Meet The Candidates For The MOCO School Board's Vacancy

BETHESDA, MD — The Montgomery County Board of Education will meet later this month to discuss the 18 candidates who've applied for the District Three position. The search for a new board member began earlier this fall, after longtime member Pat O'Neill died suddenly.

All of the candidates are required to live within District Three, which includes sections of Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington and Potomac.

The Board is expected to meet to interview the candidates on Nov. 30, and appoint a new member soon after.

The Candidates

The candidate information includes personal and familial connections to Montgomery County Public Schools, as well as current employment information. Many candidates have extensive PTA and volunteer experience, beyond what is included here. Please click each candidate's name for their full résumé and cover letter.

Cynthia Anderson-Clay
Cynthia Anderson-Clay has been a resident of the district since 1998. Her children attended Bell Mills Elementary School and were in the Churchill cluster. She is currently the director of Development (consulting) at George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy.

Rhonda Applebaum
Rhonda Applebaum moved from California in 2004, after being attracted by the schools and diversity in Montgomery County. Her sons attended Richard Montgomery High School. She is a realtor with Long and Foster Companies.

Anil Chaudhry
Anil Chaudhry is the parent of three students in Montgomery County Public Schools — grades 12, 10 and six. Chaudhry works for the federal government in emerging technology implementation and cyber security and emerging technology acquisition.

Eric Delgado
Eric Delgado was born in Montgomery County and attended the public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. He worked with his family to get his brother, who had Downs Syndrome, into Gaithersburg High School — he graduated in 1997. Delgado has been the co-founder, executive, and entrepreneur of several companies.

Robert Demske
Robert Demske has two children in Montgomery County Public Schools, and was a public school teacher early in his career. He now works as founder, president and CEO of RD Consulting in Potomac.

Ana Sol Gutierrez
Ana Sol Gutierrez is a former member of the Board of Education, serving District Three from 1990 to 1998. She was also the Maryland State Delegate for District 18 for 16 years, retiring in 2018.

Laurie Halverson
Laurie Halverson has served on the Maryland State Board of Education and the Commission to Review Maryland's Use of Assessments and Testing in Public Schools. She is the Montgomery County Board of License Commissioner for Alcohol and Business Services.

Merry Eisner Heidorn
Merry Eisner Heidorn has lived in Montgomery County for 29 years, and her children are graduates of Bells Mill Elementary School, Cabin John Middle School and Churchill High School. She is the COO and publisher of RTO Insider LLC, a subscription news service about the U.S. electric grid.

Scott Joftus
Scott Joftus has one child who is a graduate of Walt Whitman High School and one who is still a student there. He is the co-founder and president of FourPoint Education Partners, a consulting firm for school and district improvement, system reviews and strategic planning, and leadership development.

Kim Becker Koch
Kim Becker Koch is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County and a graduate of Darnestown Elementary, Ridgeview Middle and Quince Orchard High School. Her husband and father are also graduates of MCPS schools. She retired in 2010 to raise her family — she has two children — and has worked part-time in real-estate portfolio management. She ran a two-week camp at her home for 10 children during the pandemic.

Victor Mastroianni
Victor Mastroianni is a former substitute teacher who currently works as a Business and Account development manager for AARP Services Inc. He's volunteered as a soccer coach and Cub Scout Leader at Bannockburn Elementary School, among other positions.

Benjamin McDonough
Benjamin McDonough has a 15-year-old daughter who attends Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. His mother and step-father were both teachers, and he taught English in Finland for half a year after graduating from college. He is now chief counsel for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Neal Orringer
Neal Orringer has kids in Montgomery County Public Schools — he said he wanted to be an advocate for children after seeing the limits of the resources that are offered to his son with special needs, even with the dedication of his teachers. Orringer is the found president of Applied Science And Research Technology Organization (ASTRO America).

Debby Orsak
Debby Orsak was a graduate of Wootton High School and all of her children have attended MCPS, including her youngest who is still a student at Walter Johnson High School. Orsak is the president of Cagley & Associates, Inc, which works on general structural engineering of buildings.

Margery Smelkinson
Margery Smelkinson has four children in MCPS. She is currently a staff scientist at NIAID-NIH: Infectious Diseases Scientist and Microscopist in the Biological Imaging Facility in the Research Technology Branch.

Vashti Van Wyke
Vashti Van Wyke grew up in Silver Spring and Wheaton until moving out of state in eighth grade. Van Wyke moved to Cabin John seven years ago, where her four children attend school. She was an attorney before her fourth child was born. One of her children has an IEP, and Van Wyke said she would be able to bring her knowledge about that process and special education to the Board.

Julie Yang
Julie Yang is the Career and College Coordinator for Montgomery County Public Schools. She has served on various MCPS committees, including the Anti-Racism Steering Committee ad the COVID-19 Steering Committee, and has been the organizer of AAPI Heritage month since 2017.

Jeremy Young
Jeremy Young has a third grader in the district. He works as the Al-Jazeera English Producer of "Fault Lines," making half-hour documentary films.