunteer at an animal shelter, a music producer, and a board game designer. He has worked at Borders Books, and currently works at Daedalus Books in Columbia, Maryland. Tom spends as much time as possible on the golf course.
Telephone: 410-804-4776
Email:
Kelly is currently a Principal Professional Staff Engineer with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, where he is involved with research and development for the US Navy. He is, quite literally, a rocket scientist! He joined APL immediately after graduating from Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering. Born in Annapolis, he currently lives in Highland, Maryland. Kelly has two sons and two terrific grandkids that keep him on his toes whenever he visits. Kelly is a shutter bug and also enjoys gardening, traveling, downhill skiing and playing softball in the APL league. He loves old sports cars and has been known to occasionally cruise around town in his 1957 Porsche Speedster.
Telephone: 443-778-6538
Email:
Gary is currently a Group Supervisor and member of the principal professional staff at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He joined APL right after graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. In between graduating college and starting work, he married his high school sweetheart, Laurel, who recently retired from teaching and now devotes her time to quilting and their three grandchildren (not necessarily in that order). While working at APL, Gary continued on with graduate school earning a master's degree in both electrical engineering and later in computer science from The Johns Hopkins University, where he then taught several computer science classes. Gary spends what spare time he has pursuing several passions including golf, photography, and reading. One day soon he hopes to get back to writing children's stories and woodworking.
Telephone: 410-442-2840
Email:
Greg managed Real Estate for the Postal Service for 32 years and is currently working on a successful retirement. The biggest challenge is to find time for all the things he wants and needs to accomplish. The best part of this new way of life is that he sets his own priorities and schedule and answers only to his wife Cathy. An interesting aspect of retirement is that he no longer has two lives. His work life and personal time are one and, consequently, there is no need to modify his behavior and priorities based on the time of day and day of the week. He began his association with BWFA five years before he left the USPS. One of the driving forces for him to seek out a financial planner was his desire for an objective opinion as to whether he was in a position to retire. With BWFA's counsel and investment services, the financial question was answered and it then became a personal decision as to when to embrace his new life - retirement.
Telephone: 410-833-4576
Email:
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carol holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management from California University of Pennsylvania. For the past 26 years, Carol has been employed by Hewlett Packard as a sales representative specializing in the sales of IT solutions to the Federal Government. Carol and her husband are avid Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins fans. Her interests include travelling, reading murder mysteries, cooking (particularly Hungarian dishes), and spending time with her Tibetan Terrier, Riley. Additionally, she enjoys staying physically fit through kick boxing, weight lifting, and step aerobics.
Telephone: 410-674-2055
Email:
John is an optician who has worked for the past 15 years for Crossroads Optical in Columbia, Maryland. Prior to working for Crossroads, John was employed by Pearle Vision as a regional manager for Pearle's franchise department and as a manager of several stores in the Washington, DC area. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, John and his wife, Carol, have been Maryland residents since 1982 and live in Gambrills. John enjoys travelling and has visited all 50 of the United States! His other interests include golf, photography, and listening to and collecting music.
Telephone: 410-674-2055
Email:
Dennis is a retired Group Supervisor at the Research Center of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where he worked for 37 years. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Engineering Mechanics from Penn State and holds a master's degree in Civil Engineering from MIT. Dennis and his wife, Suzanne, live in Woodstock on a golf course community that allows him to engage in one of his hobbies--playing golf! In addition to golf, he enjoys tennis, traveling, and spending time with family, especially his two grandchildren. Dennis used to play the trumpet for the APL Brass Choir for 25 years. With approximately ten members, the choir performed at APL for spring concerts and other events, such as the annual Christmas tree lighting and United Way Kickoff.
Telephone: 410-465-0853
Email:
Perry is the Director, Cyber Warfare and Cybersecurity at BAE Systems. Susan is a Certified Massage Therapist and has her own practice. Perry has an MA in Computer Resource Management (Distinguished Graduate), an MBA from the University of North Dakota, and a BS in Psychology from the University of Chicago. Susan has a BA in Sociology from Marquette University. She has returned to school to earn an RN degree. Susan and Perry have two children and live in Leesburg, Virginia. Perry enjoys aerobic exercise and weight training. Susan enjoys taking care of her Shiloh shepherd, gardening, and reading. Together they enjoy watching old movies and participating in BMW Car Club activities.
Telephone: 703-563-7885
Email:
Prior to his retirement in July 2010, Loran Matthews worked as a geologist with Bechtel Corporation. During his 36 ½ years with the company, he worked on numerous electrical power generation and non-power projects in North and South America, the Middle East, and southeast Asia, including assignments in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Colombia, Abu Dhabi, and Peru. During the latter part of his career, he worked primarily on the preparation of permitting and licensing documents for a new generation of proposed nuclear power plants in the eastern and southeastern United States. Loran is a native of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Ohio University in 1968. He and his wife, Mary, live in Brookeville, Maryland with their little dog, Joey. Mary, who has worked in banking for 42 years, works for Sandy Spring Bank in Olney. Loran is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and likes to work around the house and play an occasional game of golf.
Telephone: 301-570-3744
Email:
Russell McCally is a member of the principal professional staff at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he has worked for nearly 45 years and is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology (part time) at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Medical School. He has been a principal investigator on National Eye Institute grants studying optical properties of the cornea and contracts from the Army Medical Research and Development Command dealing with laser eye safety. He holds a B.Sc in Engineering Physics from Ohio State and a Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins. Russ plans to retire soon and have more time to enjoy his interests in photography, cooking, gardening, and travel. He and his wife Mary Louise have resided in Columbia since 1970.
