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SOURCE Community Council

Representatives from our partnering community-based organizations (CBOs) provide information, guidance, advice and support to SOURCE.

Advice given by the CBOs could impact policy development, recruitment ideas, academic linkages and more. The council serves as a brainstorming group, or think tank, to address issues and concerns, and to create ideas and strategies to carry out the work of the center.

SOURCE’s Community Council is an integral component to SOURCE’s leadership committees. Serving on SOURCE’s Community Council is an excellent way to learn more about the wide range of services and recruitment efforts offered through SOURCE, the community engagement and service-learning center for the JHU health professional schools. The council serves in the following capacities:

  • Advisory role for SOURCE and future direction of the Center
  • Information dissemination to Baltimore community about SOURCE activities
  • Advocacy of and providing information about SOURCE among/to community and JHU health professional schools

SOURCE Community Council Members

  • La'Tonya Bryant, Baltimore City Department of Social Services
  • Jayson Green, New Song Community Learning Center
  • Jessica Libowitz, FreeState Justice
  • Randi Alper Pupkin, Art with a Heart
  • Glenn Ross, Community Consultant
  • Nan Ross, International Rescue Committee
  • Jose Simmons, Total Health Care
  • Kristin Topel, Hopkins Community Connection
  • Samuel Walker III, MERIT Health Leadership Academy
  • Tramour Wilson, The Pride Center of Maryland

SOURCE Team

  • Mindi B. Levin, Founder & Director
  • R. Tyler Derreth, Associate Director
  • Rosemary Riel, Assistant Director for Academic Service-Learning
  • Z. Sequean Mahnke, Assistant Director
  • Eean Logan, Program Coordinator
  • Eryn Rich, Administrative Coordinator
  • Ezzat Shehadeh, Communications Specialist

Meet Our Community Council

Profile photo of La'Tonya Bryant.

La'Tonya Bryant

Baltimore City Department of Social Services

La’Tonya is a certified public manager and self-proclaimed career public servant. Her service includes federal and municipality government organizations where she’s been instrumental in reshaping and bringing efficiency to the landscape of public administration and services. Known as a change agent and thought leader, La’Tonya’s approaches to bureaucracy are progressive and forward thinking. Her many accomplishments include work which advanced the DC adoption voucher program; being credited with improving overall contract operations; bringing transparency to government services; right-sizing organizational units; conceptualizing and implementing broad government programs; and influencing best practice decisions which generated immediate and year over year savings in excess of 40M.  

La’Tonya is presently enrolled in Hood University’s Doctoral program where she is pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Leadership.  She earned an MBA from the University of Maryland, and her bachelor’s degree from Grand Canyon University. She also holds a certificate in public management from the University of Baltimore.   

In her spare time, La’Tonya enjoys baking, reading and making wine with her husband of 30 years. 

Profile photo of Jayson Green.

Jayson Green

Executive Director, New Song Community Learning Center

Jayson Jarual Green is the Executive Director of New Song Community Learning Center, Baltimore City Public Charter School Operator of New Song Academy #322, a PreK-8th charter school located in the heart of Sandtown-Winchester. Jayson has spent his career working with young people and their families to expand their educational and employment opportunities building strong community connections. Previously, Jayson served as the Executive Director of the Y in Druid Hill in West Baltimore.  

Born in the Bronx, NY, Jayson grew up in a community much like West Baltimore understanding the critical importance of education and equity. Jayson has led organizations by raising and stewarding the critical funds needed to accomplish their missions.  

Jayson also serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for B-CIITY (Baltimore City Intergenerational Initiatives for Trauma & Youth). He is a devoted Husband to his beautiful Wife, proud Father of two amazing young women, and loving Grandfather of two precious little girls. 

