GHI Board Elects Sue Ready as President

GHI's Board of Directors elected officers on Thursday, choosing two newly-elected directors as its top officers—Diane Ready and Frank DeBernardo.

The board's new officer's are:

• Sue Ready - President

• Frank DeBernardo – Vice President

• Chuck Hess - Treasurer

• Ed James - Secretary

This was the new board's first meeting since GHI's May 17 annual members meeting, where three incumbents were re-elected and two newcomers gained seats.

President Sue Ready, may be newly elected, but she is not new to the board. She has served six years on past boards, three of those years as vice president.

OFFICERS OF THE GHI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bios submitted by officers

Sue Ready, President
Sue Ready has a deep-seated belief in co-operative ideals and respect for the co-operative process. She has been a member of GHI for 42 years. Previously, she served on the GHI Board of Directors for six years, three of those years as vice president. Ready has been active on several GHI committees and subcommittees, often serving as chair. With a bachelor of arts degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, for 20 delightful years she was a teacher, then director, at the Goddard Child Development Center at GSFC. Then, with a bachelor of science degree in business and management from UMUC, she spent 12 years wearing many hats in the finance/accounting department for ZERO TO THREE, a nonprofit corporation. Now retired, Ready has plenty of time and energy to devote to the co-op.

Frank DeBernardo, Vice President
Frank DeBernardo has been a member of GHI since 2004. He served on the Nominations and Elections Committee, the Member and Community Relations Committee, and the Green Ribbon Task Force.

He serves on the City of Greenbelt’s 75th Anniversary Committee, and is a member of Greenbelt Pride.  For two years, he coordinated press activity for Greenbelt’s Labor Day Festival. Outside of Greenbelt, he is a Prince George’s County representative for WMATA’s Riders’ Advisory Council, for which he served two-terms as chair.

Debernardo is the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a national Catholic ministry of justice, education and reconciliation for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender Catholics and the wider church. In addition to fundraising and management, he conducts educational programs around the nation, as well as editing a daily blog. He has a graduate degree in rhetoric from the University of Maryland, where he was also an instructor and writing program administrator.

Chuck Hess, Treasurer
Chuck Hess has lived in GHI for more than 25 years. He is a CPA with a master’s in taxation from The American University in Washington, specializing in income tax preparation. He has been active in GHI, including serving on, among others, the Buildings, Finance, Investment, Architectual Review (ARC), and Audit committees. He has chaired the Finance and Investment committees.

Hess served on the Board of Directors for 18 years, six of them as its treasurer, before he went to serve as the business manager of Maluti Adventist Hospital in Lesotho in Southern Africa. After his return, he served another year on the board and as treasurer.

He believes that GHI is one of the best co-ops in the world, and that his experience and knowledge will benefit the co-op in maintaining high standards for providing honest, well-run, efficient and compassionate homes for all its members.

Ed James, Secretary
Ed James has been an active member of GHI since 1977. He has been a GHI director/treasurer, Greenbelt Jaycees director/treasurer, Citizens for Greenbelt co-founder, City of Greenbelt CPR instructor, GHI Audit Committee member, Greenbelt Internet Access Cooperative founder/director, and member of many GHI committees.

Current GHI activities include serving as GHI director/secretary, member of the Woodlands and Buildings committees, and various work groups. Non-GHI activities include the Greenbelt Community Garden Club, Greenbelt Computer Club, New Deal Café director, Greenbelt Community Development Corporation director/treasurer, Greenbelt Cooperatives Alliance representative, co-chair of the Old Greenbelt Neighborhood Watch, and Greenbelt Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability member.

James' educational background includes degrees in physics, biochemistry, zoology, and computer science. His professional employment history includes Martin Marietta Labs, NASA, the IMF, the University of Maryland and various consulting firms. He retired early and enjoys activities such as physical fitness, gardening, and freelance computer software projects.