Telephone: 410-302-2616
Email:
Mike is a Manager for Boise Cascade, where he has worked for 25 years. He is a Massachusetts native and graduate of Boston University with a BA in Business Administration. Mike moved to Maryland in 1994 to manage the Mid-Atlantic division of his company and currently lives in Annapolis with Cathy, his wife, and their dog Jack. Mike enjoys boating, water sports, exercising and following the financial markets.
Telephone: 410-792-2234
Email:
Michael is a Senior Regional Account Manager for Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis. He has over 25 years' experience in the pharmaceutical and biological fields. He earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Buffalo and an MBA from Loyola College. He is raising two boys with his wife, Anne Marie, who is a Software Engineer Manager for Oracle Corp. Their spare time is generally consumed with coaching and shuttling their sons about during baseball, soccer, and basketball seasons. Both look forward to one day returning to their passion for travel.
Telephone: 240-893-5964
Email:
Kathy worked in Baltimore as a social worker for 5 years and in Chicago (Evanston) as a human resourses interviewer for 3 years. When she returned to Maryland, she directed and taught for 20 years at a preschool in a local church in Ellicott City. Kathy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Susquehanna University. She has been a resident of Ellicott City for 30 years. Presently, Kathy's main interests are her two young grandchildren. Additionally, she enjoys scrapbooking, travelling, and is a member of several card groups. Kathy became involved in HAM radio as an effective means of communicating with Terry before the advent of cell phones. She learned Morse Code in order to obtain a HAM radio operator's license. She and her husband found opportunities to practice their Morse Code skills at the dinner table, when they didn't want their teen-age children to know what they were saying.
Telephone: 410-461-4287
Email:
Terry has worked as a chemist for Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab for the past 30 years. He holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Johns Hopkins University. He and his wife have been residents of Ellicott City for 30 years. In time gone by, Terry enjoyed spelunking (cave exploring) and spent over two years exploring and mapping a little known cave in Pennsylvania with friends. His current interests include his grandchildren, travelling, and being lead around the neighborhood by his two beagles.
Telephone: 410-461-4287
Email:
Pat, who holds a Master of Science in Telecommunication Systems from Johns Hopkins University, spent over 24 years with Verizon holding various positions in the Finance, Retail Markets, and IT divisions. With financial guidance from BWFA, she was able to confidently take an early retirement package offered by the telecommunication company. After enjoying some time off, she accepted a position at Howard Community College in the Continuing Education department. She also volunteers her data management and design skills to two local organizations, Animal Advocates of Howard County and Days End Farm Horse Rescue.
Telephone: Contact BWFA
Email:
Brad is currently a vice-president at PNC Equipment Finance, providing financing options for satellite ground terminals for a large multi-national satellite manufacturer. He and his wife Cathy, were raised in the Midwest, but have lived in the Baltimore area since 1975. They have three daughters and presently reside in Sykesville, MD. Brad is also President of the Board of the Warfield Development Corporation, the varsity girls basketball coach at the McDonogh School and enjoys tennis and golf in his spare time.
Telephone: 410-552-0155
Email:
Mike retired from The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in 2010, after spending 35 years working in the Strategic Systems and National Security Technology Departments. He was involved in various aspects of submarine sensor systems including design, development and field testing. Mike grew up in northern New Jersey and earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania. He also holds Masters degrees in physics from the University of Maryland and computer science from Johns Hopkins University. Mike and his wife, Loretta, live in Silver Spring, but split their time between their Maryland home and their home on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. While in the Old Line state, they enjoy spending time with their two grown sons who also live in the DC metropolitan area. Mike and Loretta look forward to traveling more now that he's retired. When they're not roaming the country, you may very well find Mike on the golf course, while Loretta lounges on the beach.
Telephone: 301-622-1781
Email:
Bill thinks of himself as retired, but busy with freelance writing and research projects and volunteer activities (as opposed to thinking of himself as an underemployed freelancer). He was a reporter and editor at The Baltimore Sun for more than 30 years, including 12 years as a reporter for the business section. He's a native of Baltimore. He and his wife, Laura, are empty-nesters in Columbia.
Telephone: 410-964-5125
Email:
Sue's life took an unexpected turn in 1990 when her husband Stan died in his late 40s. A widow with sons ages 17 and 21, Sue resolved to be, in her words, "a triumphant survivor." Using her graduate training in social work and related paid and volunteer experience, Sue joined the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, where she designed and implemented the "LifePlanning" retirement program for employees. She retired in 1997 in order to care for her parents, and she now enjoys community activities and has a little get-away house on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Her sons have followed their father into academic fields: Peter is an astrophysicist at the University of Maryland, and Dan is an economist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Telephone: 301-434-6666
Email:
Paul is the Director of Engineering at L-3 Chesapeake Sciences Corporation. He has worked there for more than 15 years and leads a technical staff of over 45 engineers and technicians. Paul is also the author of AC/DC Principles published by American Technical Publishers in 2007. Paul graduated with a BSEE from the University of Maryland, College Park and received a MES in Computer Engineering from Loyola College in Maryland. Paul lives in Clarksville with his wife, Michele, and their daughter, who is a sophomore at River Hill High School (Go Hawks!). Paul enjoys recording, editing, and producing CDs for different music ensembles at River Hill High School and Clarksville Middle School. As a family, they enjoy listening to music, reading books, going to the beach, hiking, geocaching (a high tech treasure hunt), and biking on the C&O Canal. The family's near term goal is to own a vacation place at the beach.
Telephone: 410-979-2672
Email:
David Vasholz continues to work part-time on various research projects in optics and hydrodynamics at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory after having retired from there in August 2008. Prior to his part-time position, David spent 30 years with APL on the principal professional staff. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Wisconsin. David currently lives in Columbia with his wife, Hope.
Telephone: 443-778-4399
Email:
Photography by: David Blecman
