Board of Education of Harford County
Meet the Members of the Board
Thomas L. Fidler, Jr.
President, Appointed 2003
Thomas L. Fidler, Jr., serves as Senior Vice President and Principal of MacKenzie
Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC and Senior Vice President and Principal of
MacKenzie Retail, LLC. Tom has been with the company’s Lutherville office since
December 1996. Tom specializes in commercial leasing, development and advisory
services, and has been involved in some of the area’s most prestigious projects.
During his tenure with MacKenzie, Tom has sold or leased more than 3.4 million
square feet of real estate, working with such clients as Upper Chesapeake Health,
JDH Capital, Ward Development Group, Hill Management Services, Inc., The Mills
Corporation and Saul Centers, Inc. To date, Tom has participated in real estate
transactions totaling over $1 billion in market value. Tom has received numerous
industry awards in the past years including the Baltimore Business Journal's
"Heavy Hitter Award", "40 Under 40", and Transaction of the Year. Tom was recently
award CoStar's prestigious 2006 Power Broker Award, an award issued to Baltimore's
Top Brokers. Tom resides in Forest Hill with his wife Cheryl, a current teacher at
Forest Hill Elem. School, along with their two sons, Trevor, a student at North
Harford Middle School, and Jordan, a student at Forest Hill Elem. School.
Salina M. Williams
Vice President, Appointed 2003
Salina M. Williams, is a 1976 graduate of Aberdeen High School who worked for 19 years as a network engineer for a major communications company. She continued her education after high school at Dundalk Community College, receiving certifications in computer repair, industrial electricity, electronics maintenance technology, telecommunications electronics, and directed technology. Mrs. Williams is the Harford Board of Education's first African American female Vice President. Her goals are to get parents involved in their children's education and for them to be accountable for the academic progress of their children. The Aberdeen resident is active in her community as a member of the NAACP. She was an involved parent when her children attended Edgewood High School. Mrs. Williams was recognized as EHS Booster Club Volunteer of the Year in 2000. While a resident of Edgewood, she was President of the Edgewood Community Council and was a member of the Edgewood Youth Panel. Mrs. Williams has received numerous awards including a Harford County Citation from former County Executive James Harkins; a Maryland Senate Citation from Harford State Senator Nancy Jacobs; and Governor’s Citations from former Governors Glendening and Ehrlich. Mrs. Williams and her husband own and operate Purple Passions Travels and Salina's Sweets. The couple has seven children and four grandchildren.
Mark M. Wolkow
Past President, Appointed 2007
Mr. Mark M. Wolkow, works as a Business Consultant for the Department
of Defense. In addition to his position on the Harford County Board, he also serves
on the Boards of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) and the
MABE Legal Services Association. Mr. Wolkow earned a Bachelor's Degree from the
Johns Hopkins University and an MBA in Finance from Loyola College (Baltimore).
A native of Maryland, he has served on the Boards of many community and civic organizations,
including the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, the Harford County Council of PTAs,
the Harford County Permanent Nominating Caucus, the Harford Jewish Center, the Friends
of Harford, the Abingdon-Riverside-Emmorton Community Planning Council, the Constant
Branch Community Association, and the local PTAs at Abingdon Elementary, Edgewood
Middle, and Edgewood High schools. He is Past President of the Edgewood High PTSA
and the Harford Jewish Center and is a 1994 graduate of the Harford Leadership Academy.
Mr. Wolkow helped found the Schools of the Edgewood Area Coalition, serves on the
Board of the Greater Edgewood Education Foundation, and has been actively involved
in education issues for over 20 years. He has been recognized for volunteer service by
a number of organizations, including the Secretary's Exceptional Volunteer Service
Award at the Department of Labor. Mr. Wolkow and his wife Pat, who is a teacher
in the Harford County Public School System, reside in Abingdon. They have two daughters
currently enrolled in college, both of whom are graduates of Edgewood High School.
Ruth R. Rich
Board Member, Appointed 2007
Ms. Ruth R. Rich, is director of the Joseph and Cherry Hill Senior
Centers of Catholic Charities in Baltimore. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from St.
Mary's College of Maryland and a Masters in Education from the Johns Hopkins University.
A former high school teacher for ten years in Baltimore County Public Schools, she
has also taught courses in archaeology to adults through Harford Community College.
