Ayanna E.S. Baker is a goal-focused manager, systems-change consultant and team development leader with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Ayanna is experienced with promoting collaboration between and among stakeholders, especially youth and families, to achieve better outcomes for vulnerable populations impacted by the public child welfare system. Ayanna is a senior level staff member working for the Vice President of the Center for Systems Innovation.

Ayanna has dedicated her professional life to helping children, youth and families who are involved in the child welfare system have positive outcomes, with a specific focus on racial justice and system transformation. She is a proud board member of Voices for Children and is committed to developing and implementing strategies and solutions for continued improvement.

Ayanna is active in and volunteers for a variety of civic, cultural, leadership development, volunteer service, philanthropic giving organizations including Girl Scouts of Central Maryland and Columbia Community Cares. Outside of her professional interests, Ayanna is a Deacon at Celebration Church of Columbia and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc. and the Columbia Chapter of Jack and Jill of America.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Howard University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. Ayanna resides with her husband and two children in Howard County, Maryland.

Lauren Smorse is Director of Corporate Communications at T. Rowe Price, where she is responsible for leading an internal communications team.

She has been with T. Rowe Price since 2011, and previously held roles in Marketing and Communications at Gannett Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun, United Way of Central Maryland, and Verizon. Lauren holds a bachelor of science degree in Communications and Marketing from Xavier University. She has been a resident of Ellicott City for nearly 30 years, and is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Keefe Hogan graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Economics, and earned his Master’s Degree in Human Resources Development from Towson. His professional career has gauged from developing and delivering technical training for the telecom industry and Federal Government, instilling change management and organizational development skills during the formation of DHS and being the Director of Business Development for a consulting firm. He also served in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command from 2002 to 2010 and is a decorated veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is now an independent consultant specializing in business development and resource staffing. He is also a part-time wine consultant at the Wine Bin in Old Town Ellicott City.

Keefe first became aware of Voices for Children 5 years ago when the Wine Bin supported the annual Vintage Affair. With his wife having been a foster child and knowing the resources necessary for those children to thrive, he found a new passion and continued to support the organization, and now will continue to do so as a board member.

Bill Buckner is Director of Learning and Capacity Building at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he partners with teams and organizations to solve tough problems to create a better and more equitable world for children, youth, and families. Bill’s values align with the Foundation’s work to create opportunities for all children to reach their full potential in life regardless of their race, ethnicity, or community of residence.

Bill joined the board of Voices for Children because he cares deeply about improving opportunities for young people in foster care. This may be seen in his professional life where he has worked to improve these issues. However, as a proud adoptive parent of twin daughters from foster care, he says that there is a special place in his heart for supporting young people from these same environments and Voices for Children is a great way to serve young people in Howard County.

Aurin (pronounced ow-DEEN) grew up in the Bronx, NY where she and her family experienced firsthand how essential nonprofits can be in providing access to invaluable resources to communities in need. Her professional background has centered around working in nonprofits providing educational access programming to K-12 and University students in both MD and DC.

She is now a proud Commercial Relationship Manager at M&T Bank working with nonprofit clients in Maryland to ensure they receive the banking support they deserve to provide the services and programs their communities depend on.

Having a personal connection to the foster care system, Aurin joined the board for Voices for Children in September 2019 to support the organization’s leadership with fundraising efforts to increase the number and the training of the CASA volunteers who work with the foster youth.

James “Jay” Marshall, a 30-year IT industry veteran, has served as the President of Visionary Technology Consultants (VTC) since March 2013. As President, he is responsible for the company's day-to-day operating activities, including revenue and sales growth; expense, cost and margin control; and monthly, quarterly and annual financial goal management. In has tenure VTC has tripled it’s growth and expanded it’s partnerships to include the leading OEM’s in the industry. These new partnerships have enabled VTC to secure Health & Human Services, DOJ, NATO, US Air Force, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, CBS, Warner Brothers Discovery, State of Maryland, District of Columbia, and others as loyal long-standing customers.

Previously, he served as the Vice President of EMC’s Aerospace and Defense Area where he successfully led a staff of 100+ personnel. Under his leadership the team experienced 20% year over year growth during a five-year period. This was the fastest growing area across EMC’s portfolio. This achievement earned Mr. Marshall EMC President’s Club honors during each of his five years of service. Prior to this role, he serviced as Mid-Atlantic District Sales Manager, where he was named District Sales Manager of the year in 2004. In addition, over a total of 17 years Mr. Marshall held various sales positions in the Enterprise and Channels division’s of EMC.

Mr. Marshall attended Hampton University, where he earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering graduating with honors in the top 10% of his class. He currently resides in Clarksville, Maryland with his wife, Leslie, and kids Ryan and Nicholas.

Janna joined the Board at Voices for CASA Children in May 2021. When Joe Pulver, Janna's brother-in-law, asked if she'd like to fill his long-held seat on the board, Janna was excited at the prospect of making an impact on the lives of local children through this role.

While pursuing her education at the University of Maryland - College Park, Janna was President of Maryland Wishes, a campus organization that raises funds to fulfill the wishes of children living with a critical illness, in partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic.

In her corporate role, Janna is Senior Manager of Digital Marketplaces at Total Wine & More, the country's largest independent retailer of wine, beer & spirits.

Janna was born and raised on the South coast of Massachusetts. She moved to Maryland for college and now resides in Ellicott City with her husband, two children, and two dogs.

Greg is an experienced commercial real estate law and transactional attorney with Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny. He represents government clients, lenders, developers in commercial real estate acquisitions, lending, negotiations, multi-family affordable housing finance and incentives. Prior to joining DARS, Greg was a Senior Associate County Attorney with the Prince George’s County Office of Law where he represented the County on a variety multi-family affordable housing and economic development matters. Greg also served as the key legal advisor to the County during its implementation of its Right of First Refusal Program. Before joining Prince George’s County, Greg served as the General Counsel to the State Board of Public Works where he advised the Board of Public Works on procurement and related matters.

Ms. Dull is a Regional Developer for Dill Dinkers in southwest Florida and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for Dill Dinkers Holding Inc. She is a Managing Consultant for Vivaldi Lane LLC in MD and responsible for investments for Puccini Lane LLC in Sarasota, FL. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Luminus Network for New Americans.

She was an institutional equity investment professional for 20+ years serving as a Managing Director at Citigroup Asset Management and Prudential Portfolio Managers (America), respectively , and VP Equity Portfolios for GE Asset Management. She moved back to the Baltimore area in 2005 with her two children and husband to be near her extended family. She also ran a Kumon Math and Reading Center from 2010-2021.

She is a past volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Voices for Children in Howard County and current mentor to Luminus youth. She served as the Chair for the Reflections Arts Program in Howard County for several years. She ran 5 block times and was a USTA Captain for over a dozen years for women’s 4.0 tennis. She organized and installed a Little Free Pantry in Harpers Farm. She is a Chairman’s Circle Member of the Sarasota Center for Performing Arts, Selby Botanical Gardens and the Ringling Museum. She believes in investing in our youth and the arts to enrich all of our communities.

She was a Presidential Scholar at Loyola University Maryland, graduating with a BBA in Finance in 1987 and an MBA International Business at George Washington University in 1989. She also holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation since 1996.

A fun fact about Heather is that she loves to play pickleball, scrabble and now mahjongg. She also loves to spend time with her family and friends.