Montgomery Serves Awards 2022
Congratulations to the 2022 Montgomery Serves Awards honorees. Each has demonstrated remarkable commitment to service and volunteerism in our community, earning them Montgomery County's highest recognition for their contributions.
Register here to attend the awards ceremony for the 11th annual Montgomery Serves Awards!
Roscoe R. Nix Distinguished Community Leadership Honorees
In appreciation of extraordinary contributions to the quality of our community.
The Honorable Nancy Kopp
Nancy Kopp served as Treasurer for the state of Maryland from 2002 until December 2021. She spent nearly five decades in public service and was one of the longest-serving treasurers in state history. Her career in Annapolis began in 1971 when she signed on as a legislative staffer for the Montgomery County delegation. In 1974, she was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, where she represented Bethesda and Chevy Chase for 27 years. Nancy is a resident of Bethesda.
Kenneth Nelson
Kenneth Nelson, a Silver Spring resident, has contributed to the well-being and improvement of Montgomery County by serving as the pastor of Seneca Community Church in Germantown for over fifteen years, and as director of business and community outreach for over twenty-five years at Montgomery College's Workforce Development and Continuing Education unit. He is a tireless advocate who actively engages in community outreach to address civic concerns.
Mona Negm
Mona Negm of Silver Spring is a champion of isolated, underserved, and marginalized members of our community, advocating on their behalf and forming partnerships to advance their well-being. She is the founder of The American Muslim Senior Society, a nonprofit that empowers the county's diverse seniors and caregivers by giving them access to culturally sensitive tools and resources to improve their quality of life and the opportunity to live with dignity.
Neal Potter Path of Achievement Award Honorees
Honoring lifetime service by those age 60 and up
The Honorable Chung K. Pak
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Chung K. Pak, Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings, has worked tirelessly to provide a strong voice to some of the most needy and powerless in our community and state. Known as a consensus and bridge builder, Judge Pak has worked closely with Latino, African American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, women’s, labor, faith, and civil rights groups on social justice issues. He resides in Gaithersburg.
Charlotte Holliday
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Germantown music teacher Charlotte Tacy Holliday is the founder of The Tacy Foundation, which empowers children and teens to share hope with hospital patients, military veterans, senior citizens, and disadvantaged youth through performances, music recording projects, and music mentoring programs.
Volunteer of the Year Awards
Recognizing outstanding volunteer service performed the previous calendar year
Schai Schairer
Volunteer of the Year
Schai Schairer of Silver Spring volunteers at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women (MCIW), working with marginalized, vulnerable women who are often overlooked. Her “Prison to Poetry” program offers confidence-building workshops through creative writing lessons. Schai coordinates volunteer services within MCIW, recruiting experts to provide tailored services to meet individualized needs. Schai also offers resume writing, goal-setting sessions, interview preparation, and job search services for previously incarcerated women.
Samantha Jayasundera
Youth Volunteer of the Year
Eighteen-year-old Samantha Jayasundera of Rockville is making an impact in Montgomery County and internationally. She is a co-founder of Sankofa Empowering Women in Ghana (SEWING), a women’s empowerment and human rights program to combat child labor and female exploitation. Committed to her personal focus of “education for all,” she has spoken on the local, national, and international stage, hosted conferences, and led large-scale initiatives for education and equity.
Mercy Health Clinic Volunteer Medical Providers
Volunteer Group of the Year
Mercy Health Clinic in Gaithersburg leverages a small paid medical staff with additional support from approximately 45 volunteer, board certified physicians. This volunteer corps is essential to meeting the comprehensive needs and capacity of Mercy’s low-income and uninsured patient population, who receive services free of charge. These physicians are the core of the clinic’s operations, providing much of their primary care and all of their specialty care.
Congratulations and Thank You to All
Choosing our winners was not at all easy. We are grateful for the many impressive nominations and appreciate those who volunteer to make Montgomery County an even better place to live, work, play, raise a family and retire!
