William R. Hall elected to American Bar Foundation

Salisbury attorney William R. Hall has been elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Membership is limited to just 1 percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction.  Members are nominated by their peers and selected by the ABF Board.

The ABF Fellows is a global honorary society that recognizes attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities

Hall has been practicing law for more than 23 years on the Lower Shore.

He served as a law clerk in the Circuit Court for Wicomico County.  He is a former Assistant State’s Attorney and has tried more than 50 jury trials in the local Circuit Courts, along with hundreds of District Court cases.

His office is located on the top floor of the One Plaza East Building in Downtown Salisbury.

Brent Jett certified as Climate Professional

Brent R. Jett of Delmarva-based engineering and architectural firm George, Miles & Buh is now a Certified Climate Change Professional, having successfully completed the process administered by the Association of Climate Change Officers.

The ACCO grants this certification only to those professionals who meet the requirements and complete a comprehensive examination demonstrating competency in the fundamentals of climate change preparedness and strategic planning.

This is especially important in the Chesapeake Bay region as sea levels rise and coastal communities must adapt to the increased risk of flooding.

Jett leads GMB’s Coastal Resiliency Group, assisting Delmarva-area communities with mitigating the effects of climate change and sea-level rise. He joined GMB in 2019, bringing more than 20 years of professional engineering experience, including extensive project design, planning, and management in both the private and public sectors.

Jett is currently working on an engineering study for the town of Lewes, focused on mitigating recurring flooding issues from tidal surges and intense rainfalls while maintaining the health of the wetlands in the area.

Additionally, Jett has designed several green infrastructure projects in Laurel and Seaford.

Howard Harris honored for compassion

Registered Nurse Howard Harris recently earned the Daisy Award for Exceptional Nurses at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional for his outstanding kindness to a patient.

His nominator said: "Recently Howie was acknowledged by a patient of his on the day she was leaving to go home with hospice care. … This nurse took it upon himself to make sure she got home in the best possible shape. As her nurse, he ensured that her care was coordinated so she could go home in tip-top shape. He waited to drain her chest catheter until the very last minute to make sure she went home in as little discomfort as possible, washed her up better than she had been in months, washed and brushed her hair, and helped her get dressed. He truly went above and beyond to make her feel that she was her most beautiful self for her last trip home to be with family.”

The patient passed shortly after leaving the hospital.

Harris was honored with the Daisy Award in a ceremony before his colleagues. He received a certificate commending her for being an extraordinary nurse.

Egan, Maykrantz lauded for women’s leadership 

The International Leadership Association, the largest global organization for leadership scholars and practitioners, recently announced Salisbury University’s. Chrys Egan and Sherry Maykrantz as Women and Leadership Award winners.

They will receive their honors at the annual Women and Leadership Conference in June 2022, in Portsmouth, England.

Egan, Associate Dean and Professor of Communication in the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts, receives the ILA Women and Leadership Outstanding Practice with Local Impact Award for her years of mentoring work with the Youth Innovation Academy, Peer to Peer Women’s Circle, Mosaic Mentoring and Office of Undergraduate Research and Creativity Activity.

Maykrantz, Assistant Professor of Public Health in the College of Health and Human Services, receives the ILA Women and Leadership Outstanding Scholarship for Emerging Scholars Award.

Since earning her doctorate in 2017, she has published seven journal articles on a variety of topics including the role of trust in information and cognitive resources in shaping health protective behaviors. She also has published on self-leadership and coping.

The ILA brings together professionals from every sector, discipline and profession across the globe to produce rigorous research, cultivate a deeper understanding of the world and generate new insights into how to exercise effective leadership.

Camper earns medical designer recognition 

Becker Morgan Group’s Ann Camper has become the first Certified Health Care Interior Designer in Delaware.

The CHID credential is the key indicator of expertise, comprehension, and application of current codes and protocols that protect and improve the health and safety of patients, residents, family members, and health care providers.

Since 2009, Camper has played an active role in the firm’s health care studio, providing interior design services to health care providers across the region.

Established in 1983 and based in Salisbury, Becker Morgan Group is a leader in architecture, engineering, surveying, land planning and interior design.

Meredith Girard to lead Mid-Shore Pro Bono

Mid-Shore Pro Bono’s Board of Directors recently announced Meredith Lathbury Girard will serve as the nonprofit’s Executive Director.

Girard currently serves as Mid-Shore Pro Bono’s Managing Attorney and will begin as Executive Director when the current director Sandy Brown steps down from the position at the end of 2021.

Mid-Shore Pro Bono and a network of volunteer lawyers ensure access to the legal system and provide free or reduced-fee legal services for those who need legal help on the Eastern Shore.

Girard’s career centers around her passion for social justice and includes working in senior leadership positions with the Town Creek Foundation, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, and the Potomac Conservancy.

Girard earned law degrees from Vermont Law School. She has a bachelor’s in Economics from Pennsylvania State University.

Whitney Harmel promoted at state Chamber

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce has promoted Whitney Harmel, the organization’s Vice President of Membership and Development, has been promoted to Executive Vice President of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Maryland Chamber Foundation.

“Whitney has been with the Maryland Chamber since 2017 and is an essential, strategic leader not only within the organization but with our membership across the state of Maryland,” said Maryland Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Mary Kane. “This promotion reflects the incredible work Whitney has done with the Maryland Chamber Foundation, transforming the Teacher Externship Program into an impactful workforce development model.”

In her new role, Harmel will continue to lead and elevate membership and development efforts for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. In addition, her position with the Maryland Chamber Foundation puts her at the helm of the charitable arm of the Chamber, which supports sustainable solutions that drive Maryland’s future economy, focusing on education, innovation and workforce development.