Jessica Libowitz

Program Manager, FreeState Justice

Jessica Libowitz (she/they) is the Program Manager for FreeState Justice’s Community Education and Empowerment Services (CEES) and provides comprehensive management and development of all initiatives and programs, as well as supervises the CEES staff and interns. They ensures that all CEES programs and services are in accordance with best practice standards, contract and grant requirements, and organizational practices and procedures. She also maintain strong relationships with clients, community partners, stakeholders, and other organizations to strengthen CEES initiatives and to identify new opportunities for growth in services. Jessica spent the past 12 years developing programs to address diversity, equity, inclusion, and resiliency building for youth, schools, organizations, and the larger Baltimore community. They previously worked with organizations such as the Positive Schools Center, MOST Network, MERIT Health Leadership Academy, the Child and Youth Program of the MDARNG, and more. Her work is grounded in justice, anti-oppression, and the perspectives and voices of youth and her community. Their focus is on supporting LGBTQIA+ youth, DACA and undocumented students, youth victimized by trauma and/or violence, youth struggling with mental health, and students experiencing homelessness and/or poverty. Jessica has earned her Master's in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and her Bachelor’s in Sociology, Women & Gender Studies, and Anthropology from Dickinson College. Their studies focused on race, gender, children & families, and health disparities. She has also been consistently involved in social justice movements and supporting LGBTQIA+ students and the community globally. In addition to the JHU SOURCE Community Council, Jessica is also an active member of the GLSEN Maryland Board of Directors, Phi Kappa Phi, Baltimore School Climate Collaborative, and the Coalition to Reform School Discipline. They have their License in Social Work and a Certificate in Human Services Management Competencies.  

Profile photo of Randi Alper Pupkin.

Randi Alper Pupkin

Founder and Director, Art with a Heart

In March 2000, after practicing law for 14 years, Randi Pupkin founded Art with a Heart. Art with a Heart is a non-profit organization that provides 14,500 interactive visual art classes annually to children, youth and adults in Baltimore’s most compromised communities. In addition to its core classes, Art with a Heart’s efforts include a workforce development program, a leadership program, community service initiatives, large-scale public art projects and a retail/social enterprise store called HeARTwares located in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Randi is a 2009 graduate of the Weinberg Fellows program and a 2008 graduate of GBC Leadership. In May 2016, Randi was honored as one of Baltimore City’s Inspiring Voices by Community Law In Action (CLIA) and in May 2011, the YWCA honored Randi at its annual Leader Lunch. Randi was also honored by the Daily Record as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2005, 2008 and in May 2011, was inducted into the Circle of Excellence as a third time honoree. In 2007, 

Randi received the Distinguished Alumni Award by Lynchburg College and in 2009, she was selected to give the commencement address to its graduates. In October 2018, Randi was one of 10 Homecoming Heroes recognized during the inaugural Baltimore Homecoming and January 2019, she received a Champion of Courage award from WBFF-TV and M&T Bank for her passionate commitment to youth and to the Baltimore community. 

Randi serves on the Board of the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel, the Board of Shalom Tikvah, The Rose Street Community Center Board, the Family Studies Human Services Advisory Board of Towson University’s Department of Family Studies, and the Baltimore Fine Arts Plan Advisory Committee. 

Randi is married to Dr. Andrew Pupkin and they have three children, Jessica 26 and Ethan 24 and Isiah 34, who Randi met in a group home when he was 13 years of age and who joined their family when he was 17. 

Profile photo of Glenn Ross.

Glenn Ross

Community Consultant

Glenn Ross serves as a Community Consultant to SOURCE. His primary functions with the center include: conducting tours of the East Baltimore community, speaking in a variety of academic settings, assisting with orientation activities for new students, and serving as a member of SOURCE’s Governing Board and Community Council. Glenn is active in a variety of local groups, and provides SOURCE with important updates and news from the surrounding communities. He has been a valuable member of our SOURCE team since the center was founded in 2005.

Profile photo of Nan Ross.

Nan Ross

International Rescue Committee

Nan Ross is the volunteer coordinator with the IRC in Baltimore.  The International Rescue Committee provides opportunities for refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking, survivors of torture and other immigrants to thrive in Baltimore and around Maryland.   The IRC works with government bodies, civil society actors and local volunteers to help refugees and immigrants integrate and contribute to our communities.  She has a dual role in supporting refugees and asylees as they adjust to life in Baltimore and raising awareness and understanding among the local community about their newest neighbors.  She is responsible for overseeing all volunteer recruitment and onboarding efforts at the IRC in Baltimore. 

Ms. Ross has worked for over 12 years with relief and development organizations in both human resource management and in refugee resettlement.  She is also an adjunct ESOL instructor at the Community College of Baltimore County.  Prior to her time in the NGO field, her career has been in human resource management in the non-profit sector.   Nan’s greatest passion is volunteering! 

Profile photo of Jose Simmons.

Jose Simmons

Chief Operating Officer, Total Health Care, Inc.

My position at Total Health Care, Inc, a Federally Qualified Health Care Center (FQHC), located in Baltimore City, MD, is the Chief Operating Officer. 

