The SMCM Foundation

Dan has been in the financial services and wealth management industry since 1998. He is the founder and majority owner of Capital River Wealth Management, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

As a wealth management advisor, Dan brings significant expertise in financial planning and investment strategy, which meaningfully informs and strengthens his involvement with the Foundation.

In 2019, he received the George Delaplaine Distinguished Citizen Award in recognition of his many contributions to the Frederick community.
Dan has long been active in community service and nonprofit leadership. He is a member and former Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek and previously served on the board of the Community Foundation of Frederick County, where he also chaired the investment committee. His commitment to local health initiatives includes service as former Chair of the Special Gifts Committee and current member of the Signature Gifts Committee for Frederick Health. Dan has also served on the boards of Brook Lane Health Services and the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Services, where he was both Treasurer and a board member.

Dan graduated from St. Mary’s College in 1991 with a major in political science.

Tomi is the vice president for civic sites and community change at the Anne E. Casey Foundation. Before coming to the Casey Foundation, Tomi served as the executive director of Baltimore’s Promise, a multi-faceted program focused on Baltimore’s youth. Her work over the past 20 years in state and local government was always geared toward serving her community. As the chief of staff at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, deputy chief of staff to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and the deputy secretary for programs at the Maryland Department of Human Services, Tomi continued making extraordinary changes in the community that she dearly loves. Tomi graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 1997 with majors in economics and sociology-anthropology.

Scott is a retired technology business executive. He has 30 years of progressive experience in direct sales, marketing, channel sales, business development, and consulting in a highly competitive IT industry serving the US Federal Public Sector. He began his career working for the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD at the Computer Sciences Directorate as a mathematician and computer scientist. He went on to become a federal account marketing manager for International Business Machines (IBM) for nine years managing many U.S. federal government agencies' accounts positioning various computing technology solutions. He then went on to work for Silicon Graphics Incorporated (SGI), a leading high performance computing and graphics manufacturer, as a federal account manager where he consulted with various federal government agencies with supper computing capabilities such as high performance computing and high end networks to databases solutions. He then worked as a branch manager managing a team supporting U.S. federal government civilian agencies accounts. After eight years with SGI, he moved to senior account executive positions with leading software companies such as Primavera, a project portfolio management software company, and Rightnow Technologies, a customer relationship management software company. After six years with these companies, he joined Oracle Corporation as a senior executive managing one of the U.S. Air Force accounts positioning Customer Relation Management (CRM) software to the U.S. Air Force Personnel Center. Scott stayed with Oracle for five years before retiring in 2015. Scott graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 1986 with a major in natural science.

Brittany graduated from St. Mary's College in 2008 with a B.A. in both English and political science. During her time on campus, she served as the College's student trustee from 2007 to 2008, a catalyzing experience that inspired her deep interest and commitment to higher education. Today, Brittany serves as the Director of Strategy and Communications at Georgetown University's Red House, where she works closely with the Red House's founding director and the organization's philanthropic stakeholders to develop and implement the Red House's investment strategy and direct communications. Through collaboration across the University's administration, staff, faculty, and students, the Red House functions as an educational R&D unit that designs and implements new models of courses, degree programs, and learning environments that support a wider and more holistic range of student outcomes designed to better meet the needs and challenges of today's world.

Brittany holds two M.A. degrees from Georgetown University in Italian Studies and in Learning, Design, and Technology. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Liberal Studies at Georgetown University, focused on the role of philanthropy in higher education.

In addition to the St. Mary's Foundation, Brittany currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Marshall Project, the Board of Trustees of the Sidwell Friends School and School Year Abroad, and the Washington Ballet's Board of Ambassadors.

Michelle majored in history at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and graduated with a B.A. in 1992. She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Georgetown University Law Center in 1996. Currently, Michelle is general counsel at DN Capital Ltd. in London, England. Previously, Michelle served as legal director at Room to Read, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on literacy and girls’ education. Her legal career began in India and Turkey. Michelle is a trustee at Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

Throughout her career, Meredith has made it a point to support and lead initiatives that inspire others, move institutions forward, and improve academia and society. In her current role as a consultant in the Education Market at WittKieffer. Meredith relies on her 20+ years of leadership and teaching experiences in higher education to inform her executive search praxis as she builds relationships with clients, candidates and executive leaders across academia. Prior to joining the firm, Meredith was the associate vice president for student experience at Syracuse University where she provided direction and strategy for six key departments on campus. In addition to this role, Meredith served as the chair of the Enrollment and Student Experience Diversity Council, and the inaugural co-chair of the Student Activism Engagement Team (SAET). During her time at St. Mary’s College, Meredith served as president of the Black Student Union and the first African American member to serve on the Student Government Association executive cabinet as vice president. Meredith graduated from St. Mary’s College in 1992 with a major in sociology. She earned a M.A. in African American studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in 1997, and a Ph.D. in women’s and gender studies at Rutgers University in 2017.

