Board Members - CRHBT OPEB

Robert Doody

Mr. Doody serves on the Board as the member representing retired employees of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). He retired from MCPS in 2012.

Mr. Doody served as MCPS’ Controller from 2000 until his retirement. As Controller, he served as a member of the MCPS Retirement and Pension Systems and the OPEB Boards of Investment Trustees. Previously, Mr. Doody served in various financial positions in MCPS from 1981 until 2000.

Mr. Doody is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.S. degree from St. Joseph’s College, and a Master of Public Administration from the George Washington University.

Joseph F. Beach

Joseph F. Beach has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission since June of 2016. In Mr. Beach’s 30 years in local government finance he has worked in a number of senior level positions including Finance Director, Budget Director, and Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County Government in Maryland. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Mr. Beach also holds a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the George Washington University and a J.D. from the University of Baltimore. He was admitted to the State Bar of Maryland in December 1995.

Elizabeth W. Greaney

Elizabeth W. Greaney currently serves as the acting chief business/financial strategy officer for Montgomery College. In her previous position at the College, Mrs. Greaney served as the Treasurer and Director of Accounts Receivable. She has over eleven years in education, including k-12 and higher education. She began her career in public accounting; auditing for profit and non-profit institutions including educational institutions.

Mrs. Greaney served as an educational specialist devising curriculum; and, teaching finance and accounting to public and private accountants across many industries. She passed the Certified Public Accountant Exam, is a Certified Treasury Professional and a member of the Association for Financial Professionals. She graduated cum laude from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a minor in Economics. She also holds an M.B.A from George Washington University.

Barry Kaplan

Barry Kaplan is the Senior Investment Director of International Equity at the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust. Mr. Kaplan has been responsible for the International Equity and Currency portfolio since August 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Kaplan was the Trust’s Director of Absolute Return Investments and Commodities. On April 2, 2007, Mr. Kaplan joined the Trust as a Senior Investment Analyst – Private Equity. Prior to joining the Trust, he worked for Nuveen Investments, where he was involved in the execution of closed-end fund product strategies. Additionally, Mr. Kaplan worked as an Associate for Duff & Phelps, performing business and asset valuations. Preceding this role, he completed the Financial Leadership Program at AT&T, working in various business units. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2005. Mr. Kaplan is a CFA charterholder and chairs the Investment Committee of the Bender JCC of Greater Washington.

Brian Swain, CFA

Mr. Swain serves as the Public Representative of the Board.

Mr. Swain is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Howard University’s Endowment and Retirement Trust. Prior to joining the Howard University Investment Office in early 2018, Mr. Swain was Senior Managing Director/PM of Tiburon Capital Management, an event fund with investments across the capital structure and was co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Quattro Global Capital, LLC and affiliates managing at its peak, $1.1 billion in assets. Mr. Swain began his alternatives career at The Palladin Group, a multi-strategy investment advisory firm holding the titles of Portfolio Manager- Special Situations, Head of Research and Senior Analyst. Mr. Swain was hired, after interning as an undergraduate, by Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company where he received credit training in the Private Lending division prior to launching a career in alternatives. Mr. Swain graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, is a CFA Charter holder and member of CFA Washington.

Christine Kelleher

Christine Kelleher is chief of investments at the National Gallery of Art, where she has overseen the management of the Gallery’s endowment since September 2017. Previously, Mrs. Kelleher served as senior investment officer for Georgetown University, managing the institution’s endowment and retirement plan. She helped found Georgetown’s Investment Office in 2004 and served as acting chief investment officer in 2011. After Georgetown, Mrs. Kelleher led investment strategy, sourcing, and evaluation for Avec Capital. Earlier in her career, she served on the executive team of the Central European University, founded by George Soros, in Budapest, Hungary. She received a BA in Russian and international relations from Bucknell University and holds MAs in Russian and East European studies and in Central European history from Georgetown University

Dan Kelley

Dan Kelley serves on the board as the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Employee Member of Bargaining Unit.

Mr. Kelley is the Director of the Division of Financial Services for MCPS. In this role, Mr. Kelley is in charge of financial reporting and oversees multiple audits. Prior to being in the Director position, he was the Assistant Controller with MCPS. Before joining MCPS, Mr. Kelley was a Manager for Aronson LLC in their Nonprofit Assurance team.

