MRCC Board of Directors

Patrice R. Wamsley
Vice President, Maryland Respite Care Coalition (MRCC)
Patrice R. Wamsley is a retired Social Worker with over 30 years experience working with people with developmental disabilities.  Her interest in respite began while working but she became active in MRCC after retirement.
(Wamsley@erasems.com)


Elizabeth Weglein, BA, MAC, COA     
Treasurer, Maryland Respite Care Coalition (MRCC)    
CEO, Elizabeth Cooney Personnel Agency, Inc.
Ms. Weglein serves as the chief executive officer of the Elizabeth Cooney Personnel Agency.  As granddaughter of the agency’s founder and namesake, Elizabeth’s passion for the family business dates back to her childhood.  Today, she not only upholds her family’s strong tradition of service, she has indeed strengthened the industry as an advocate for higher standards in recruitment, training and licensing.  Trust, integrity and excellence are the three basic tenets upon which the company was founded.  She has helped build the agency into one of the most respected and reliable in the industry.    Elizabeth provides clear leadership, overseeing and coordinating all of the company’s affairs.  Under her direction, the agency is recognized by the state of Maryland as both a Nurse Referral Service Agency and a Nurse Staff Agency.  In addition to her responsibilities at the agency, Elizabeth is committed to her community. She is President of the Maryland National Capital Home Care Association, Treasurer of the Maryland Respite Care Coalition, Chair of the Maryland Caregivers Support Coordinating Council, current director of the state’s Certified Nursing Assistants Advisory Board, Maryland Board of Nursing.  In 2005, the Governor named Elizabeth to Maryland’s first Maryland Commission on Disabilities.  Her company is ranked by the National Association of Women Business Owners among the top 1 percent of all businesses in terms of longevity and success.  
(ew@elizabethcooneyagency.com)


Felicia French
Secretary, Maryland Respite Care Coalition (MRCC)
Program Manager, National Family Caregiver Support Program-State of Maryland
Ms. French is the Program Manager for the Maryland Department of Aging National Family Caregiver Support Program.  She previously served as the Volunteer and Aging Services Manager for the Baltimore City Commission on Aging and Retirement Education, as well as their Special Events Coordinator.   Serving all nineteen state jurisdictions, the National Family Caregiver Support Program provides information and services to family caregivers in recognition of the tremendous work that they do in caring for their loved ones.   Ms. French also has been appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley to serve on the Maryland Caregivers Support Coordinating Council and is a board member of the Maryland Respite Care Coalition which sponsors the Annual Respite Awareness Day Conference in Baltimore.  A graduate of Oakland University, she has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors and concentrations in English and African American History.  Originally from Pontiac, Michigan, she moved to Baltimore in 1995.  Presently, she is a Soror with Alpha Eta Omega Sorority, Inc., an organization she help start with four other local women.  She is in charge of marketing and outreach for this organization as well as the President of her own company, Legacy Ventures and Events, an event planning company she started in 2007. Ms. French is the National Secretary and a Founding member of Alpha Eta Omega Sorority, Inc. She is currently working on writing a play on African American History and two additional film scripts.   An active writer, line dancer, and community advocate, she states, “It is everyone’s responsibility to give back and give often”
(fvf@ooa.state.md.us)


Dorinda A. Adams, MSW, LGSW
Founding President and Board Member of the Maryland Respite Care Coalition, Inc. (MRCC)
Ms. Adams has worked professionally in the field of Social Work for 28 years.  Respite became a passion of hers while working at Talbot County Department of Social Services, where she co-created the Option: Respite Program with a colleague from the Mental Health Clinic in 1993.  After the success of Option Respite was established she began creating partnerships with other professionals and organizations to develop the First Annual Maryland Respite Awareness Day Conference in 1998.  The intention of this first conference was to develop a statewide coalition that focused and promoted the need for Respite Care for all Caregivers in order to continue to provide the best care for their family, friends and neighbors.  Ms. Adams was the founding President of the Maryland Respite Care Coalition, Inc. and she continues to serve on the all volunteer Board of Directors.  She has chaired the Fund Raising Committee since 2007.  She is currently employed with the State of Maryland Department of Human Resources within the Office of Adult Services.  She is the Program Manager for the Adult Protective Services and Public Guardianship, Social Services to Adults, In-Home Aide Services, Project Home and the Respite Care Programs.  In addition to her program management responsibilities she provides staff support to the Maryland Caregivers Support Coordinating Council. 
(DAdams@dhr.state.md.us)


Michelle Hart
Family Caregiver
Formerly, Michelle worked for over 15 years as a Registered Nurse in the field of adult oncology, and breast and ovarian cancer prevention research. At present, she is the proud mother of 3 young children, ages 8, 5, and 3, of whom, two have developmental disabilities. Her oldest son has multiple and significant disabilities and her youngest daughter has Down Syndrome.  After the birth of her first child, born with multiple disabilities in 2001, her life’s focus and career path changed to take on new challenges. As a passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities and families of children with disabilities, she now serves on multiple boards to highlight family concerns for caregiving. In 2OO9, Michelle was awarded the Disability Advocate of the Year by the Baltimore County Commission on Disabilities for her volunteer work as Co-Chair of the Baltimore County Local Interagency Coordinating Council for the Infants and Toddlers Program, and as Chair of the Legislative Action Committee for the Maryland Respite Care Coalition, Inc., as well as, for her continuing service on other disability related advocacy organizations.   For several years, Michelle was the Co-Director of Public Policy for families of children with developmental disabilities at the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council.  Today, she is the primary caregiver in her household, and is happily married to Dr. Robert Bristow, the Director of Gynecologic Oncology at Johns Hopkins.  Their family is their grounding force and their children are their greatest teachers.
(BristowHart@verizon.net)


Karen Oliver
Program Administrator
Children Services
The Arc of Prince George’s County
(KOliver@thearcofpgc.org)


Linda Ramsey, BS, MS
Deputy Director of Family Support at the Maryland Family Network, a merger of Friends of the Family and the Maryland Committee for Children 
As former Deputy Director of Friends of the Family, Ms. Ramsey maintained overall management of statewide programs, including the Family Support and Early Head Start Centers, advocacy of policies and programs strengthening families with very young children, and training for professionals working in family development.  She holds a graduate degree in public administration and is an undergraduate major in psychology with special emphasis in child development.  Ms. Ramsey has extensive experience and background in community development, youth services, child welfare, and family support.  She actively volunteers on several Boards of Directors for private, human service organizations in Maryland, including the Maryland Respite Care Coalition, the State Interagency Coordinating Council for Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program, and School Readiness Council of the United Way of Central Maryland.
(LRamsey@friendsofthefamily.org)