Board of Directors

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Our Board of Directors

Peter DeFries

Interim President

Peter DeFries has over 30 years of experience working within the Maryland Department of Health in several capacities. He retired as the Director of Operations for the Developmental Disabilities Administration, an administration with a budget of over $2.3 billion. Peter’s also worked for the Maryland Medicaid Administration in the Office of Health Services, served as the Executive Director for several State Health Advisory Councils, and as an Assistant to Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health. He brings his blend of knowledge, skills, and abilities around how to improve access to services, eligibility, and person-centered planning, particularly for individuals with disabilities, with his depth of understanding of fiscal and operational aspects of human service organizations, to his role as the current interim Board President of C-IMPACT.

Jon Farley

Secretary / Treasurer

Jon Farley is a co-founder and currently serves as COO of C-IMPACT and has a 30-year background of operational management, scaling organizations and data analysis.  Prior to C-IMPACT, Jon directed operations for two start-up market research companies, which resulted in the sale of one to Merck & Co, Inc., and served as the COO at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Education’s IDEALS Institute.  An alumnus of PSU and a former Infantry Officer in the United States Marine Corps, Jon is passionate about positive leadership and service to others and sees C-IMPACT as a coordinator and amplifier to other organizations working the front lines of human services. 

 

Dr. Chris Swanson

Board Member

Chris Swanson is a co-founder of C-IMPACT and currently serves as the Executive Director and an ex-officio board member. Chris has a background in education; having been an Associate Research Professor with the Johns Hopkins School of Education where he also founded and ran the IDEALS Institute and served as leadership of the Center for Technology in Education. Previously, he has been a principal, school system administrator, and classroom special educator with both private and public education systems. Chris received his doctorate in urban school leadership and special education from Johns Hopkins University. Much of his work has focused on improving lifelong outcomes by strengthening early childhood experiences, and in breaking down silos that exist between all the policies and services that impact people’s lives.

Raina Gandhi

Board Member

Raina Gandhi is the Founder and CEO of Rising Tide Consulting LLC, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. Raina brings more than 25 years of experience spanning investment banking, consulting, nonprofit leadership, and higher education. Her work focuses on leadership, organizational development, change management, and helping individuals and organizations navigate periods of growth and transition.  She is also a thought leader and frequent speaker on leadership, career development, organizational change, and workplace effectiveness.  Raina is passionate about helping organizations and the people within them reach their full potential. She brings a practical, strategic perspective shaped by experience across multiple sectors and a career that has required her to navigate significant professional transitions.

Raina earned her MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds certifications in executive coaching, organizational development coaching, change management, and CliftonStrengths facilitation, among other professional credentials.

  

 

Brian Rudick

Board Member

Brian Rudick is a practicing attorney and entrepreneur who earned his MBA from Johns Hopkins University.  Presently, he works for the federal government in the intelligence community, handling Insider Threats, Operations Security, Workplace and Domestic Violence, Defensive Counterintelligence, and Continuity of Operations.  He previously worked for multiple Fortune 500 companies in marketing and management to include AT&T, Household Bank and Banker’s Trust.  In addition, he worked as a market maker for Legg Mason and Alex. Brown.

David Morley

Board Member

David Morley is president of Zinnia Films, a mid-Atlantic-based marketing agency that focuses on storytelling for nonprofits and mission-minded for-profit companies. David has more than 30 years of experience with the moving image. In addition to his work leading a creative team, David is a passionate practitioner and instructor of yoga and meditation, which informs how he runs his business. David is an alumnus of UMBC and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.

  

 

Ben Grimely

Board Member

Ben Grimley is CEO and Co-Founder of Speak Agent, Inc. An ELD teacher who became a leading educational app creator, Ben led the launch of PBS KIDS Mobile in 2009, which resulted in significant gains in language acquisition for millions of young learners. He designed Speak Agent to address the achievement gap for historically marginalized learners, pioneering a unique Content + Language integration approach based on current Learning Sciences research. Ben has served as Principal Investigator for impact studies sponsored by IES, NSF, and NIH.