David (JD) is a leader in technology audit and consulting, currently the Senior Director of IT Compliance at Exelixis, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in the San Francisco Bay Area that is innovating next-generation medicines at the forefront of cancer care. Prior to Exelixis, he built a career in public accounting at Ernst & Young (EY) in San Francisco, where he specialized in technology audit for fast-growth pre- and post-IPO companies as well as large multinational enterprises. His journey in technology began while at the College with a position at Booz Allen Hamilton in Lexington Park, MD. After graduation he launched a technology consulting firm at the dawn of the internet, helping internet service providers (ISPs) connect homes and businesses. JD earned his B.A. in Economics from St. Mary’s College of Maryland (1993), an MBA in Aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (2005) and completed post-graduate studies in Accountancy at the University of Memphis (2006). He holds professional certifications including, Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Heather majored in sociology and anthropology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and graduated with a B.A. in 1995. She earned her MHS in International Health and Qualitative Research from Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health in 1999. Heather is currently vice chair of the Kingwood Township Open Space Advisory Committee. Heather previously served as Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal until 2023.

Blu was a visiting professor in history and social science at St. Mary’s College from 1988 to 1989. He served on the College’s Foundation Board from 2001 to 2008 with an appointment as chair of the Joint Investment Committee from 2001 to 2006. With a career ranging from central banking to investment research to portfolio management, Blu regularly publishes research reports on the global economy and markets and presents this research to industry groups, focusing on clarifying complex problems and framing the issues in a compelling manner to encourage better decision making. In his current role as the chief economist and managing director of CME Group, the largest operator of futures and options exchanges around the world, he is responsible for leading economic analysis on global financial, commodity, and agricultural markets. Since 2015, Blu has been a member of the board of directors of 1Qbit and was named vice-chairman in 2021. Other board experience includes the board of directors at the Haitian Cultural Foundation from 2010 to 2011 and Maryland Bankshares from 2004 to 2001. Blu graduated from Tulane University with a Ph.D. in economics in 1976.

Amir is a portfolio manager - stewardship at Sands Capital, an independent, staff-owned firm founded in 1992 with offices in Washington, DC, London and Singapore. Prior to joining Sands Capital, Amir served as vice president and assistant vice president of U.S. Intermediaries and senior lead sales consultant of Financial Institutions at T. Rowe Price. While at the College, Amir was a member of the men’s soccer team, a student representative on the Alumni Council, a student ambassador in Admissions, a member of the Legislative Assembly Committee and a member of the Judicial Board. Amir graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2011 with a major in political science. Amir served on the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Alumni Council as the student representative from 2010 to 2011 and then after graduation from 2017 to 2023. Amir also served as secretary on the board of directors of Stocks of the Future from 2019 to 2022.

Ed is the executive director of the Buffalo Audubon Society after a career in higher education marketing and communications. Ed served as president of Creative Communication Associates (CCA) from 2001 to 2019, a higher education and communications consultancy specializing in print and digital media. Prior to coming to CCA, Ed served as a senior vice president for the Wolf Group Integrated Communications firm from 1998 to 2001. He managed clients such as Kodak, Ray Ban, Haagen-Dazs, HSBC, and others. Ed graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 1982 with a major in English and went on to receive a M.A. in Integrated Marketing and Communications from St. Bonaventure University in New York.

Nikola is a founding partner, chief operating officer and a member of the investment committee at Apiary Capital LLP, London, UK. She leads the firm’s investor relations department and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm. Prior to founding Apiary Capital LLP, Nikola served as chief operating officer and partner at Bowmark Capital and served as partner of finance and operations at Duke Street Capital. In 2004, she was one of four partners who established Park Square Capital, a $1.15 billion independent European mezzanine fund. Nikola began her career in banking including roles at Rothschild & Co in Australia and JPMorgan in New York and London. Nikola graduated from St. Mary’s College in 1987 with a major in economics (Summa Cum Laude). She earned a M.B.A. in finance and management from Columbia Business School in 1992.