Meet the Board
Sally Buckman
President
Sally Buckman serves as the Manager of Lerman Senter, PLLC, a small law firm that specializes in communications law, where she has worked as an attorney for over 30 years. Sally works with media companies of all sizes, providing advice about regulatory compliance and business and operational matters. Sally’s interest in communications law and the media industry stems from her undergraduate major in economics with a focus on regulated industries and her work in journalism, which included serving as Editor-In-Chief of her college newspaper.
Sally graduated from Wellesley College and New York University School of Law. She has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Federal Communications Bar Association and an officer of the DC Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television. Sally lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband, Robert Shaw. They have two children—Stephanie, who lives in New York City, and Gregory, an ILO self-advocate who lives in an apartment in Bethesda.
Maedi Tanham Carney
Founder & Executive Director, Member at Large
In 2013, Maedi founded Integrated Living Opportunities (ILO) with five families from Montgomery County, Maryland. Maedi is the Executive Director of ILO, managing day-to-day operations. Maedi is a Certified Financial Planner CFP®, a Certified Work Incentive Coordinator (CWIC) and Registered Investment Advisor with Chesapeake Investment Management, LLC,. Through her business, M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC, Maedi provides financial planning, investment advice and insurance services to corporations and individuals throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Maedi is the mother of two daughters, one of whom is a self-advocate participant in ILO.
It's True - ALL of ILO's Fees Can be Paid Using Self-Directed Funds
Transition to Independent Living the ILO Way!
Your loved one can join ILO and be part of a Community POD where they have social connections through vibrant activities and support from ILO staff in building peer-to-peer relationships and helping them grow their independent living skills.
All ILO Fees can be paid with one’s self-directed budget. Learn more HERE.
Gerald Dorros
Treasurer
Gerald Dorros is a Senior Vice President and founding member of CoVant Management, Inc., a firm that provides capital and operational expertise to companies in the federal technology solutions marketplace. He currently sits on the boards of CoVant and LGS Innovations, LLC and previously sat on the boards of A-T Solutions, Inc. and Buchanan & Edwards, Inc.
Gerald received a BS degree from Union College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He currently resides in Washington, DC with his wife, Arielle, and two children: Michael and Sarah, who is an ILO self-advocate.
Mary Lawrence Phillips
Secretary
Mary Lawrence Phillips is a native of Kensington, Maryland. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-C) in the state of Maryland and manages a permanent supportive housing program.
She earned her Masters of Social Work from the University of Maryland Baltimore with a specialization in Health Care and has a BA from the University of Maryland.
She has over 25 years working with families and individuals as an agent of support and guidance. She is a strong supporter of housing rights for people with disabilities. Mary has one daughter who has a Developmental Disability and a second daughter with a chronic health disease. She is well versed with different types of subsidized housing programs, policy and landlord tenant regulations.
Mary has three thriving children, ages 25, 24 and 19. She is passionate about serving others and volunteers in her free time at medical clinics in areas of the country which do not have access to medical care.
Julia Alexis
Member at Large
Julia’s innovative career spans more than 25 years in health and aging with management experience in business and a deep knowledge of health policy, the health care delivery system and philanthropy.
Currently, Julia serves as Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at AARP’s Public Policy Institute where she oversees the development and management of its strategic programs and operations and generates millions of dollars in program revenue. She works closely with major foundations, for-profit and non-profit organizations, and coalitions to create and deliver impact and results in complex and diverse environments. Julia leads, integrates and manages high profile initiatives that cut across a number of issue areas as she collaborates with her AARP colleagues and their teams.
Julia graduated with honors in international economics and finance from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Arthur B. Axelson
Member at Large
He primarily serves as regulatory counsel, analyzing and interpreting state and federal legislative and regulatory requirements that affect the mortgage industry. He also works with the Mission, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs group on affordable lending and new regulatory developments.
Specifically, Arthur provides regulatory advice on LAS, affordable lending initiatives and other single family programs and issues, and supports litigation involving federal and state regulatory issues. He also assists single family in contracting with various vendors that provide further functionality to LAS.
Prior to joining Freddie Mac in 2015, Arthur was in private practice for over 30 years at various major law firms focused on state and federal regulatory compliance in financial services. Arthur represented Freddie Mac as outside counsel for approximately 20 years.
Arthur holds a B.A. cum laude from Franklin and Marshall College and a J.D. from Villanova University.
Patricia Ritter, Ph.D.