Mr. Kelley is a Certified Public Accountant. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Linda Herman

Ms. Herman serves on the Board as the member representing Montgomery County government retirees. She retired as Executive Director of the Montgomery County Employee Retirement Plans in March 2022.

She began her career at Montgomery County in 1999 serving as Senior Investment Officer for the Board. In 2004, Ms. Herman was promoted to Executive Director overseeing the management of the investment programs and benefit administration for the County’s defined benefit, defined contribution and deferred compensation plans, and in 2008 the investment program for the Consolidated Retiree Health Benefits Trust.

Prior to joining Montgomery County, Ms. Herman worked for 26 years for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) including seven years as Manager of Retirement and Investments. In that position, she was responsible for overseeing the administration and investment programs for the WSSC’s pension plan and its $1.5 billion short-term cash investment portfolio.

Ms Herman is currently a member of the Strathmore Board of Directors. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Maryland State Pension System from 2013-2021 representing the interests of the counties in Maryland.

Ms. Herman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Maryland.

Gino Renne

Mr. Renne serves on the Board as the member recommended by an employee organization. He is currently President of UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO, as well as, Vice President of United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, representing 1.3 million members in North America.

As President of Local 1994 he is responsible for negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements on behalf of 10,000 members with the Montgomery County Government and four other public employers throughout Maryland. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Union Employees Deferred Compensation Plan, the Executive Boards of the Washington Metropolitan AFL-CIO, the Mid-Atlantic Political Action Committee and the UFCW Region 2 Council.

Mr. Renne holds a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.

James Donaldson

James Donaldson is one of the Assistant Directors of Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL). He is responsible for Collection Management, Digital Strategies, Technology Management, and Data Analytics at MCPL and oversees the operation of 10 library branch locations. There are 220 employees in Mr. Donaldson’s chain of command, and he controls $8,200,000 in MCPL Operating and CIP funds. Mr. Donaldson manages all emerging technology and IT infrastructure projects for MCPL, including 21st Century Technology enhancements for building refreshes and renovations.

In FY20, Mr. Donaldson was selected to serve on the Budget Outcome Leadership Team for Effective, Sustainable Government, which reviewed budget enhancement proposals from numerous County departments and submitted recommendations to the County Executive.

Mr. Donaldson holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and a Master of Library & Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jeffrey Buddle

Mr. Buddle serves on the Board as the Fire & Rescue bargaining unit designee.

Mr. Buddle is the President of the Montgomery County Career Fire Fighters Association – IAFF Local 1664 which represents approximately 1600 active and retired career fire fighters and paramedics in Montgomery County, Maryland. Mr. Buddle also serves as the President of the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland the State level affiliate of the International Association of Fire Fighters representing 23 IAFF Local affiliates comprised of approximately 10,000 career fire fighters across the State of Maryland. 

Mr. Buddle is a Master Fire Fighter/Rescuer with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service assigned to field staffing at Fire Station 15 (Burtonsville) in the Division of Operations.

Jennifer R. Bryant is the Director of the Montgomery County Office of Management and Budget. In this role, Ms. Bryant oversees development of the operating and capital budgets, as well as all operations and programs of the office including programs that provide data analytics and administrative support to departments across Montgomery County Government. Ms. Bryant is a long-time public servant and has served in the Office of Management and Budget for nearly three decades. In her long tenure with Montgomery County Government, she has overseen nearly every budget in Montgomery County and therefore has a uniquely broad perspective of the operations of the county. In her time as Director, Ms. Bryant has played a key role in implementing racial equity and climate changes goals into the budget process, as well as enhanced community outreach and engagement with diverse communities to give residents a voice in how taxpayer money is allocated. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is a Certified Public Manager.

Jennifer Harling

Jennifer Harling was appointed as the Chief Labor Relations Officer for Montgomery County in February 2021. Prior to joining the County, Jennifer practiced federal sector labor law for approximately 10 years working on behalf of employees represented by NTEU and AFGE. Jennifer is also a former employee of the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs. Jennifer holds a Juris Doctor from the Charleston School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee.