At Total Health Care, Inc., I am responsible for the daily operations of our eight ambulatory care clinical sites located in West Baltimore with the capacity to serve 35,000 patients annually. My responsibilities include overseeing the daily operations of each site, collaborating with Senior Leadership, our clinical managers and staff, and outside agencies. My work strategy and plan is to develop a system-wide ambulatory strategy focused on expanding ambulatory patient volume, improving the overall care delivery environment, fostering best practices in ambulatory care, enhancing use of administrative and clinical data to innovate and improve the patient care experience and oversight of the Information Technology systems for the organization, driven by a commitment to health justice and equity. 

For the past 28 years, I have worked in FQHC’s in multiple jurisdictions such as Los Angeles, New York, DC, and other metropolitan cities where the poor and underserved utilize FQHC’s to gain access to medical care. I’ve found a professional home and a worthy movement in helping inner city communities. Within the FQHC environment, I have had multiple opportunities to serve in several ways in both administrative and clinical roles from acting Chief Operating Officer, to that of a behavioral health clinician. As a licensed, LCSW-C, and as a leader in behavioral health, I’ve developed, and managed opioid medication assisted treatment (MAT) and LGBTQ behavioral health programs and services. 

I hold a BA, MSEd and MSW and graduated from New York University with specialized training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. 

Kristin Topel

Hopkins Community Connection

Kristin Topel is the Program Manager of the Hopkins Community Connection program within the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has a background as a mental health therapist and in public health, with a particular focus on addressing health inequities. In her role she is responsible for overseeing social needs programing across five clinical sites, serving more than 3,000 unique patients annually with a workforce of nearly 100 undergraduate volunteers, case managers, social work students, and community health workers. She serves as a subject matter expert regarding food insecurity, social need screening and navigation, and facilitating partnerships with Community Based Organizations across the system. 

Samuel Walker III

Director of Operations, MERIT Health Leadership Academy

Samuel Walker III is the Director of Operations for MERIT Health Leadership Academy. This academic and career mentorship program supports high school students from underrepresented backgrounds who aspire to have careers in the health field. MERIT is an Out-of-School Time program that provides Saturday College Prep Classes, Professional Internships, College Admissions Guidance, and Longitudinal Mentorship to empower students with additional opportunities and resources. Mr. Walker is responsible for creating and refining the curriculum and program design for Saturday classes, summer internships, and scholar support structures. He also evaluates programming and drives internal programmatic improvements. Before working at MERIT, he worked as a Career Development Specialist at Baltimore City Community College, assisting students and alums with career inventories, resume development, and interview skills. He also helped employers with job descriptions and onboarding procedures for newly hired employees. Mr. Walker has also worked as a College Advisor at the CollegeBound Foundation as the Associate Program Director, designing a college access curriculum which addressed standardized test improvements, college advising, essay writing, and financial aid advising.

Mr. Walker holds a BA in Economics from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He is also the Founder and Director of Playing With A Purpose LLC, a college counseling and mentorship program explicitly targeting student-athletes.

Tramour Wilson

Senior Director of Community Engagement, Policy Advocacy, and Strategic Partnerships, The Pride Center of Maryland

Tramour Wilson (Tra) is the Senior Director of Community Engagement, Policy Advocacy, and Strategic Partnerships for the Pride Center of Maryland (PCOM). PCOM offers 30 services and programs ranging from violence prevention, harm reduction, preventative health services, mentorship, DE&I sensitivity training, workforce development and are the official curators of Baltimore Pride. Tra is responsible for senior level leadership, fundraising, proposing policies and bills that benefits the sexual gender minority community, creating/maintaining partnerships, and curating large community engagement events I.e. Baltimore Pride. With a 10+ year background in Public health, Nonprofit Development, and Social Work. He received his degree of certification from The University of Hawaii, Juniata College, and intends to earn his PHD. Tra is a social justice advocate, professional public speaker, and a behavioral health specialist. Tra has a background in strategic planning, capacity building, cultural competency, advocacy and program development, and social justice reformation. Tra has led protests geared to LGBTQIA/SGL (same-gender loving)+ inclusion, public health issues, systematic racism, and police brutality. He is the founder of a non-profit Transforming Baltimore whose mission is geared to mobilizing Black and African American communities throughout the city of Baltimore by empowering them to become the best version of themselves while building generational wealth.