2022 Montgomery Serves Awards Nominees
Sara Afifi Abdel, Sara Ahmed, Agbegnigan Amouzou, Annapurna, The Arc Montgomery County, Nikhil Arya, Applied Insight, Linda Barrett, Shruti Bhatnagar, Rhea Chelar, Maya Chelar, City of Faith Outreach Program, Larry Cohen, Coordination Council of Chinese-American Associations (CCCAA), Oliva Cox, Jonina Duker, Abigail Eisenhart, Susan Emery, Sophia Fang, Doni Feldman, Fighting Injustice Standing Together (F.I.S.T.), Mark Fine, Lois Forster, Steve Friedman, Gaithersburg Beloved Community Initiative, Melanie Goldstein, Deborah Hanley, Tony Hausner, Elizabeth Hermosilla, Charlotte Holliday, Samantha Jayasundera, Jeffy John, Kundai Jongwe, Matt Kane, Bill Liss-Levinson, Aiden Logmanni, Mary Louise Mahoney, Crystal Masih, Melissa McKenna, Mercy Health Clinic Volunteer Medical Providers, Obaahemaa Mensah, Montgomery Art Association Board Members, Montgomery County Association of Family & Community Education (MCAFCE), Tara Mowbray, Evan Nicholas, The Honorable Chung K. Pak, Rainbow Community Development Center, Laura Reed, Vernon Ricks, Pat Rumbaugh, Fatima Savage, Schai Schairer, Rachel Schiffenbauer, Bob Schleichert, Terry Seamens, Shelly Silverstone, Small Things Matter, Inc., Sadhana Srinivasan, Meredith Strider, Sophia Sun, Elizabeth Tang, Hiwot Tarekegn, Donna Taylor, Desha Teja, Maria Torres Benitez, Sophia Tuncer, Christie Vu, Carol Walsh, Chih-Jung "Julian" Wang, Kenneth Weiss, Eric Wenger, Robert Wilbur, Sue Winakur, Claire Wu, Xi Sigma Omega Chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Joseph Yao
2022 Montgomery Serves Awards Nominators
Anjali Agarwal, Ravindra Agarwal, Tany Aguilar, Alisa Arya, Alison Barnes, Rochelle Bartolomei, Nazaret Berhane,Kathleen Boucher, Rashida Bright, Julia Cho, Nadia Cisneros, Julia Cosentino-Tich, Amanda Dalton, Anna deCarteret, Anna DeNicolo, Lucina Di Meco, Doris Duarte, Lynnette Evans-Williams, Penelope Fidas, Mark Foraker, Renata Geer, Paul Geller, Heidi Gertner, Janet Greiner, Anteneh Habtesellassie, Crystal Hillard, Mark Hodor, Ting Huang, Mary Jackson, Amitra Jhanjee, Jeffy John, Kathryn Larin, Celeste Lawson, Shinyi Lee, The Honorable Susan Lee, Dahlia Levin, Alan D. Lichtman, Ethan Litvin, Lily Liu, Debbie Loube, Ashlyn Lugo, Katherine Mack, Sucha Masih, Rufus McKinney, Peter Mensah, Adama Moussa Harouna, Indira Nagaraj, Amy Neugebauer, Evelyn Nicholas, Kenneth Nwocha, Sheila O'Callaghan, Sarah Olson, Elissa Poma, Lucinda Ramsey, Becca Roe, Sarah Rogozinski, James Ruspi, Dale Ryan, Nishtha Sanghani, Michaella Sevalie, Harrieta Shangarai, Christine Shuster, Dave Silbert, Allison Stearns, Joyce Stocker, Sripathy Subramania, Kathalee Sullivan, Williams (Junqiang) Sun, David Tang, Laura Tarantino, Caroline Taylor, Stephen Taylor, Pat Tyser, Vicki Satern Vergagni, Chantel Walker, Karina Willis-Lara, George Zhou
See previous years' honorees by clicking on the annual award links on the left toolbar!