Judy E. Ackerman

Dr. Ackerman serves on the Board as the member representing retired Montgomery College employees where she was employed for 43 years until her retirement in 2016. At Montgomery College Dr. Ackerman served in many roles including tenured faculty member, chair of mathematics, dean, and vice president and provost of the Rockville campus. Dr. Ackerman is a past president of the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC). She continues to be involved in AMATYC while pursuing other interests that she didn’t have time to engage in prior to her retirement.

Dr. Ackerman earned her Bachelor’s degree from Queens College (CUNY), and both her Master’s of Arts in Teaching and Ph. D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lee Holland

Mr. Holland is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, Maryland and a graduate of Damascus High School.

Mr. Holland is the current president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35,m which represents approximately 1600 active and retired police officers in Montgomery County. Prior to Mr. Holland’s appointment as president, he served as the Lodge corporate Vice President from 2018- 2021.

Mr. Holland is an active police officer and assigned to the 5th district (Germantown) police station.

Craig Howard

Craig Howard is the Executive Director for the Montgomery County Council. In this role, Mr. Howard is responsible for leading the 100-person staff that assists the Council in performing its fiscal, budget, legislative, land use, public health, and oversight responsibilities - as well as providing day-to-day oversight of all Council operations. Mr. Howard has worked for the County Council since 2002, and is an accomplished public policy professional and manager who has a wealth of experience in program evaluation, audits, and policy, fiscal, and data analysis. Mr. Howard advises the Council on a diverse and complicated range of issues and works with multiple agencies, organizations and stakeholders across all levels of the public and private sectors. Mr. Howard holds a masters of public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and a bachelor of science from the University of Michigan.

Michael J. Coveyou

Michael J. Coveyou was appointed Director of Finance for Montgomery County in February 2020. Mike has been in state and local government budget and finance positions for 32 years, originally in the Maryland State budget department, and for the last 27 years in the Montgomery County Finance Department, where he has also been the chief of the Division of Fiscal Management and the chief of the Treasury division. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Mike also holds a master’s degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland College Park.

Michael J. Gurevitz

Mr. Gurevitz serves on the Board as the Montgomery College bargaining unit designee. He is currently a member of the full-time faculty at the College, teaching in the Accounting discipline. Mr. Gurevitz is also the Treasurer for the Montgomery College Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a nonprofit membership association of faculty and other academic professionals. Since 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing the standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in this country's colleges and universities.

Mr. Gurevitz has been a member of the faculty at Montgomery College since 2004 and has also taught at American University and Hood College. Mr. Gurevitz earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University, and both his Master’s degree and his Juris Doctorate degree from the George Washington University. He is admitted to the Bar in the State of Maryland and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Phoebe Kuan

Phoebe Kuan serves as the Director of Investments for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland. Ms. Kuan leads all aspects of the investment program for MCPS pension plan, and oversees the two defined contribution plans sponsored by MCPS.

Prior to joining MCPS, Ms. Kuan was a Senior Vice President at 57 Stars, LLC based in Washington D.C., where she was responsible for sourcing, due diligence, structuring, and monitoring of investments in private equity partnerships and co-investments across the target global markets. Previously, Ms. Kuan was the Financial Controller at DT Capital Partners, overseeing the venture fund administration and portfolio management. Ms. Kuan started her career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ms. Kuan holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a concentration in Finance, Entrepreneurship and International Business. She received her Bachelor of Economics from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Eli Martinez

Eli Martinez is the Executive Director of the MCERP where he oversees the $8B+ in combined assets for the defined benefit and defined contribution plans.

Prior to joining MCERP Eli served as the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Educational Employees’ Supplementary Retirement System (ERFC) where he oversaw all investment and operational activities for the 40k+ member $3B defined benefit plan, which serves Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) teachers and support staff.

Mr. Martinez has spent more than 20 years in the investment and finance fields helping investors successfully create high performing teams and investment portfolios. Before joining ERFC in 2017, Mr. Martinez managed the investment portfolio for the Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System (SBCERS) for 9+ years.

Mr. Martinez earned a BA in Economics, with an emphasis in Accounting from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Benjamin Legum

Benjamin Legum serves as the Board’s General Counsel. He is an Associate County Attorney and joined the County in 2018. Previously, he was an Assistant Attorney General with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and counsel to a local commercial real estate developer. Ben is a graduate of Miami University in Ohio, and has a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.