Member At Large
Executive Director, The Treatment and Learning Centers
Pat Ritter is the Executive Director of TLC–The Treatment and Learning Centers, whose mission is to improve lives and expand possibilities for individuals with special needs throughout the lifespan. During her time at TLC, she has held various positions within the organization. She is a speech-language pathologist who began her tenure at TLC as the Director of Outpatient Speech. Her key achievements at the organization include the development of the philosophy and model for The Katherine Thomas School (KTS), a special education school which she started in 1995. Dr. Ritter also established therapeutic groups for children with sensory processing and autistic spectrum disorders and developed highly regarded early childhood programs based on development models for early intervention. Over her career at TLC, Dr. Ritter has been an innovator for many programs that meet the evolving needs of the community.
Dr. Ritter is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She was honored by the Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF) with its Inspiring Dreams, Changing Lives Award in 2011 and served as president of MANSEF from 2013 to 2015. She is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery Class of 2008. She has been on numerous professional and community boards and a strong advocate for individuals with disabilities to be fully included in the community.
Arthur Ginsberg
Member At Large
Arthur Ginsberg has served as CEO, COO, and Executive Director of several prominent hospital, behavioral and health care systems and organizations. These include Community Residences – a non-profit supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities and mental health needs; DC Coalition of Disability Service Providers in Washington, DC; Keystone Human Services – community-based services in the areas of intellectual disabilities, autism, mental health, and early intervention; St. John’s Community Services – integrating people with developmental disabilities into the community of their choice; and, National Children’s Center – providing comprehensive and innovative services to children and adults with developmental disabilities.
His community and professional leadership positions have included Board positions at Virginia Network of Private Providers, Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland, District of Columbia Commission on Persons with Disabilities, ANCOR, DC Coalition of Disability Service Providers, American College of Healthcare Executives (Regent), Maryland Works, and Leadership Greater Washington.
Mr. Ginsberg holds a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration from Xavier University, serves as Adjunct Faculty at GWU School of Public Health and Health Services; and is a Preceptor at Arizona State University, Tulane University and GW University.
Matt Hoffman
Board Emeritus
Matt Hoffman is the founding managing partner of HousingTech Ventures, which invests in and advises early-stage companies with tech-enabled solutions that have the prospect to increase housing availability, attainability, and affordability. His career experiences in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors support a deep commitment to civic engagement and problem solving for the common good that brings disparate parties together.
With over 20 years’ experience building businesses in the housing and technology sectors, Matt most recently served as Vice President of Innovation for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., a national real estate financial services platform serving the affordable housing sector. In that role, he built an investment portfolio of HousingTech companies and led the launch of an online impact investing brokerage.
His previous experiences include serving as a policy advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and running a federal interagency taskforce on e-commerce; providing business strategy and policy consulting to high-tech and startup companies as Vice President of E-commerce at Infotech Strategies; and co-founding and running a real estate development company in Baltimore, Maryland.
He currently serves as an UrbanTech advisor to Dreamit Ventures, an Ivory Innovations Fellow, and member of the Multifamily Operating Standards Assessment & Improvement Council. Matt has served on numerous non-profit boards and currently chairs the real estate finance committee of Benedictine Programs & Services, which helps children and adults with developmental disabilities achieve their greatest potential and is undergoing a $40 million campus transformation.
He is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (MPP) and Brown University (BA).
Ian Paregol
Board Emeritus
Since February 2016, Ian Paregol has been the Executive Director of DC Coalition of Disability Service Providers in Washington, DC. Vested with overall strategic and operational responsibility for DC Coalition; advocacy; governmental relations and public policy initiatives; and the execution of the organizational mission, Ian’s focus is to strengthen the Coalition and its members by developing partnerships, collaborating with stakeholders, advancing public policy positions, and creating educational programs that enhance the quality of services and operational sustainability of the provider community. From Feb 2006 to Feb 2016, Ian was the Executive Director of CSAAC in Montgomery Village, Maryland where he was responsible for organizational leadership, direction, advocacy, oversight and programming of a $25M non-profit service provider supporting 300+ children and adults diagnosed with autism and their families. The position required management of governmental relations, fundraising, fiscal and operational vision so quality of services and individual outcomes always remained in the forefront of decision-making and stewardship. Ian was also the COO of CSAAC form Dec 2004 – Feb 2006 and the Director of Children and Youth Services from Aug 2002- Dec 2004. Prior to CSAAC, Ian was a litigation attorney for Paregol & O’Mealey. Ian has a law degree from the Dickinson School of Law and a BA in Political Science and Psychology from University of Delaware.