Ms. Rich as been a clinic instructor of recreation basketball and softball with
Harford County Parks and Recreation, has served as a volunteer at the Harford Glen
Outdoor Learning Center and as director of a summer resident camp for children for
Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks. Ms. Rich is currently a member
of the Board of Advisors of the South East Senior Housing Initiative (Baltimore
City) and is a past member at large of the Harford County Archeological Society's
Executive Board. She served on the steering committee of the first Harford Habitat
for Humanity Women Build, as well as on the leadership team of the Penn Laurel Girl
Scout Council, PA. She was a member of the HCPS Social Studies Advisory Committee,
an officer with the North Harford Middle School PTSA and the Norrisville Elementary
School PTA. She and her husband William M. Waters, have two daughters both of whom
are graduates of Harford County Public Schools.
Patrick L. Hess
Board Member, Appointed 2004
Patrick L. Hess, a lifelong Harford County resident with strong
ties to both the business and social communities, was appointed in August 2004 to
complete the almost two years remaining on the term of Karen L. Wolf. Mr. Hess is
president and chief executive officer of Operations Management, Inc. W.D.P.B., Inc.
which currently operates nine Denny's Restaurant franchises in the area, a position
he has held since 1986. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde
Park, NY, Mr. Hess is also a graduate of North Harford High School. Mr. Hess and
his wife, Lynn, have three children, Ryan and Lauren, both graduates of Fallston
High School; and Matthew, a senior at Fallston High School.
Lee Merrell
Board Member, Appointed 2004
Lee Merrell, retired from the federal civil service in 2006. In his last position he was the Chief of the Compliance Branch at the US Army Environmental Center, located on the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground. He earned his BS in Civil Engineering, majoring in Environmental Health Engineering, from the University of Texas, and his Masters of Engineering Administration from The George Washington University. He retired from the Active Army in 1988, after serving for 20 years. Mr. Merrell is a past member of the Republican Central Committee of Harford County. In 2002 he received the Virginia Scotten Award as Harford County Republican of the Year. Mr. Merrell is an active member of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, where he serves on the Church Council and is editor of the church email newsletter. He served for two years as a member of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee for Harford County. Mr. Merrell was previously the Director of the Christian Coalition of Maryland, and is currently Chairman of the Board of the Association of Maryland Families. Mr. Merrell and his wife, Alison, reside near Havre de Grace.
John L. Smilko
Board Member, Appointed 2005
John L. Smilko, 51, in 1986 co-founded and continues to operate a
Bel Air-based computer software development firm, Kramer-Smilko, Inc. Mr. Smilko,
a Computer Science graduate of the University of Maryland, has been a resident of
Joppatowne for 26 years. He and his wife, Peggy, have three children – Claire, 17,
and Emily, 15, senior and junior, respectively, at Joppatowne High; and Dana,
13, an eigth grader at Magnolia Middle School. The avid American history buff is
active in his children’s interests as a supporter of the Harford County Recreation
Soccer program and a parent volunteer with the Harford County Easy Riders 4-H Club.
A member of the First Lutheran Church of Gray Manor (Dundalk), he has served as
Deacon and Treasurer. Mr. Smilko is a member of the Document Management Industries
Association (DMIA) and was selected as an Industry Elite while being featured in
the September 2003 issue of the Print Solution magazine.
Jacqueline C. Haas, Ed.D.
Secretary-Treasurer & Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Jacqueline C. Haas , is a 36-year educator having spent much
of her career in general education, as well as working with severely and profoundly
handicapped children. A graduate of the University of Delaware with a Master's degree
from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Haas earned her doctoral degree from the University
of Maryland. She taught in Harford public schools for 13 years before becoming
an Assistant Principal at Prospect Mill Elementary in 1990. She served as principal
at Edgewood Elementary School for five years and was promoted to be Assistant Superintendent
for Education Services in July 1997. Dr. Haas was named Interim Superintendent on
March 16, 1998 and was reappointed for the 1998-99 school year June 8, 1998. On
November 9, 1998, the Board of Education of Harford County unanimously appointed
Dr. Haas to be Superintendent of Harford County Public Schools. Her first four-year
term was from July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2003. On July 1, 2007 she began her third
four-year term. Dr. Haas and her husband Jim, retired, have two sons and live in Aberdeen.
Their older son is a 1999 graduate of Aberdeen High School, while their younger son is a
2003 graduate of Harford Technical High School.